Railroad

Pioneer Lines, Kansas City Southern and Conrail have appointed new leaders.

“First Class I railroad in North America to issue green bonds,” Norfolk Southern shares plans for environmental projects.

Cass freight data released Wednesday shows shipments and expenditures surged again in April.

The U.S. Department of Transportation wants the Surface Transportation Board to take up Amtrak’s request asking to establish passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans.

Rivals Canadian Pacific and CN separately submit more statements of support to the Surface Transportation Board in a bid to show which Canadian railway is best suited to merge with Kansas City Southern.

Freight car and rail parts manufacturer National Steel Car is extending a suspension of operations at its facility Hamilton, Ontario, amid a local order and COVID-19 cases at the facility.

Tremelle Sykes allegedly filed false reports covering railyard companies in Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Cleburne, Gunter and Saginaw, Texas.

The Surface Transportation Board has approved the voting trust that Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern plan to make as part of the merger process between the two companies.

By either the standard of seasonal or not seasonal jobs, gains in employment are slow given the demand for drivers.

A market recovery is underway for railcar lessors and equipment manufacturers, but the market also has a ways to go before it bounces back completely, according to industry observations.

Steel and chemicals were among the commodities that showed volume strength in April, according to the Association of American Railroads. North American intermodal volumes grew 10.5% in the first quarter, said the Intermodal Association of North America.

Anticipated growth for intermodal will help to support Hub Group’s investments for that sector in 2021.

Billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the largest shareholder of Canadian railway CN, is giving 14.1 million shares of the company to soon-to-be ex-wife Melinda Gates.

Union Pacific to open an intermodal terminal in Southern California, Port of South Louisiana completes rail yard, plus two appointments: Michael McCarthy to become SMBC Rail Services president and CEO, and Karen Carriere joins Transportation Technology Center Inc. as executive director of technical services.

Amtrak must follow new on-time performance metrics starting July 1. Democratic congressional leaders and the Surface Transportation Board are looking at different ways to help Amtrak reach that goal. Amtrak and the freight railroads share track in certain U.S. regions.

CN and Canadian Pacific continue to campaign for the hearts and votes of Kansas City Southern stakeholders and the Surface Transportation Board.

Executives with parent company Berkshire Hathaway expect BNSF to take steps to protect the railroad’s franchise as the merger between Kansas City Southern and one of the Canadian railways makes its way through regulatory review.

Union Pacific is constructing a grain transload facility at its intermodal terminal near Chicago, while two U.S. senators introduce bipartisan legislation to form a grant program that aims to reduce highway-rail grade crossings.

The Biden administration has nominated Karen Hedlund to serve on the Surface Transportation Board.

Norfolk Southern aims to add longer trains, improve car velocity and provide more technological tools for customers and for safety inspections, with an eye toward future competition with autonomous trucks.