The Federal Railroad Administration has established a Climate Challenge initiative, which is targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the industry by 2050.

Class I railroads’ offer of advance payments is rebuffed by one union as contract talks continue.

Los comentarios sobre la norma propuesta deben presentarse antes del 23 de mayo

The Surface Transportation Board wants ‘act on its own initiative’ to modify rules governing its response to service emergencies

This week’s rail news roundup includes CSX’s to offer SMART-TD members advance payments to improve relations and Wabtec’s latest acquisition.

FreightWaves’ Danny Gomez chats with Convoy CEO Dan Lewis and Generational Investment Management partner Joy Tuffield about the numerous benefits that come when competing companies collaborate on sustainability.

Norfolk Southern Chief Sustainability Officer Josh Raglin chats with Tyler Cole of FreightWaves about the ways that the freight rail industry is helping stakeholders adopt sustainable practices.

Precision scheduled railroading will help the western U.S. railroad recover service more efficiently, UP executives argue.

The eastern U.S. railroad says its hiring initiative is going well.

The U.S. railcar lessor doesn’t expect the war in Ukraine to impact company profits, but the conflict is affecting operations in Poland.

As investors and rail stakeholders digest the Class I railroads’ first-quarter 2022 financial results, discussions about service metrics, crews and capacity, and inflation could creep into earnings calls.

The U.S. Maritime Administration issued a final environmental impact statement for the Pier B on-dock rail facility at Long Beach and approved the project.

The Sweeteners Users Association asks federal regulators to address rail service issues, plus news from Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and Commtrex.

The Surface Transportation Board gives the green light for CSX to acquire Pan Am Railways.

Illinois-based CF Industries says UP’s plan would hamper CF Industries’ ability to deliver fertilizer during the spring application season.

If UP and customers can’t reduce the number of active railcars on the network, the railroad may temporarily resort to metering.

The letter sent by the National Grain and Feed Association to regulators about subpar rail service is finding support among other rail industry stakeholders.

SC Ports handled 264,334 TEUs in March, up 6% year-over-year.

The Class I railroads say they have been trying to improve service, which has deteriorated amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Surface Transportation Board questions whether headcount reductions come into play.

Democratic leaders urge the Federal Railroad Administration to act on worker fatigue, while the Port of Montreal’s new container terminal will be served by rail.

March volumes at the Port of Virginia were the highest yet for 2022.

The Western European and North American railcar markets could benefit from shifting global markets due to the invasion of Ukraine, executives said during Greenbrier’s second fiscal quarter earnings call.

The evidentiary hearing before the Surface Transportation Board, which was originally scheduled for two days, will likely tack on two more days as the board collects lots of data and testimony over how Amtrak’s service could affect freight and port operations.

The union coalition calls on federal agencies and railroads to ensure attendance policies don’t result in overly fatigued locomotive engineers and train conductors.

Large-scale real estate developer Focus Equities will oversee the construction. Its head explained to FreightWaves why Winnipeg is a prime location for customers.

FreightWaves rounds up recent freight rail-related news items.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wants the Surface Transportation Board to move forward with proceedings that would address rail service for grain and agricultural products shippers.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released the results of its investigation into a fatal February 2019 grain train derailment. But Canadian Pacific refutes some of the findings.

Near-term deployment of long-term technologies such as automation isn’t as far away as one might think.

The sustained year-over-year gains propel the Georgia Ports Authority to expedite more than $538 million in funding for projects aimed at increasing capacity at the Port of Savannah.

The National Grain and Feed Association is asking the Surface Transportation Board to compel three Class I railroads to provide weekly and annual service updates.

The new container cranes will enable the terminal to accommodate multiple ultra-large container vessels simultaneously.

Four Class I railroads have donated funds to support humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine and surrounding areas. Also, U.S. and European rail sector officials form a task force to support Ukrainian freight and passenger rail.

Short line operator G&W and Class I railroad BNSF announce their industrial development results for 2021.

BLET and SMART-TD have decided to pursue binding arbitration in front of a third-party board instead of an appeal.

With Wabtec’s help, NS will retrofit locomotives so that they can last 20 more years.

The railcar manufacturer sees elevated scrapping levels and higher leasing rates.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for federal, state and local governments to develop inland ports to improve network flows, say stakeholders.

American Made Chassis, an alliance of LB Steel and Integrated Industries, will build the chassis at an Illinois facility.

The board held a two-day hearing on reciprocal switching to help it determine how it should move forward.

The railway has issued a 72-hour notice to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that it would lock out its members from working starting Sunday should labor agreement negotiations fail.

CP and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference are still in talks over a new labor agreement. The union had said earlier this month that a strike could occur as early as Wednesday.

The second-generation carbon calculator helps customers and shippers gauge the carbon emissions their shipments produced.

Calls for the Canadian government to head off a strike at Canadian Pacific are coming from both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

The North American rail system can learn a lot from the Europeans as both seek to incorporate battery and autonomous technologies into their freight rail networks.

The Surface Transportation Board will hold a two-day hearing on reciprocal switching next week. Here is some background on the issue.

SC Ports has seen record container volumes for 12 months straight.

Congress should fund the Surface Transportation Board, agreed panelists at a U.S. House hearing on the board’s funding reauthorization. But they disagree on what STB’s role should be in regulating the freight railroads.

Ocean liner Zim will include the Port of Boston in a China-Vietnam trade route.

Canadian Pacific is launching an international intermodal service between Mexico and Chicago, while state DOTs and Amtrak say a $31 million federal grant will add to existing passenger rail service and improve freight efficiency.

