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Joanna Marsh

Joanna is a Washington, DC-based writer covering the freight railroad industry. She has worked for Argus Media as a contributing reporter for Argus Rail Business and as a market reporter for Argus Coal Daily.
Jan - 2024 -
04 January
Joanna Marsh

Norfolk Southern aims to slash emissions with greater use of biofuels

Increasing biofuel consumption will be a key way for Norfolk Southern to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to its inaugural climate transition plan.

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Joanna Marsh

STB general counsel retires after 51 years of public service

Craig M. Keats started his career in 1972 as an attorney for the Interstate Commerce Commission — the Surface Transportation Board’s predecessor — and he has stayed on since then.

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Joanna Marsh

7 hot issues for rail stakeholders in 2024

What are stakeholders in the freight rail space keeping an eye on in 2024? Here’s a starter list.

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03 January
Joanna Marsh

FRA’s train crew size rule moves forward

The Federal Railroad Administration submitted its proposed rulemaking on train crew staffing to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for review.

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Joanna Marsh

Improving rail service key to growing intermodal volumes: Consultant

Intermodal rail might still face pressure from a loose truck market in 2024, but intermodal rail providers could see volumes grow longer term if they keep service humming, according to Breakthrough’s chief economist.

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01 January
Joanna Marsh

Will Congress pass any rail safety bills in 2024?

Election-year politics and the NTSB report on the East Palestine derailment are key factors in whether Congress will pass rail safety legislation in 2024, industry observers say.

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Dec - 2023 -
28 December
Joanna Marsh

Port of NY/NJ volumes down from last year but up from 2019

Cargo volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey were 7.5% higher than November 2019 but 11% lower year over year.

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22 December
Joanna Marsh

CBP reopens key ports of entry for freight trains at US-Mexico border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reopened the international border crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, according to the freight railroads affected by the five-day closure.

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21 December
Joanna Marsh

Parallel Systems tests autonomous rail vehicle technology 

Parallel Systems recently gave a public demonstration of how its autonomous rail vehicle technology works.

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Joanna Marsh

Derailment, safety, partnerships among rail’s big issues in 2023

The U.S. freight rail industry got schooled in 2023 on issues including the three R’s: rail safety, reciprocal switching and relationships.

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19 December
Joanna Marsh

UP to customers: Urge Congress to help reopen US-Mexico rail crossings

Union Pacific wants customers to lobby Congress to get U.S. Customs and Border Protection to say when suspended freight rail operations in El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas, will resume.

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18 December
Joanna Marsh

New York becomes next state requiring 2-person freight train crews

New York becomes the 11th state to require freight trains to have at least two crew members.

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15 December
Joanna Marsh

Environmental groups sue BNSF over grizzly bear deaths

Two environmental groups say BNSF should do more to reduce deaths of grizzly bears being hit by freight trains on federally protected grounds in Idaho and Montana.

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Joanna Marsh

Can intermodal rail increase its market share by 25% by 2030? 

Intermodal rail can and should be a competitive transportation mode, provided that short-line railroads play a part and more investments go into developing intermodal hubs and insightful data sets, according to a report commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund.

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Joanna Marsh

American Industrial Transport completes acquisition of SMBC Rail Services’ assets

TE Management affiliate American Industrial Transport has completed its acquisition of the rail car assets of SMBC Rail Services.

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14 December
Joanna Marsh

Wabtec joins rail telematics market

Rail technology provider Wabtec is joining forces with Dutch company Intermodal Telematics to create telematics technology for rail cars.

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13 December
Joanna Marsh

Railroads can collaborate with truck carriers to serve customers

In this fireside chat, FreightWaves’ chief economist Anthony Smith talks with Union Pacific’s Matt Gloeb about how collaboration between the railroad and truck carriers in the intermodal space can help customers reach sustainability goals.

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11 December
Joanna Marsh

FRA’s proposed rule on certifying rail car origins earns kudos from trade groups

The Federal Railroad Administration has proposed that rail car manufacturers certify that their rail cars were made in countries that haven’t been flagged by the U.S. government for national security concerns. Two trade groups representing rail equipment manufacturers support this measure.

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08 December
Joanna Marsh

FRA doles out $8B in grants advancing passenger rail

The Federal Railroad Administration is providing over $8 billion in grants that will support two high-speed rail projects as well as capital improvements on existing rail corridors that carry both passenger rail and freight rail traffic.

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07 December
Joanna Marsh

CN acquiring Iowa Northern Railway

Canadian railway CN is acquiring family-owned Iowa Northern Railway, a 275-mile short-line railroad serving the Upper Midwest.

