Railroads continue to play a significant role in North America’s economic infrastructure. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. rail freight network covers almost 140,000 route miles and is generally considered the largest, safest, and most cost-efficient freight system in the world. In addition, says the FRA, the almost $80 billion rail freight industry creates more than 167,000 jobs across the country.
In essence, rail freight companies charge businesses to carry cargo across their network of rails. Their rates are overseen by the Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency that regulates financial aspects of surface transportation. Major railroads in North America include Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National Railway.
Keep up with the latest news, trends and reports concerning rail freight transport here!
Weekly U.S. rail volume showed a solid increase for the seven days ending July 27, with overall traffic up 5.3% over the same period a year earlier.
– With labor negotiations at a standstill, a Canadian rail strike is likely to occur in late August, Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel said Tuesday.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City had a gangbuster second quarter as
merger-related traffic synergies kicked in faster than expected and boosted revenue and profits,
executives said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Justice Department is taking Norfolk Southern to court, alleging the railroad’s delays of Amtrak’s Crescent violate federal law.
Canadian National’s operations are returning to normal through Jasper, Alberta, where wildfires devastated part of the town and shut down rail traffic last week.
Norfolk Southern highlights ways it’s creating sustainable growth through investments in people and technology.
A key port in New Jersey is adopting propane as a preferred fuel for the vehicles that move around its property.
Before the U.S. Marine Corps veteran, lawyer and author of Hillbilly Elegy was a contender for VP, Vance took the national spotlight as one of three Senate Republicans and three Senate Democrats to introduce The Railway Safety Act of 2023.
Former Kansas City Southern CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer — who led the cross-border railroad through turmoil over free trade, the transition to a Precision Scheduled Railroad operating model, and its historic merger with Canadian Pacific — died over the weekend. He was in his mid-60s.
Canadian National reopened its main line through Jasper, Alberta, this morning and began moving a backlog of traffic that had built up this week while wildfires threatened and ultimately engulfed part of the resort town.
Operational improvements helped Norfolk Southern win back service-sensitive intermodal and automotive traffic while driving down costs and boosting the railroad’s profitability in the second quarter.
Union Pacific’s profits rose in the second quarter despite a sharp drop in coal traffic.
U.S. rail traffic was again ahead of 2023 levels for the week ending July 20, 2024, with overall volume up 1.4% compared to the same week last year, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads.
Canadian National was able to reopen its main line through Jasper, Alberta, this afternoon while keeping a close eye on a pair of wildfires that have been threatening the resort town.
Legislators used a House subcommittee hearing on railroad safety Tuesday to highlight a new rail safety bill. But committee members and witnesses including regulators, union representatives, and the House member representing East Palestine questioned the rail industry’s own safety efforts.
xCanadian National today lowered its financial outlook for the year as volume growth slowed during the second quarter due to slumping lumber traffic and the impact of shippers diverting international intermodal containers to U.S. ports in anticipation of a potential rail strike in Canada.
U.S. and Canadian railroads appear to be relatively unaffected by the global tech outage that grounded flights and disrupted businesses today, although Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City were experiencing some computer issues.
For the week ending July 13, total U.S. volume was 483,806 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 1.3% over the same week in a year ago.
Joni Casey, president and CEO of the Intermodal Association of North America, announced Wednesday that she will retire at the end of 2024.
Canada Industrial Relations Board will determine if some shipments must continue even during work stoppage.
