Analysis: Former BNSF executive Matt Rose’s 2019 warning comes true

seated man in suit with microphone

The railroad industry’s chickens have come home to roost. Before he retired in 2019, BNSF Railway Executive Chairman Matt Rose warned that the other Class I railroads were inviting regulatory risk by adopting Precision Scheduled Railroading, reducing service, and demarketing some types of traffic in pursuit of higher profits. “We have this common-carrier obligation to […]

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Union Pacific reports record financial results

Train rounds curve in late afternoon sunlight

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific reported record financial results on Thursday, including new marks for operating income, net income, earnings per share, and operating ratio. “We pulled all three profitability levers simultaneously: volume, price, and productivity,” CEO Lance Fritz told investors and analysts on the railroad’s earnings call. The railroad improved its outlook and now expects […]

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Amtrak, regional agency agree on study of Scranton-NYC service

Map showing possible new Amtrak routes

SCRANTON, Pa. — Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority have reached agreement on a study to assess a potential route between Scranton and New York City. The Pocono Record reports Amtrak will look at the route’s infrastructure and estimate possible ridership and revenue, with the authority covering the $400,000 cost of the study. […]

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CSX intermodal train derails in Indiana (corrected)

CSX logo

AUBURN, Ind. — An estimated 15 cars of a CSX Transportation intermodal train derailed Wednesday morning in Auburn. No injuries were reported. The Kendallville Star reports the accident occurred on the south side of Auburn, a community of 12,000 about 20 miles north of Fort Wayne. Firefighters from Jackson Township and Auburn responded to the […]

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Transport Canada seeks comment on rail safety culture

Transport Canada logo

OTTAWA, Ontario — Transport Canada has launched an effort seeking public comment on improving the safety culture in the rail industry. The federal agency has developed a Safety Culture Policy Statement defining the term “safety culture,” outlining its role as regulator, and identifying elements that can shape a safety culture, both positively (such as two-way […]

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Weekly rail traffic again moves well ahead of 2020 figures

Weekly table showing U.S. rail traffic statistics

WASHINGTON — A week after U.S. rail volume took a rare dip toward 2020 levels, the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads once again show a comfortable increase in 2021 traffic over the comparable week a year earlier. For the week ending July 17, overall rail traffic totaled 513,255 carloads and intermodal units, […]

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Influential congressman opposes CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways

Congressman in dark suit in front of U.S. flag

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has told federal regulators that he opposes CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways. “Considering the repercussions that would result from CSX Transportation’s purchase of Pan Am Railways and its impact on my district, along with my […]

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News photo: Rocky Mountainteer test run in Colorado

Two yellow locomotives leading blue, gold, and white passenger cars

ARVADA, Colo. — Two leased Union Pacific locomotives lead a Rocky Mountaineer trainset through Arvada on Tuesday as the train made the fourth of eight test trips for familiarizing crews and onboard employees before the launch of the company’s new “Rockies to Red Rocks” service between Denver and Moab, Utah. The locomotives have been leased […]

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CSX says service to chemical and fertilizer shippers is improving

Train with one engine under blue sky with white clouds

WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation has told federal regulators that it has improved service for chemical and fertilizer shippers, who had complained about widespread delays and congestion in a June letter to the Surface Transportation Board. The American Chemistry Council, the trade group representing chemical producers, had asked the board to put CSX under additional oversight […]

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July 2021

Trains Magazine July 2021 cover

In every issue News p. 4 It’s Canadian National vs. Canadian Pacific for KCS Brian Solomon p. 8 Reflecting on a microcosm of dieselization: the significance and longevity of EMD’s SD40 Bill Stephens p. 9 We need more Dutchtown Southerns: new railroad may be the future of carload traffic Preservation p. 44 Mainline steam outlook […]

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