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!
In this fireside chat for Global Supply Chain Week, FreightWaves’ rail and intermodal market expert Mike Baudendistel talks with Herman Haksteen, president of the Private Railcar Food and Beverage Association, about rail service issues and the rail car leasing market.
The Environmental Protection Agency has given Norfolk Southern a new order as the Ohio derailment cleanup transitions to longer-term remediation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has given the railroads a list of what safety actions they should undertake.
Union Pacific reached sick leave agreements with the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen over the weekend.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others have suggested the freight rail industry needs more regulation to ensure safe operations.
Four lawmakers from Illinois want the Surface Transportation Board to delay its decision on whether to approve the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern because of their concerns about the freight rail traffic projections used in STB’s environmental review.
As the United States focuses on the disaster unfolding in Ohio after the Norfolk Southern train derailment, here is a look back at some of the worst train disasters in history. The incidents highlight the importance of safety and infrastructure.
The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board weighed in on misinformation surrounding the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.
Norfolk Southern’s CEO said the railroad will continue to support the town of East Palestine, Ohio, as the investigation into the train derailment from two weeks ago continues.
A rail shipper analyzed SEC filings and found four institutional investors own about 20% of three Class I railroads and classify themselves as passive.
There are no federal requirements on the usage or maintenance of heat-detecting devices that have helped cut down on derailments.
APM Terminals Mobile has begun a $60 million rail expansion project at the Port of Mobile, Alabama.
Trade groups are supporting the reintroduction of a U.S. House bill to spur the industry to produce new rail cars or modernize existing ones through a tax credit.
One analyst expects Norfolk Southern will pay up to $50 million following its Ohio derailment — about 1.7% of its 2022 profits.
Two groups within the International Association of Machinists and Brotherhood of Railway Carmen have reached sick leave agreements with eastern U.S. railroad CSX.
Norfolk Southern told the EPA other chemicals besides vinyl chloride were released into the local environment in the Ohio train derailment.
A report commissioned by railway supply manufacturers suggests that direct and indirect contributions by the industry to U.S. GDP exceeded $75 billion in 2020.
Ocean carrier Zim will increase the frequency and size of ships used for its e-commerce Baltimore Express service.
The International Association of Machinists and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers have reached sick leave agreements with eastern U.S railroad CSX.
Union members are putting a spotlight on the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in Ohio, with the Transportation Trades Department calling for greater safety oversight from the Federal Railroad Administration.
Union calls for changes in sick leave policies came to a head this week between a press conference with Sen. Bernie Sanders and a union-adopted resolution calling for sick leave.
FreightWaves chatted with Wabtec’s Philip Moslener, who leads Wabtec’s advanced technologies team, about why companies should conduct research in hydrogen in locomotives.
Lanes between the Midwest and the Northeast could experience delays as a result of a fiery train derailment in Ohio last Friday.
New sick leave policies are in place at CSX for maintenance-of-way employees and railway carmen.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and Wabtec are in the middle of a four-year project aimed at developing a locomotive engine that can incorporate both diesel and hydrogen.
The annual revision to the BLS employment model showed a lot more workers in truck transportation last year than originally estimated.
Rail shippers see Transport Canada’s amendments to collect more freight rail data as a good start, but they maintain that more can be done.
Hub Group had higher revenue in its logistics, truck brokerage and intermodal segments during the fourth quarter.
The railway said it moved 2.29 million metric tons of Canadian grain and grain products in January, setting a monthly record.
Canadian Pacific is waiting for the Surface Transportation Board to render its decision on the proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. In the meantime, CP has been conducting interline tests to see how its service might compare to similar truck lanes.
A bill before the Iowa Legislature seeks to restrict the length of freight trains operating in the state to 8,500 feet.
A leading federal regulator says a merger between Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern would ratchet up rail noise.
Rail car manufacturer and lessor GATX sees a strong secondary market and continued demand for rail cars to help support the company this year.
The Surface Transportation Board recently took action on Union Pacific’s use of embargoes in the Midwest and rejected the Class I railroads’ request to delay a program related to smaller rate disputes.
Norfolk Southern and partnering companies were involved in 159 industrial development projects in 2022 worth $3.2 billion.
