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!
The new service will provide a direct connection from the Port of Savannah to CSX’s intermodal terminal in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
After years of wrangling over the issue, the Surface Transportation Board has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on reciprocal switching that will seek to define the service parameters where a switching action could take place.
House Oversight Committee Republicans are accusing U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg of not acting on the DOT inspector general’s recommendations for improving aviation and rail safety.
Norfolk Southern and DrayNow will further develop technology for intermodal that provides real-time information on first- and last-mile movements.
Rail service for the 2023-2024 crop year in Canada is expected to be smooth — provided that weather conditions and unforeseen global events cooperate.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is temporarily suspending a 2020 rule that allows the transport of liquefied natural gas in specialized cryogenic tank cars.
A defect with the data storage system that Norfolk Southern uses may have caused NS’ primary and recovery data systems to become unresponsive, NS said Friday.
A decline in rail volumes has led Union Pacific to store locomotives — which in turn has led to furloughs of at least 94 employees, according to a union official.
Operations temporarily ceased in limited areas of CSX’s network as Hurricane Idalia swept through Florida and Georgia.
Jacksonville, Florida-based Gulf & Atlantic Railways is acquiring the Pioneer Valley Railroad in Massachusetts and operating the revamped Grenada Railroad.
The National Transportation Safety Board will focus on employee training methods and industry practices on clearance as it continues its investigation of an Aug. 6 conductor trainee fatality at a Maryland CSX rail yard.
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Norfolk Southern’s systems have been restored after an outage Monday. But the company says impacts could be felt for at least two weeks.
The Florida Legislature is providing $30 million for two new ship-to-shore cranes that Jaxport says will let more cargo move efficiently through the Port of Jacksonville.
Australia-headquartered Martinus is making its first North American acquisition — Missouri-based Bottom Line Co., a railroad contractor specializing in rail infrastructure maintenance.
Florida’s ports and Eastern freight railroads are preparing for Tropical Storm Idalia’s arrival.
The Association of American Railroads says a federal program in which employees can anonymously report safety concerns has the potential for misuse.
An anticipated decrease in grain exports and increase in domestic biofuels production could change U.S. freight railroads’ capacity needs in the coming years.
STG Logistics will extend its reach in Canada by offering “port-to-door” services in six new markets in addition to the Toronto and Montreal markets that it already serves.
NOPB has completed the expansion of the France Road rail yard, which will expand the short-line railroad’s capacity to switch, interchange and store rail cars.