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06 December
Joanna Marsh

US, Canada to form task force to get locomotive emissions to net zero

The U.S. and Canada plan to form a joint task force aimed at developing and integrating zero-emissions technologies for locomotives at a wider and accelerated scale.

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05 December
Joanna Marsh

Georgia Ports Authority plans second inland rail terminal in north Georgia

Georgia Ports Authority will use internal funds and a $46.8 million federal grant to build the Blue Ridge Connection inland rail terminal in Gainesville.

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04 December
Joanna Marsh

Maintenance-of-way rail union and Union Pacific tussle over furloughs

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division is continuing to express its disappointment over planned furloughs at Union Pacific. But UP insists that it will call back furloughed employees as the railway pursues rail service and safety goals.

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Nov - 2023 -
30 November
Joanna Marsh

CSX facing class action lawsuit over Kentucky derailment

CSX is facing a class action lawsuit over the sulfur dioxide that was released into the air when a train derailed in eastern Kentucky the day before Thanksgiving.

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29 November
Joanna Marsh

Union Pacific to operate international intermodal terminal in Phoenix

Union Pacific is seeking to beef up its intermodal offerings via a terminal in Phoenix and the addition of destinations for its on-dock rail service at Port Houston.

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Joanna Marsh

Chances dim for Senate vote on rail safety bill: Consultant

Will Congress pass any rail safety bills before 2023 ends? One consultant thinks the answer is probably no.

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28 November
Joanna Marsh

Genesee & Wyoming touts subsidiary’s new contracts

Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary Rail Link has secured five new contracts since September, the private short-line operator recently announced.

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27 November
Joanna Marsh

CSX eyes wheel bearing as cause of Kentucky derailment

A failed wheel bearing may have caused the derailment of a CSX train in Kentucky last week.

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24 November
Joanna Marsh

FRA wants railroads to bolster winter operation procedures

Using technology to assess adverse weather impacts in real time and working with other railroads to adopt best practices were two of the Federal Railroad Administration’s recommendations.

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23 November
Joanna Marsh

CSX train derailment in Kentucky prompts evacuations, state of emergency declaration

A CSX train carrying molten sulfur derailed and caught fire on Wednesday north of Livingston, Kentucky, prompting a voluntary evacuation and state of emergency declaration.

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22 November
Joanna Marsh

STB extends deadline for additional feedback on proposed reciprocal switching rule

In light of the numerous comments that the Surface Transportation Board received on its proposed reciprocal switching rule, the board has extended a deadline for additional feedback by two weeks.

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21 November
Joanna Marsh

Katoen Natie to invest $60M at Norfolk plastic resin export facilities

Belgium-based logistics provider Katoen Natie is expanding warehousing and rail facilities at its Norfolk, Virginia, operations, to support the export market for plastic resins.

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17 November
Joanna Marsh

Port of Savannah sees fourth-busiest October

Despite a 22% volume decline year over year, the Port of Savannah had its fourth-busiest October, according to the Georgia Ports Authority.

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Joanna Marsh

Class I railroad executives outline plans to bolster rail service

Executives with CSX, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern at recent investor conferences listed some of the ways they expect to improve rail service.

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16 November
Joanna Marsh

STB chairman will not seek reappointment to agency

After serving one five-year term on the Surface Transportation Board, Chairman Marty Oberman has decided against seeking reappointment.

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Joanna Marsh

BNSF lists sites in Iowa, Kansas as primed for industrial development

Two sites in Iowa and one in Kansas have been added to BNSF’s certified sites list for locations that are primed for industrial development and near BNSF’s rail network.

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14 November
Joanna Marsh

STB gets earful on proposed rule for reciprocal switching

Dozens of industry stakeholders, from individual Class I railroads to multiple shipper groups to the trade unions, offered their input on what’s wrong and what’s right about the Surface Transportation Board’s proposed rulemaking on reciprocal switching.

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13 November
Joanna Marsh

JB Hunt, BNSF and GMXT to launch Mexico-to-Midwest intermodal service

BNSF, J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Mexico’s GMXT are launching an intermodal service in January between Mexico and the Midwest.

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Joanna Marsh

Regional Rail to acquire 2 Midwestern short lines

3i-backed Regional Rail plans to acquire two more short-line railroads, one in Ohio and one in Indiana, as part of a push to expand its presence in the Midwest.

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10 November
Joanna Marsh

BNSF and coal exporter reach settlement

BNSF and Navajo Transitional Energy Co. have reached a settlement on NTEC’s request for more rail service to export coal.

