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!
Not to be outdone by CPKC, CN said it is partnering with Union Pacific and Grupo México to provide a new, cross-continent intermodal service that will seek more truck-to-rail conversions.
Unions representing locomotive engineers and train conductors are still working through some sticking points with railroads regarding work schedules, sources told FreightWaves.
Service improvements at CSX come as headcount levels are at “a good number,” officials said during the company’s first-quarter 2022 earnings call.
Schneider said Friday it will be a strategic intermodal carrier for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail line from Mexico to Chicago.
Union Pacific’s earnings guidance for the year is based on the assumption that a recession won’t occur, officials said during the railroad’s first-quarter 2023 earnings call Thursday.
BNSF is conducting further analysis on a piece of fractured rail from the March derailment of a BNSF train in Minnesota, according to an initial investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
SC Ports’ Inland Port Dillon handled record rail moves in March, although volumes for the port authority overall were down year over year.
Trammell Crow and CBRE Investment Management have acquired 192 acres in Arizona and are seeking companies interested in developing facilities on their rail-served site.
An industry trade group advisory questioning the safety of wheel sets manufactured by National Steel Car has been canceled, National Steel Car said.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City, or CPKC, marked its first day as the merged company of CP and KCS on Friday.
Rail service for chemical and agricultural shippers has gotten better, but further improvements could be made, according to two reports.
Parallel Systems is proceeding with the next step in its development of autonomous rail vehicles, which is to test having multiple vehicles strung together and see how these vehicles can integrate into the existing freight rail network.
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Rail car manufacturer Greenbrier posted gains in its second fiscal quarter net income amid revenue increases for its manufacturing, maintenance and leasing business segments.
The way that trains are configured might have factored into the derailments of six Class I trains over the past two years, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The truck transportation sector increased jobs in March, reversing a one-month decline in February.
A Nevada bill restricting train lengths has been introduced, while Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill that mandates freight train crew sizes of at least two people.
The Port of Virginia has plans to expand capacity at its inland port and at the Richmond Marine Terminal, while CSX has reached a sick leave agreement with another union group.
Democratic lawmakers from Pennsylvania and Ohio have introduced a second piece of legislation, the Railway Accountability Act.
Electricity generated from renewable sources outpaced coal-fired power generation for the first time last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
