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!
Class I freight railroad CSX has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to continue its antitrust lawsuit against Norfolk Southern.
The Thanksgiving holiday once again made for a big change in U.S. weekly rail traffic. This time, that change was negative.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has recused himself from the pending case involving the Uinta Basin Railway, which is set to be argued before the court next week.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel is confident that free trade will continue in North America despite President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada.
Radiant Logistics has acquired intermodal marketing company TCB Transportation.
Intermodal continued to outpace carloads, according to the latest data from the Association of American Railroads.
Port of LA-Long Beach short line Pacific Harbor Line has won partial federal funding toward the purchase of zero-emission locomotives.
President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada could have a chilling impact on cross-border rail traffic, which has been one of the few sources of volume growth for North American Class I railroads.
Short line and regional railroads are polishing their entrepreneurial skills as they prospect for new customers and solidify links to Class 1s.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services is hopeful that Western rail service will improve, allowing it to layer higher contract pricing across record intermodal volumes.
While railroads for years have talked about growth, the head of a major short line says it’s high time they embraced enterprisewide technology that’s reshaping the transportation industry.
At a leading rail conference, two railroad CEOs seek to define what service is all about.
The U.S. Class I railroads have turned the corner on service and resiliency and are poised for volume growth for the first time in years.
The Surface Transportation Board has taken Union Pacific to task for an ongoing lack of cooperation in a new decision on the railroad’s effort to construct a 6-mile rail line in Arizona’s Maricopa and Pinal counties.
Norfolk Southern will add a new member to its board of directors — the 14th overall and 13th independent director — under a “cooperation agreement” with shareholder Ancora Holdings, NS announced Thursday.
U.S. rail traffic continued its pattern for most of 2024 in the week ending Nov. 9, with strong intermodal growth leading to an overall gain compared to 2023.
Smaller railroads have received $2.6 billion for more than 220 projects since the inception of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant program.
Market demand for a range of railcar types boosted revenue and deliveries for FreightCar America in the third quarter, and the builder revised its guidance upward for fiscal 2024.
Schneider National announced it will begin an intermodal service connecting Mexico and Texas with the U.S. Southeast next month.
BNSF Railway, CSX, and Union Pacific filed lawsuits against the Federal Railroad Administration today for its failure to act on a half dozen safety waiver requests that in some cases would allow railroads to scale back visual inspections in areas where they have deployed new high-tech train and track inspection systems.
