Railroad

CP and CN rail service at the Port of Vancouver could resume this week as mounting congestion and backlogs continue after devastating floods and landslides.

An anticipated rebound in volumes as supply chain kinks smooth out will be a theme in 2022, while customer-friendly technological applications will drive rail technology long term, Class I rail CEOs said in recent conferences.

A consultant’s figure exhibits the problem: Rail’s share of freight is where it was 12 years ago.

The state-of-the-art terminal has rail-to-truck transfer capacity domestic and international containers and deploys automated container handling.

Railway Supply Institute will install a new president after Thanksgiving, while two rail advocacy groups release survey results showing public support for rail.

The nation’s key railroad lobbying group did not like the original House infrastructure bill but has praise for the final product.

Rail-related provisions in the newly signed infrastructure bill span from federal grants to support infrastructure projects to studying the impacts of positive train control and train lengths.

The Port of Vancouver warns of terminal disruptions and vessel delays after flooding in British Columbia cuts off CN and CP rails.

The Surface Transportation Board is advancing two rulemakings on small rate disputes concurrently to determine how best to address such disputes. The railroads prefer one rulemaking while shippers prefer another.

Although customers may have pulled back from ordering in the third quarter, that pullback is temporary and customers will still need new railcars eventually, FreightCar America executives said during Monday’s third-quarter earnings call.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Georgia port officials are pulling every lever possible to reduce shipping delays that are having a national impact.

The board has said it plans to seek input on the environmental impacts of the CP-KCS merger; CSX’s planned acquisition of Pan Am Railways; Amtrak’s plan to restore its Gulf Coast service; and reciprocal switching.

The suspension would allow the July 2020 rule to be aligned with a separate and companion regulation currently being worked on by federal regulators.

FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller provides analysis regarding the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

SC Ports and the Virginia Port Authority are benefiting from customers seeking less congested ports, they said.

CSX defended its service record and its responsiveness to customer concerns to the Surface Transportation Board, which had sent CSX a letter in October saying that the board received complaints over the railroad’s recent performance.

Growing headcount and relieving supply chain congestion dominated Class I railroads’ third-quarter 2021 earnings commentaries — and these issues look poised to persist in Q4 and into 2022.

BNSF is suing four railroad unions over its ability to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. BNSF says it needs to comply with President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.

BNSF’s third-quarter net income rose 14%, to $1.5 billion, despite supply chain disruptions.

CSX and Norfolk Southern are asking the Surface Transportation Board to deny Amtrak’s request to restore U.S. Gulf Coast service between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans unless the passenger railroad agrees to pay for capital improvements to facilitate rail moves.