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09 November
Joanna Marsh

NTSB urges rail industry to take positive train control to the next level

The National Transportation Safety Board wants freight and passenger railroads to incorporate new technologies that boost the effectiveness of existing positive train control technologies.

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08 November
Joanna Marsh

FreightCar America, Trinity Industries take hit from migrant crossings

High numbers of migrant crossings in September disrupted freight rail operations, including Trinity Industries’ and FreightCar America’s ability to send new rail cars into the U.S., executives said on recent earnings calls.

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Joanna Marsh

CN to offer intermodal service via Gulfport

Canadian railway CN, the Mississippi State Port Authority and Ports America have signed a memorandum of understanding for an intermodal service at the Port of Gulfport.

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Joanna Marsh

Cincinnati voters approve sale of city-owned railroad to Norfolk Southern

Cincinnati voters on Tuesday approved selling Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern for $1.62 billion.

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07 November
Joanna Marsh

Investment firm acquiring SMBC Rail Services

The rail industry continues to streamline operations and realign rail car fleet management via acquisitions.

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06 November
Joanna Marsh

FRA awards $16B in grants to passenger rail projects

The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $16.4 billion to 25 passenger rail projects, many of which are in the busy Northeast corridor. Freight rail may also benefit from the projects.

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Joanna Marsh

BNSF’s Q3 net income drops 15% on lower revenues

A 13% decline in total revenues dented BNSF’s net profit for the third quarter.

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02 November
Joanna Marsh

Head count for US Class I rail operations shows mixed bag

A look at U.S. Class I rail employment data shows that head count for train and engine crews grew when comparing averages in 2023 with 2020 — but employment totals for those maintaining equipment and stores appeared to fall.

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Oct - 2023 -
31 October
Joanna Marsh

Sierra Club still sees rail as ‘a climate solution’

Rail electrification and locomotives powered by green hydrogen are two goals that the rail industry and federal and state leaders should adopt, according to the Sierra Club’s revised statement on how to encourage clean transportation for the railroads.

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27 October
Joanna Marsh

Macro uncertainties loom for rail equipment manufacturers 

The Greenbrier Companies, GATX and Wabtec all reported quarterly earnings this week. Among the themes expressed during earnings calls was pervading market uncertainty domestically but an abundance of international opportunities.

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Joanna Marsh

Norfolk Southern wants close look at proposed CPKC-CSX Southeast corridor

Norfolk Southern is asking the Surface Transportation Board to compel Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX to consolidate their applications on plans to create a Mexico-Southeast U.S. corridor. Doing so would provide greater insight on freight and passenger rail impacts, NS argues.

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26 October
Joanna Marsh

Sick leave agreement between CSX and railroad signalmen ratified

Members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen who work on CSX’s L&N property have ratified their sick leave agreement, CSX said.

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Joanna Marsh

CPKC cautious heading into 2024

Uncertainties over consumer demand and inflation rates are causing Canadian Pacific Kansas City to adopt a more cautious stance as 2024 approaches.

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25 October
Joanna Marsh

Canadian Pacific Kansas City sees Q3 net income fall 12%

CPKC reported a 12% decline in net profit in the third quarter despite higher combined revenues.

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Joanna Marsh

Norfolk Southern says higher costs will pay off in long term

Short-term pain will lead to long-term gain for Norfolk Southern, the railway’s CEO said when asked about his company’s higher margins amid plans to continue improvements to rail service.

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Joanna Marsh

Ohio derailment charge slams Norfolk Southern’s Q3 profit

NS’ third-quarter net income fell 50% amid a $163 million incident charge related to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment in February.

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24 October
Joanna Marsh

Taking market share from trucks will require cross-industry collaboration: CN

Partnerships with other Class I railroads will help the freight rail industry gain market share, CN executives said during the Canadian railway’s third-quarter 2023 earnings call Tuesday.

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23 October
Joanna Marsh

Port of Prince Rupert strives to increase transloading capacity

The Prince Rupert Port Authority is starting construction on a project that will increase rail-to-container transloading at the Canadian port, particularly for agricultural, forestry and plastic resin products.

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20 October
Joanna Marsh

Railroad signalers union to conduct safety program with Norfolk Southern

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and Norfolk Southern, with technical input from the Federal Railroad Administration, will conduct a one-year pilot program to identify best safety practices.

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Joanna Marsh

CSX COO says internal, industry collaboration key to capitalize on opportunities

Enabling information sharing between departments will help CSX not only cut costs but discover new business opportunities, COO Mike Cory said on the railway’s third-quarter earnings call.