Like the other Class I railroads, CSX is bracing for macroeconomic headwinds in 2023. But continuing service improvements will lend support to the company, executives said during CSX’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
Inflation and other macroeconomic headwinds figure into Norfolk Southern’s projections for 2023. Volume growth is also a big unknown, executives said during NS’ fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call Wednesday.
CN will adjust its operating plan to run faster and potentially shorter trains and concentrate on courting customers where network capacity is available, executives said on the railway’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call.
On Union Pacific’s list of resolutions for 2023 are plans to improve rail service, enhance quality of life for craft employees and achieve productivity gains, according to executives on the railroad’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call Tuesday.
Eight U.S. representatives from Iowa and Minnesota want the Surface Transportation Board to require Union Pacific to fix service issues and lift weather-related embargoes in the region.
BNSF has set a $3.96 billion capital expenditures budget for 2023.
Union Pacific’s proposed testing of one-person crews is on hold because the program can’t proceed without negotiations between the railroad and affected union members.
South Carolina Ports moved nearly 2.8 million TEUs in 2022, the most in the state’s history.
Annual volumes at the Nova Scotia port exceeded 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units for the first time in its history.
2023 was a banner year for the Port of Virginia, with annual volumes higher year over year as more traffic went to East Coast ports.
Massachusetts-based RailState, founded by two rail industry veterans, seeks to provide customers with insights on where trains are located and a line segment’s performance over time.
FTR Transportation Intelligence expects a competitive truck market and port activity shift to put pressure on rail intermodal in 2023.
The railroads must work with other supply chain stakeholders and even consider sharing infrastructure in order to maintain an integral role within the broader freight transportation network, experts said at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting.
The U.S. Small Business Administration wants the Federal Railroad Administration to revise its analysis for the proposed train crew size rule, contending it “significantly understated” costs and the number of potentially affected businesses.
A first-ever strategy aimed specifically at decarbonizing transportation encourages maritime and rail over highway freight.
The East and Gulf coasts combined have overtaken the West Coast in port market share, but there are limitations the East needs to deal with, said panelists at a meeting of the Transportation Research Board.
Patriot Rail seals a deal; BNSF signs an MOU; Trinity strengthens its position; Port of Pasco secures project funding; Indiana Rail Road sets titles; and Hedlund succeeds Schulz as STB vice chair.
Reducing costs and shifting supply chain conditions were among the reasons why rail car manufacturer Greenbrier is ceasing production at its longtime Portland, Oregon, facility.
Four Class I railroads have asked the Surface Transportation Board and U.S. appeals courts to review an order that seeks to resolve small rate disputes through voluntary arbitration.
The number of truck transportation jobs rose in December, but following revisions of the earlier months, the fourth-quarter gain was minimal.
U.S. freight railroads moved fewer volumes in 2022 than 2021 amid declines in intermodal traffic, according to recent industry data.
The Surface Transportation Board wants Union Pacific to address service hiccups at California’s Foster Farms. Also, CN reports rail traffic controllers have ratified a new collective agreement.
An active Surface Transportation Board and ongoing issues to fully restore rail network capacity are among the issues that industry stakeholders are eyeing in the new year.
Rail service, an active Surface Transportation Board and continued M&A activity were among 2022’s news highlights.
Nineteen states plus the District of Columbia are supporting Ohio’s request for the Supreme Court to take up the issue of whether states have the regulatory authority to regulate railroad traffic, particularly when it comes to blocked crossings.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s report on precision scheduled railroading serves as a broad overview of how the freight rail industry has changed over the past decade.
A key freight rail bridge near the Port of New York and New Jersey is getting a replacement after 120 years.
The number of employees working for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads rose 4.4% year over year in November. But some of the employment data submitted to the board should be provided in a more user-friendly way, an attorney representing several unions said.
Major U.S. railroads have pushed for years to eliminate the in-cab conductor role. But unions think the cost-cutting rule could undermine safety.
Miki Shifman, co-founder and chief technology officer for Israeli company Cylus, discusses the cybersecurity landscape for freight and passenger rail operations worldwide.
Pennsylvania has awarded $26 million to 24 freight rail improvement projects, while technology provider RailState completes coverage of the Canadian rail network and Alterra IOS acquires industrial facilities for $86 million.
The STB has rendered decisions on two rules aimed at helping the railroads and shippers resolve small rate disputes.
