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!
A panoply of socioeconomic factors are weighing on rail freight, as the economy wrestles with signs of strength and uncertainty, a new analysis finds.
Border agents recently seized $31 million worth of narcotics from commercial shipments in Texas, Michigan, Ontario, and Quebec.
A proposed private passenger train will make the Los Angeles to New York City trip in less than 72 hours – and carry tractor-trailers and their drivers.
That light at the end of the rail merger tunnel is becoming an oncoming investment express.
Surface Transportation Board moves to expedite delayed cases, some of which have languished for years.
The Port of Los Angeles expects to boost exports from a rail-served logistics park in California’s Central Valley.
Bipartisan legislation would limit the number of hours for employees supervising traffic flow in railroad yards.
Rail traffic was flat in the latest week data as softening demand for China imports likely hit intermodal volumes.
Shippers can book, track and trace, and get improved freight car visibility through a new tech partnership.
Republicans and Democrats split over automated track inspection systems and Federal Railroad Administration safety regulations
The Trump administration’s proposed new regulatory enforcement policy could make railroads less accountable, unions assert.
Agri-business giant Louis Dreyfus has been selected to operate the multimodal grain terminal at Indiana’s Lake Michigan port.
CPKC foresees July return to normal service after a botched computer system cutover on former Kansas City Southern.
The National Institutes of Health plans the first comprehensive research project to study the long-term health effects of the 2023 rail disaster in East Palestine, Ohio.
U.S. rail traffic was down for a second straight week y/y, the first back-to-back decline this year after 15 straight weeks ahead of 2024 levels.
A letter from the STB chairman says customers continue to report problems in southern US, requests details of ‘concrete steps’ to recover.
Duration Capital Partners said it has invested $600 million in short line railroad operator Watco Cos.
BNSF and CSX hauled a trainload of tanks and other military equipment to Washington for the Army’s 250th birthday parade.
As tariff talk cools, intermodal carriers are becoming more upbeat.
Chicago, Il. — The Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger has gone smoothly over the past two years — until a long-planned computer system cutover last month in former Kansas City Southern territory in the U.S. CPKC Chief Operating Officer Mark Redd says the cutover — during which CP’s operations system replaced the old KCS system […]
