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!
Colonial Terminals plans to expand its breakbulk operations along the Savannah River in Georgia. The company recently acquired land that’s adjacent to its current facility and to Norfolk Southern’s network.
Three groups representing state and local governments have asked Senate leaders to move forward with debate on the rail safety bill.
Calls to remove Surface Transportation Board Chairman Marty Oberman are misguided in light of regulatory efforts that Oberman and the current board have undertaken, labor groups tell President Joe Biden.
The Association of American Railroads has outlined eight ways that the freight rail industry and the federal government can work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Passenger rail advocates call for swift action to resolve Amtrak’s substandard on-time performance for its Sunset Limited service. But freight rail supporters say better data is needed to assess what the problems are.
CPKC seeks to extend or make permanent a waiver that allows the railway to dispatch trains for three locations at its Calgary office.
The Federal Railroad Administration is planning to expand its assessment of safety culture to include all of the Class I railroads, the agency’s head said recently.
A federal court in Canada sided with union members and determined that Canadian Pacific had failed to adequately limit the number of hours that train crews worked in a number of instances in 2018 and 2019.
Canadian railway CN is monitoring wildfires across several provinces and is adjusting operations as needed.
The Mexican government is offering incentives to attract investors to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec global trade hub project.
Iron Senergy will use three autonomous rail cars manufactured by Intramotev on a 17-mile line between its Cumberland mine and a western Pennsylvania facility.
Union Pacific and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have reached a deal that will provide locomotive engineers with up to seven days of paid sick leave.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo has vetoed a bill that would have restricted freight train lengths to 7,500 feet. State union representatives said they will continue to press legislators on the issue.
Norfolk Southern and yardmasters affiliated with SMART-TD have struck a tentative deal on sick leave.
The Federal Railroad Administration has doled out more than $570 million in funding for projects designed to reduce or eliminate highway-grade crossings.
Technology might not be the only thing causing the freight rail industry to pivot. The industry’s relationships with its workforce and its customers might also be transitioning, suggested some speakers at the North American Rail Shippers conference.
How industry stakeholders are responding to efforts to legislate rail safety reforms was one of the themes percolating at the recent North American Rail Shippers annual conference.
Two regulations proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration call for freight railroads to create programs to certify train dispatchers and signal employees.
Union Pacific’s expanded service allows ocean carriers and BCOs to utilize on-dock rail at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal at Port Houston.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City is adding 1,000 refrigerated intermodal containers to its Mexico railroad business.
Surface Transportation Board Chair Marty Oberman at a national rail shippers conference urged the railroads to increase their employee levels as a way to improve rail service.
BNSF is offering additional sick leave days to some members allifated with SMART-TD.
Rail has been featured in movies, television, radio and all forms of entertainment since the beginning of trains. We collaborated to narrow down a list of some of our favorite movies that are related to trains.
Navajo Transitional Energy Co. is asking the Surface Transportation Board to declare an emergency service order that would compel BNSF to ship more export coal from the company.
Union Pacific and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have struck a deal that addresses how train engineers might have a better work-life balance.
NS employees received a letter signed by President and CEO Alan Shaw and the presidents of 12 unions pledging collaboration to improve rail safety.
The unions blast the Class I railroads’ public statements on the railroads’ efforts to bolster employee head count in a filing to the Surface Transportation Board.
BNSF will expand intermodal service offerings between Alliance, Texas, and its facility at the Port of Houston, which could benefit the markets of Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver.
Rail service may have improved but that shouldn’t relieve the Surface Transportation Board from pursuing shipper-friendly regulatory reforms, shippers say.
Norfolk Southern and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have reached a deal over sick leave.
The Surface Transportation Board is grappling with fallout from its March decision to approve the CP-KCS merger. Three progressive groups want STB Chairman Marty Oberman stripped of his role, while western Chicago suburbs have filed a lawsuit against the board.
The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO wants Congress to pass a rail safety bill that addresses train crew sizes, train lengths and inspection times.
