BNSF Railway and Union Pacific are facing varying degrees of congestion from a spike in domestic intermodal volume in Southern California. The railroads reported significant week-over-week overall intermodal volume increases as of July 18, with UP’s volume up 10% and BNSF’s up 8%, according to their weekly Association of American Railroads carload reports. The surge […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — With rehabilitation and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad under way, the EBT Foundation staff is beginning to deal with the issue of backdating. How far and how much should it change in order to give the property the appearance of its common-carrier days (1870s-1956)? A recent trip through Rockhill […]
Monday midday rail news: Metra to add trains on Rock Island, BNSF lines Reflecting increasing ridership as the Chicago area reopens after COVID-19 shutdowns, Metra will add express trains to service on its BNSF and Rock Island lines next week, while schedules will be adjusted on two Electric District train. The new services will include […]
TREGO, Wis. — The opportunity may be coming to travel to Northwest Wisconsin and ride one of the first diesel-powered streamlined passenger trains. In a Trains News Wire exclusive, the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad has announced it has purchased the Mark Twain Zephyr, one of nine trainsets built by Philadelphia’s Budd Co. for the Chicago, […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern today named Union Pacific executive Cindy Sanborn as its chief operating officer, a position she also held at CSX Transportation. Sanborn was one of the first women in the industry to hold an executive-level operations position. She spent 30 years at CSX, where she rose through the ranks and ultimately […]
WASHINGTON — More than 500 management and union employees are accepting buyout offers to leave Amtrak as part of the company called a “self-help” effort to defray the financial impact of revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, July 24, was the final day for many of those departing. The one-time payouts to 284 […]
Friday morning rail news: STB’s Oberman won’t participate in Metra-UP proceedings Surface Transportation Board Vice Chairman Martin Oberman, a former Metra board chairman, announced he will recuse himself from the STB’s proceedings regarding Metra’s request for a preliminary injunction and ruling in its ongoing dispute with Union Pacific [See “Metra asks STB for injunction against […]
More Friday midday rail news: High speed rail project gets OK for activity bonds from Nevada XpressWest, the Brightline/Virgin Trains subsidiary planning a high speed rail line from Southern California to Las Vegas, has received unanimous approval from the Nevada State Board of Finance for allocation of $200 million in tax-exempt private activity bonds. The […]
Thursday morning rail news: Groups ask U.S. to level sanctions against China’s CRRC A U.S. rail lobbying group is among those asking the Trump administration to level strong sanctions against Chinese rail equipment manufacturer CRRC, in light of a U.S. Defense Department statement linking the firm to the Chinese military. Reuters reports that the Rail […]
Thursday midday rail news: Ford plant in Mexico hit by rail blockade Operations at Ford’s auto plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, and cross-border import-export traffic are being affected by a rail blockade in Mexico, the automaker said Wednesday. Reuters reports the blockade in the border state of Sonora by the indigenous Yaqui community, demonstrating for land […]
Union Pacific claims it will suffer “millions of dollars in losses and incur millions in additional risk” if forced to continue to operate commuter rail service for Metra, according to the previously sealed lawsuit it filed against the commuter rail agency last December. The lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District […]
CHICAGO — The depth of disagreement between Metra and Union Pacific over commuter rail service on three Chicago-area UP lines is visible in Metra filings with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board seeking to ensure UP continues to provide service on those lines. In two filings on Tuesday, Metra asks that the STB to rule that […]