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19 October
Joanna Marsh

Third-quarter net earnings slip 24% at CSX

Eastern U.S. Class I railroad said its third-quarter net profit fell 24% amid lower operating revenues.

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Joanna Marsh

Union Pacific’s new CEO wants to win

On his first earnings call as Union Pacific’s CEO, Jim Vena said his goal for the railway is to “win and be the best in the industry.”

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Joanna Marsh

Union Pacific’s Q3 net profit declines 19%

Lower revenues dented Union Pacific’s earnings for the third quarter of 2023.

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Joanna Marsh

Combining data streams to combat illicit trade in container shipping

Officials from Nexxiot and Deloitte talk with FreightWaves in this Q&A about how combining data on container movements and a container’s financial streams can help ward off illicit trade.

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18 October
Joanna Marsh

CN to split chief operating officer role into 2

Patrick Whitehead and Derek Taylor will lead different aspects of CN’s operations as the Canadian railway seeks to make its operations more “innovative” and “modern.”

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17 October
Joanna Marsh

Locomotive engineers’ union calls for limiting freight train lengths

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen wants the Federal Railroad Administration to issue an emergency order prohibiting freight train lengths greater than 7,500 feet.

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Joanna Marsh

CPKC and CSX file plans paving way to Mexico-Southeast corridor

Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX are seeking approval from the Surface Transportation Board to acquire some of the assets of short line Meridian & Bigbee Railroad. They plan to beef up an Alabama interchange as part of an effort to create a Mexico-Southeast corridor.

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16 October
Joanna Marsh

NTSB investigating deadly BNSF coal train derailment in Colorado

A BNSF coal train derailed at a bridge north of Pueblo, Colorado, spilling coal and rail cars onto Interstate 25 beneath. The highway remains closed for now.

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12 October
Joanna Marsh

NTSB chair: Freight trains should also have image recording devices

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said a new rule calling for passenger trains to have inward- and outward-facing image recording devices should also have applied to freight trains.

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Joanna Marsh

Canada invests CA$150M for new container terminal in Montreal

The Port of Montreal has received funding from Canada’s National Trade Corridors Fund to build a new terminal aimed at boosting the port’s container handling capacity.

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Joanna Marsh

Kansas now has rule mandating minimum 2-person train crews

Add Kansas to the list of states that require more than one person in the locomotive cab of a freight train.

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10 October
Joanna Marsh

CN prepared for winter despite regulatory uncertainty

CN has released its operational plans for the 2023-2024 winter season. But the Canadian railway says new regulations create some uncertainty.

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06 October
Joanna Marsh

Metra renews suit against STB over CP-KCS merger approval

Chicago commuter rail system Metra filed a lawsuit against the Surface Transportation Board over its decision to approve the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

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Joanna Marsh

UP to offer intermodal service linking Mexico, US Southeast

Union Pacific will be offering intermodal service between two cities in Mexico and the U.S. Southeast.

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Joanna Marsh

Many headwinds faced rails in Q3 but future could be brighter: Analyst

Higher labor expenses, reduced volumes and regulatory uncertainty were among the third quarter’s headwinds for railroads, according to Susquehanna transportation analyst Bascome Majors.

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05 October
Joanna Marsh

Rail intermodal volumes stabilize in September

U.S. intermodal volumes actually grew in September, according to the Association of American Railroads. And with the harvest season in full swing in the fourth quarter, expect rising grain volumes.

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04 October
Joanna Marsh

NTSB probe of CSX carman death to focus on safety protocols, awareness

The National Transportation Safety Board will focus on CSX’s safety training of railway carmen as the agency continues investigating the death of a carman at a CSX yard in Ohio.

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03 October
Joanna Marsh

Internet connectivity issues affect CN’s customer service portal

An internal system update caused internet connectivity issues at CN on Tuesday, affecting the Canadian railway’s customer service portal.

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Joanna Marsh

‘More needs to be done to promote freight rail competition’

Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito want the Surface Transportation Board to “move swiftly” on reciprocal switching.

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Joanna Marsh

EEOC sues UP over 21 employee terminations for failed vision tests

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against Union Pacific in federal court over the dismissal of 21 conductors and locomotive engineers who had failed the railroad’s vision test.

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02 October
Joanna Marsh

System outage briefly halts Norfolk Southern train operations

NS is examining the root cause of the Friday evening to early Saturday morning outage, which the railroad says was not a result of hacking or related to a previous system outage that occurred in late August.

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Sep - 2023 -
29 September
Joanna Marsh

Layoffs confirmed in BNSF Logistics brokerage unit’s sale to J.B. Hunt

The sale of BNSF Logistics’ brokerage unit to J.B. Hunt will likely involve layoffs of an unspecified number of employees, parent company BNSF confirmed Friday.