Kennan Beard, president of the California Short Line Railroad Association and president and CEO of the Sierra Northern Railway, talks to FreightWaves about why he thinks CARB’s new regulation governing locomotive emissions isn’t well thought out.
Intramotev will use the $200,000 grant to test and deploy three self-propelled rail cars in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in late 2023.
A hearing held by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on freight rail supply chain challenges focused on a range of topics.
The Senate Commerce Committee passed the Railway Safety Act, sending the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. But will it have smooth sailing?
Canadian Pacific Kansas City is building its intermodal service between points in the U.S. Midwest and Mexico, announcing a new daily service that aims to take away market share from trucks.
Fuels feedstock manufacturer Oleo-X has a new production facility on CSX’s network in Mississippi.
Higher expenses and lower carload volumes contributed to a year-over-year dip in BNSF’s net profits for the first quarter.
Union Pacific wants a federal court to review STB’s approval of the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.
Shippers want Congress to expand FMC’s power over rail storage fees, but shipping lines say the power is already in the hands of the STB.
Truck transportation jobs rose in April, defying the worst forecasts from the freight recession.
CPKC and Canadian coal producer Teck Resources’ new service agreement includes a pilot program in which CPKC will test out its hydrogen locomotives to transport Teck’s coal.
Reduced North American rail traffic isn’t dampening the outlook for these rail equipment manufacturers and rail car lessors.
In the wake of the East Palestine train derailment, Congress is poised to take action to improve rail safety. Here’s how they can do it.
Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern need to go further in improving rail service, according to a Surface Transportation Board decision requiring the railroads to submit service performance reports.
Maritime and logistics services company Crowley and Canadian railway CN have joined in a new service that will connect Canada, the Midwest and the Gulf Coast of Mexico.
Union members working for CSX and CN said they have ratified labor agreements with their employers.
FreightWaves discussed with Railroad Workers United organizer Ron Kaminkow what craft union employees need from the railroads to improve morale.
Norfolk Southern and SMART-TD, the union group representing train conductors that work at NS, have reached a tentative agreement that addresses scheduling issues and sick leave.
The impact of the movement of trade to the East Coast and Gulf ports can no longer be denied in the railroad data.
The California Air Resources Board has passed a regulation that compels freight and locomotive operators in California to adopt technologies to reduce locomotive emissions and phase out diesel locomotives.
Hub Group had year-over-year revenue declines in its intermodal and logistics segments during the first quarter.
FRA has issued a safety advisory asking freight railroads to be aware of the operational adjustments that must be made when they deploy longer trains.
The partnerships with the two truck carriers for intermodal service will create new business opportunities for all three companies, CPKC officials said during the company’s first-quarter 2023 earnings call.
The California Air Resources Board is expected to discuss this week a proposed regulation calling for zero-emissions locomotives by 2030 and 2035.
Norfolk Southern is adjusting how it configures trains in response to the February East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. That will help the company improve productivity later this year, officials said during the railroad’s first-quarter 2023 earnings call Wednesday.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad announced a deal with Knight-Swift Transportation to provide intermodal capacity for a Mexico-to-Chicago train.
Not to be outdone by CPKC, CN said it is partnering with Union Pacific and Grupo México to provide a new, cross-continent intermodal service that will seek more truck-to-rail conversions.
Unions representing locomotive engineers and train conductors are still working through some sticking points with railroads regarding work schedules, sources told FreightWaves.
Service improvements at CSX come as headcount levels are at “a good number,” officials said during the company’s first-quarter 2022 earnings call.
Schneider said Friday it will be a strategic intermodal carrier for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail line from Mexico to Chicago.
Union Pacific’s earnings guidance for the year is based on the assumption that a recession won’t occur, officials said during the railroad’s first-quarter 2023 earnings call Thursday.
BNSF is conducting further analysis on a piece of fractured rail from the March derailment of a BNSF train in Minnesota, according to an initial investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
SC Ports’ Inland Port Dillon handled record rail moves in March, although volumes for the port authority overall were down year over year.
