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US Rail Headcount Reaches New Low
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 - 3:39pm | 625In September, the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads employed the fewest number of workers in years, according to data from the Surface Transportation Board. The railroads had 136,865 employees on their rosters in September, which is the lowest monthly total in 2019 and the lowest total...
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Union Pacific Train Derails At Illinois Rail Yard
Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 9:10am | 197A Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) train carrying flammable liquid derailed at UNP's rail yard in Dupo, Illinois. Dupo is across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. At around 12:45 p.m. local time, a derailment occurred in UNP's Dupo Yard near Carondelet Avenue between Main and Adams Road,...
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Dorian Expected To Cause Delays For CSX, Norfolk Southern
Friday, September 6, 2019 - 12:37pm | 301Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) and CSX (NYSE: CSX) are telling customers to expect continuing delays as Hurricane Dorian travels up the East Coast. Hurricane Dorian, which was a Category 1 hurricane Sept. 6 after strengthening earlier this week to a Category 3 hurricane (see video: https://youtu.be...
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CSX And Norfolk Southern Ready Themselves For Dorian
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 - 9:16am | 346Eastern Class I railroads CSX (NYSE: CSX) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) say customers should expect service delays this week as Hurricane Dorian brings heavy rains and strong winds to the southeastern coast of the U.S. CSX expects Dorian to impact portions of CSX's network over the next three...
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Commentary: Is Intermodal Rail Stalling?
Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 5:09pm | 1592FreightWaves features Market Voices – a forum for voices with unique knowledge of numerous transportation/logistics/supply chain sectors, as well as other critical expertise. As a transportation mode choice, where is intermodal rail heading? Author's note – this is not a financial analysis to...
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BNSF Sues Oklahoma Localities Over Blocked Rail Crossing Rule
Monday, August 26, 2019 - 10:01pm | 466BNSF (NYSE: BRK) is challenging an Oklahoma mandate that enables local law enforcement to fine freight railroads for blocking a railroad crossing for more than 10 minutes. The railroad, which is an operating unit of Berkshire Hathaway, filed a suit with the U.S. District Court in the western...
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North American Rail Volumes Continue Downward Trend
Thursday, August 15, 2019 - 1:41pm | 498North American year-to-date rail volumes drafted lower again for the week ending August 14, according to the Association of American Railroads. Rail traffic slumped in the U.S. and Mexico but rose in Canada when comparing volumes to the same period in 2018. Overall North American rail traffic...
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States Seek To Overturn Federal Directive On Freight Train Crew Size
Thursday, August 15, 2019 - 12:31pm | 1162The states of Illinois, Nevada and Washington are among the latest states that have decided to fight a federal order that prevents states from passing laws that would require freight trains to have a train crew size of at least two individuals. Nevada has filed a petition with the U.S. Court of...
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CSX And Canadian National To Form New Intermodal Service
Friday, August 9, 2019 - 3:41pm | 426Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) and eastern U.S. rail company CSX (NYSE: CSX) have announced plans to offer new intermodal service between the CSX-served ports of Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey and CNI's areas of greater Montreal and southern Ontario. The service, which will begin on October...
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Five Miles Of Uncertainty
Thursday, August 8, 2019 - 11:55am | 45The five miles of uncertainty systematizes the uncontrollable disruptions in the freight industry. Image Sourced From Pixabay
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How Can Railroads And Shippers Use Technology To Bolster Service And Capacity?
Monday, August 5, 2019 - 10:41am | 1751Much of the recent discussion around technology and the railroads has focused on how positive train control (PTC), a safety technology that allows railroads to track the distances between trains, can serve as a technological precursor to more advanced applications, such as automated operations or...
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Regulators May Consider Cameras On Freight Trains
Tuesday, July 30, 2019 - 11:20am | 512Voluntary installation of locomotive cameras by the major freight railroads has allowed the industry to dodge costly federal requirements, but regulators could still end up mandating cameras and audio recording equipment for train engines that pull both passengers and freight. The Federal Railroad...
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Greenbrier Completes Acquisition Of American Railcar Industries
Monday, July 29, 2019 - 1:30pm | 518U.S. railcar manufacturer and lessor Greenbrier (NYSE: GBX) finalized its acquisition of the manufacturing business of American Railcar Industries (ARI) from ITE Management, the company said on July 28. Greenbrier said the acquisition, which was announced in April and finalized on July 26, will...
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Omnitrax Acquires Short-Line Railroad Winchester & Western
Friday, July 26, 2019 - 4:04pm | 602An affiliate of OmniTrax is acquiring Winchester & Western (W&W) Railroad in a deal valued at $105 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval by the Surface Transportation Board and customary closing conditions. OmniTrax is a Denver-...
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Norfolk Southern Says Operational Changes Key To Boosting 2019 Profits
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 - 5:52pm | 718Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) expects continued operational changes will help boost profits and lower operating ratios in the second half of the year. Top21 and Clean Sheeting are two initiatives that arose out of NSC's version of precision scheduled railroading (PSR), an operating model that...