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Joanna Marsh

BNSF and train conductors union reach work scheduling deal

BNSF and SMART-TD have reached a tentative agreement addressing how BNSF handles work schedules for train conductors and other related union members.

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Joanna Marsh

Environmental groups push to clamp down on coal dust from trains

Sixteen environmental groups have filed a rulemaking petition with the EPA asking for the federal agency to require coal train operators to have Clean Water Act permits when moving coal.

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Joanna Marsh

How will a government shutdown affect freight railroads?

This AskWaves article looks at how a U.S. federal government shutdown would affect freight rail operations and proposed rail safety and economic rulemakings.

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27 September
Joanna Marsh

Ohio senators seek public health emergency declaration for East Palestine

Declaring East Palestine, the town impacted by a Norfolk Southern train derailment, as the site of a public health emergency would allow area residents to have long-term access to Medicare, Ohio’s senators said in a letter to the EPA.

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Joanna Marsh

Norfolk Southern and Florida East Coast Railway expand intermodal offerings

Two Florida East Coast Railway terminals will gain access to Norfolk Southern’s network, and NS and FEC will use a steel wheel interchange in Jacksonville, Florida, which will bolster access to Midwest markets.

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Joanna Marsh

August volumes fall 28% from year-ago highs at Port of Savannah

The Georgia Ports Authority reported a dip in August volumes at the Port of Savannah. But volume increases for rail traffic and roll-on/roll-off cargo were bright sports for GPA last month.

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25 September
Joanna Marsh

Cincinnati voters to decide on sale of Cincinnati Southern Railway to NS

Cincinnati voters will determine on Nov. 7 who should own the Cincinnati Southern Railway, which is currently owned by a group affiliated with the city. The city wants to sell it to Norfolk Southern for $1.62 billion.

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Joanna Marsh

FRA awards more than $1.4B to short-line and passenger rail projects

The Federal Railroad Administration’s CRISI program for rail infrastructure projects awarded a record $1.4 billion to 70 projects across the U.S.

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22 September
Joanna Marsh

DOE-developed rail car for spent nuclear fuel undergoes final testing

DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy says Atlas rail car system has undergone final testing, while Minneapolis-based Thermo King introduced its next-generation temperature-controlled slimline rail unit.

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21 September
Joanna Marsh

Greenbrier nets most rail car orders ‘in nearly a decade’

Although U.S. rail volumes may still be sluggish, Greenbrier received orders for 15,300 new rail cars in its latest fiscal quarter. The orders have an aggregate value of $1.9 billion.

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Joanna Marsh

Equity must be considered in early stages of fleet electrification

Zeina El-Azzi, founder and CEO of Gage Zero, talks with FreightWaves’ Thomas Wasson about why logistics and trucking companies should seek to ensure that they are protecting local communities as they roll out fleet electrification plans.

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Joanna Marsh

Biden holding Norfolk Southern accountable for East Palestine recovery

President Joe Biden wants Norfolk Southern and federal agencies to stay involved in recovery efforts in East Palestine, Ohio, where an NS train carrying hazardous materials derailed on Feb. 3.

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Joanna Marsh

Progress Rail wants court to order Wabtec to sell GE Transportation

Progress Rail is asking a federal court to order Wabtec to divest of its GE Transportation unit, hold up its end of two agreements and correct statements it made about Progress Rail and its locomotive manufacturing program.

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20 September
Joanna Marsh

August record month at South Carolina’s Inland Port Greer

Although container volumes were down at the Port of Charleston year over year, South Carolina Ports’ Inland Port Greer saw record volumes in August.

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19 September
Joanna Marsh

BNSF and maintenance-of-way union reach sick leave agreement

BNSF and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division have struck a sick leave deal for union members.

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Joanna Marsh

Trac Intermodal CEO eyes continued growth for chassis industry

Although the U.S. supply chain may no longer be imperiled by the pandemic-era chassis shortage, companies should still act in response to expectations that e-commerce and global trade will only continue to grow, according to the president and CEO of Trac Intermodal.

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18 September
Joanna Marsh

‘Enough is enough’: Union calls for safety review after death of CSX carman

Rail union leaders want the industry to examine safety practices involving remote-controlled locomotives following the Sunday death of a railway carman at a CSX rail yard in Ohio.

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15 September
Joanna Marsh

Norfolk Southern to create executive role as part of safety revamp

Atkins Nuclear Secured released its initial findings on how Norfolk Southern can bolster its safety culture.

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