Trammell Crow and CBRE Investment Management have acquired 192 acres in Arizona and are seeking companies interested in developing facilities on their rail-served site.
An industry trade group advisory questioning the safety of wheel sets manufactured by National Steel Car has been canceled, National Steel Car said.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City, or CPKC, marked its first day as the merged company of CP and KCS on Friday.
Rail service for chemical and agricultural shippers has gotten better, but further improvements could be made, according to two reports.
Parallel Systems is proceeding with the next step in its development of autonomous rail vehicles, which is to test having multiple vehicles strung together and see how these vehicles can integrate into the existing freight rail network.
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Rail car manufacturer Greenbrier posted gains in its second fiscal quarter net income amid revenue increases for its manufacturing, maintenance and leasing business segments.
The way that trains are configured might have factored into the derailments of six Class I trains over the past two years, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The truck transportation sector increased jobs in March, reversing a one-month decline in February.
A Nevada bill restricting train lengths has been introduced, while Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill that mandates freight train crew sizes of at least two people.
The Port of Virginia has plans to expand capacity at its inland port and at the Richmond Marine Terminal, while CSX has reached a sick leave agreement with another union group.
Democratic lawmakers from Pennsylvania and Ohio have introduced a second piece of legislation, the Railway Accountability Act.
Electricity generated from renewable sources outpaced coal-fired power generation for the first time last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The Federal Railroad Administration is taking action on a proposed rule that would provide hazmat train crews with safety equipment that would protect them from breathing in hazardous fumes in the event of an accident.
The partnership between both companies will help companies that might need to comply with additional safety regulations down the road, the head of IntelliTrans told FreightWaves.
The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, has filed a lawsuit against NS to ensure the railroad pays for the cleanup at the site of the Feb. 3 Ohio train derailment.
Four rail cars caught fire when a BNSF train 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis derailed early Thursday morning. The incident spurred an evacuation of area residents within a half-mile of the scene.
The Natural Resources Defense Council wants the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Association to prohibit the transport of LNG by rail unless a company receives a special permit.
Rail car manufacturer FreightCar America is eyeing opportunities to manufacture tank cars that would carry nonflammable materials should its competitors be busy manufacturing DOT-117 tank cars.
For railroads to increase market share and grow volume, it will require new services and a very different mentality on service performance.
Union Pacific will hold off on plans to redeploy the train conductor from the locomotive cab to grounds-based work, according to a tentative agreement between UP and SMART-TD.
Norfolk Southern and SMART-TD are tabling discussions about how to handle conductor redeployments as congressional lawmakers want more information about what rail safety initiatives should become law.
CSX inks another sick leave deal with a union, Greenbrier releases some preliminary Q2 results and Norfolk Southern adds two executive roles to its marketing division.
Rail is dominated by just a few large players. A new merger is going to make the industry even more consolidated. Some farmers are worried.
Union Pacific is the latest railroad to set an agreement with several unions granting workers paid sick days.
The National Transportation Safety Board has published preliminary findings on two recent Norfolk Southern incidents.
Although February volumes at SC Ports were down 13% year over year, they still represented the second-highest total for the month in port history.
Canadian railway CN and the union Unifor have reached a tentative collective deal, thus averting a potential strike. BNSF and Canadian Pacific also have reached agreements.
CSX makes changes to its operational team and beefs up its industrial development program, while Norfolk Southern reaches another sick leave agreement with a union. Also, RailState names a former BNSF executive to its advisory board.
A law firm specializing in stockholder rights wants Norfolk Southern investors to join a class-action lawsuit over precision scheduled railroading. The firm says certain PSR practices compromised safety and depressed NS stock prices.
Two congressional representatives from Ohio have introduced a rail safety bill that they say would build off of NTSB’s findings into the cause of the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.
Canadian Pacific laid out who will be in key leadership roles after the company merges with Kansas City Southern in April.
Shippers and others weigh in on the Surface Transportation Board approving the railroad merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.
The Surface Transportation Board has approved merger plans between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads.
The International Association of Machinists and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen have each reached sick leave agreements with Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC).