Following last week’s hearing on embargoes before the Surface Transportation Board, Union Pacific has decided to pause the program. Meanwhile, the board is considering what it can do to encourage rail volume growth.
Union Pacific has been recognized for sustainability practices. Commtrex and Railinc are working together to develop a product aimed at using data to simplify rail movements.
The Federal Railroad Administration heard starkly different opinions from some railroads and unions about whether the agency should mandate freight train crews of at least two people.
Shippers testified before the Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday about how embargoes affect their operations.
Class I railroads CSX, CN, CP and KCS tout recognition for their sustainability efforts, while rail technology provider Wabtec gets a nod for its battery-electric locomotive.
The unions and the freight railroads must repair their relationship and collaborate on improving service if the industry wants to thrive and take more market share, observers told FreightWaves.
STB Chairman Marty Oberman told UP it didn’t provide enough information on its embargo practices ahead of a two-day hearing next week.
America’s freight railroads descended into chaos this year. Their best way out might be reconsidering their operational style — but Wall Street might not approve.
Regional Rail, which is backed by United Kingdom investment firm 3i Infrastructure, is acquiring three short-line railroads from Agracel Rail Holdings.
Telegraph says $10 million in funding will help the rail technology company serve its customers better as well as reach its broader goal of making rail more accessible to shippers via data visibility.
Norfolk Southern plans to pursue other measures than furloughs to get through market downturns, and two activist investors press NS and Union Pacific to address paid sick leave.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has awarded two $1.5 million grants to projects that seek to improve or modernize short-line rail infrastructure.
Stakeholders are processing their responses to federal actions this week to avert a potential economy-crippling rail strike.
It wasn’t a large gain, but truck transportation jobs in November continued an almost unbroke upward trend of gains since the worst of the pandemic.
Four out of 12 unions voted no on the White House-brokered tentative agreement. Now, they will have to accept the contract.
The Senate voted 80-15 to intervene on a potential rail strike. The bill does not mandate seven days of paid sick leave.
The Senate will likely vote Thursday to end any possibility of a legal rail strike. But a “wildcat” strike could still happen.
Lack of sick pay is a sticking point among railroaders on both sides of the debate over the tentative deal, but Congress could change that.
A rail strike could lift spot truckload prices and support a market that’s been soft, sources said. But should a strike continue, expect congestion and higher costs.
What’s it like to ride a historic locomotive? Go behind-the-scenes during FreightWaves’ ride on the No. 4014.
The House of Representatives voted 290-137 to intervene on a potential rail strike. It also voted to guarantee seven days of paid sick leave.
Congress is poised to pass a bill that will thwart a rail strike. But some lawmakers are breaking rank to call for an amendment that rail workers agree with.
If a prolonged rail worker strike happens, expect cross-border commodities such as cars, auto parts and Mexican beer to be bogged down.
CN and Norfolk Southern announce leadership changes. Transport Canada looks to fund projects aimed at promoting climate resiliency for rail infrastructure.
President Joe Biden is compelling Congress to intervene if there is a rail strike — and hinting that both sides should accept the labor agreement as it stands.
In a letter sent Monday to legislative leaders, trade groups warn of a financial disaster should a railroad strike occur on Dec. 9.
The U.S Government Accountability Office says the Federal Railroad Administration could do more to increase the participation of railroads in a program geared toward addressing the root causes of close calls in the workplace.
Is a rail strike imminent? Here are five things that might help you understand how we got here.
The Surface Transportation Board wants to know why Union Pacific has been issuing hundreds of embargoes since 2018.
Amtrak and other stakeholders are asking the Surface Transportation Board to hold off on a November hearing on Amtrak’s request to restore Gulf Coast service because of a potential settlement.
A potential rail strike in the coming weeks has echoes of the infamous railroad strike of 1877, but with hopefully much less dire consequences. (Photo: AP/Gene J. Puskar)
Norfolk Southern has announced plans to acquire the Cincinnati Southern Railway while BNSF has opened a bridge in Idaho meant to ease bottlenecks.
One railroad union has voted to ratify its labor agreement while another has split its vote, raising the prospect of a rail strike.
Canadian government official introduces new legislation that represents the culmination of multiyear efforts to address port funding and railway safety needs.