Union Pacific will test B20 biodiesel and R55 renewable diesel on the locomotives that it acquired from Wabtec. The western U.S. railroad also said it reduced fuel consumption for three years in a row.

The new facility will reduce wait times and port congestion, according to Transport Canada.

The donation will help relief efforts in Poland.

Bill Ackman, Pershing Square founder and CEO, has been acquiring shares of Canadian Pacific, according to SEC filings and news reports.

Amtrak limits Acela and Northeast regional service.

The vast majority of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference members working for Canadian Pacific agreed to conduct a work stoppage should negotiations fail.

TRAC Intermodal establishes a partnership with startup incubator ZEBOX; OminiTRAX subsidiary NSR of northern Ohio gets a battery-electric locomotive; and Missouri-based Jaguar starts operations in St. Louis.

Access to interchanges, treatment of American grain shippers compared to Canadian ones and service impacts weigh on shippers’ minds as they evaluate the proposed merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

North American rail equipment manufacturers have customers and offices in the region, and they’re assessing what steps to take next as the situation unfolds.

CN and three other Class I railroads outlined to the Surface Transportation Board conditions that should be met before the board approves a merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

The South Atlantic Chassis Pool 3.0, will be ready in October 2023 and will have 60,000 chassis available.

Tekorius has also served as COO and CFO for the railcar manufacturer, among other roles.

Despite a 3% decrease in overall volumes, BNSF’s net income was $1.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021.

Georgia Ports Authority outlined projects that would take container capacity to 9.5 million TEUs by 2025.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine this week has caused uncertainty not just for the energy markets but also for global agricultural trade.

The railroad says it is taking steps to grow capacity, both on its network and in places where more volumes need to push through, such as Charleston, South Carolina.

A U.S. district court determined that objections by two unions over BNSF’s new attendance standards qualify as being a minor dispute under federal law, meaning that it would be illegal for the unions to strike over the issue.

Eight Chicago-area communities say a merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern would result in more freight traffic and an increased likelihood of blocked crossings stemming from longer trains.

The Surface Transportation Board wants more details about the concessions that BNSF and CN are seeking as Canadian Pacific acquires Kansas City Southern.

Five takeaways on the precedent-setting Surface Transportation Board proceeding that could define how U.S. freight railroads navigate requests to expand passenger rail service on freight rail networks.

FreightWaves market expert Mike Baudendistel chats with Harris Ligon, co-founder and CEO of a stealth startup, about how recent growth trends for industrial production in North America will affect rail volumes and equipment availability.

Railcar leasing could be on the upswing for a number of car types, executives for railcar lessor Trinity Industries said during the company’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call on Thursday.

Adjusted earnings per diluted share increases 20.4% to $1.18.

Ceres Terminals will lease, operate and modernize the TraPac Jacksonville terminal in a $60 million deal.

The rail district, a public-private partnership with Merced County, will serve agricultural producers in the region.

Harbor Trucking Association CEO Matt Schrap chats with FreightWaves rail and intermodal market expert Mike Baudendistel about the challenges that the West Coast drayage community faced in 2021 and what stakeholders need to do to overcome those challenges this year.

The company, which seeks to create autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles, will use the funding to support a 29-month advanced testing program of its technology.

The Ambassador Bridge has been cleared of protesters.

The North American railroads engage in cross-border movements too. So why hasn’t the vaccine mandate erupted into protests over cross-border rail operations in the same way trucking has? This AskWaves article explores that question.

A BNSF employee was fatally injured at the Globeville rail yard on Wednesday.

Teamsters Canada Rail Conference is polling members on whether it should call a strike at Canadian Pacific.

The Port of Savannah has seen monthly port records for the past 18 months.

Record earnings per share of $2.48 beat analysts’ estimates.

January marks the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year container records, according to SC Ports.

High scrapping rates and aging fleets provide support for railcar manufacturing as the company anticipates 2022 financial results that won’t be “obscured by restructuring activities.”

Union Pacific CFO Jennifer Hamann talks supply chain labor shortages and the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger at investment firm Stifel’s transportation and logistics conference.

La policía de Ottawa dice que arrestará a las personas que ayuden a los manifestantes

The Canadian government will be working with stakeholders and labor to implement its version of PTC, called enhanced train control.

With protests showing no signs of easing up, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency Sunday for his city.

DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy and the Navy have been collaborating to construct and test what could be North America’s safest railcar — one that would carry nuclear fuel that had been used by power plants.

From executive transitions at Union Pacific and Pacific West to January rail volumes to new offerings in the MoW lessor space, here are some news items rounding out the week.

Two rail unions have sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Martin Walsh criticizing the attendance policies of BNSF and other Class I railroads.

Paul Titterton will become president of GATX’s Rail North America division and Scott Pelkey has assumed the role of CFO of CSX.

Railcar orders rose more than 50% in the fourth quarter, according to the Railway Supply Institute.

The investments rely on expectations that customers will want easy or green access to railroads’ intermodal offerings.

UP will examine the locomotives’ performance at its yards and in California and Nebraska and see how the locomotives can be deployed for long-haul service.

Members of BLET and SMART-TD plan to continue pursuing legal action despite a federal judge’s temporary restraining order barring them from striking.

A Mexican government crackdown has shifted volumes of refined products to truck instead of rail. But KCS hopes for that traffic to return to rail, according to executives.

Any concessions that CP would consider as it seeks federal approval to merge with Kansas City Southern must be “reasonable” and grounded in supporting competition, CP said during its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call late Thursday.

NS plans to roll out an operations program that will progress beyond precision scheduled railroading, according to executives speaking on NS’ fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call.