Judge Mark T. Pittmann agreed to BNSF’s request calling for a temporary restraining order that would prevent union employees from striking as both sides potentially negotiate over BNSF’s new attendance program.

Canadian railway CN eyes volume growth from vaccine mandates and grain, and it expects higher volumes in the second half of 2022.

Canadian railway CN announced that former Canadian Pacific executive Tracy Robinson will succeed retiring CEO JJ Ruest at the end of February.

The railcar leasing market for 2022 feels more solid than past years, executives said Tuesday during GATX’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call.

The Port of Savannah handled a record 5.6 million TEUs in 2021.

The American Chemistry Council chats with FreightWaves about why government leaders should keep transportation issues at the forefront of policymaking, especially in light of anticipated growth in production of chemicals.

Ten unions want a mediator to assist with negotiations for a new labor agreement between the unions and U.S. freight railroads. The railroads agree.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state plans to lend policing and prosecution support to Union Pacific and other victims of cargo theft.

CSX has been hiring more aggressively not only to meet anticipated market demand but to safeguard against COVID-19-related absences, according to executives on its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call Thursday.

UP’s capital expenditures plan for 2022 includes investments to intermodal terminals and intermodal ramps, executives said during the company’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call Thursday.

El beneficio neto del cuarto trimestre de 2021 aumenta un 24% interanual en medio de un aumento del 12% en los ingresos operativos

From capital investments to competitive access, issues that CSX has brought before the Surface Transportation Board reflect concerns facing the freight rail industry as a whole.

Legion Logistics Chief People Person Kyle Kosco chats with FreightWaves’ freight broker/3PL market expert Mary O’Connell on the strategies that go into creating a company culture that attracts and retains employees.

The western U.S. railroad is asking a district court in Dallas to prevent two rail unions from striking over changes to BNSF’s attendance program, saying a strike would result in significant disruptions.

The railroad wants stricter penalties for those caught stealing from trains.

BLET and SMART-TD say the attendance program is overly restrictive and repudiates numerous collective bargaining agreements in place.

The 10th circuit court of appeals ruled that Oklahoma’s blocked crossing mandate violates the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, ending a court battle that lasted over two years.

CN is asking the Surface Transportation Board to require Canadian Pacific to divest KCS’ Springfield Line in Missouri and Illinois to help ensure competition.

Amit Bose becomes the 15th head of the Federal Railroad Administration.

North American freight railroads can pursue sustainability that not only benefits customers but also the railroads’ bottom line, according to panelists at a Transportation Research Board session.

Rio Tinto is the second Australian mining company that will use Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive in mining operations.

2021 was a banner year for The Port of Virginia, SC Ports and Alabama Port Authority.

FreightWaves chatted with former STB Chairman Dan Elliott on the history of the board’s relationship with reciprocal switching and why the board should still review it today.

Continúan las demandas contra Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern y BNSF

A federal district court has ruled that two rail unions must work with Chicago commuter rail Metra as it pursues a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The terminal in Orange, Texas, serves a diverse range of customers and is located between Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The year 2023 and beyond could boost railcar production volumes for Greenbrier as global low-carbon mandates drive freight to rail, say Greenbrier executives.

Despite being stymied by labor shortages and lack of equipment such as chassis in the second half of 2021, U.S. intermodal volumes were actually pretty high considering the yearly total.

Canadian Pacific and CSX want to show federal regulators and the broader public that they have widespread support for their proposed acquisitions.

Infrastructure and capacity expansion projects, regulatory uncertainties and progress toward supply chain visibility and sustainability are the themes that rail and intermodal stakeholders have set their sights on in 2022.

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern submit a plan to regulators detailing how they will merge their operations.

The two eastern U.S. railroads want the Surface Transportation Board to maintain its identity as an independent arbitrator as it decides whether to permit Amtrak to restore Gulf Coast service between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation. No injuries occurred as a result of the incident, CSX said.

Several rail shippers had asked the Surface Transportation Board to temporarily suspend a proceeding on a voluntary arbitration program for small rate disputes, but the board denied that request.

In this Q&A interview, FreightWaves chats with two CN executives about what customer benefits might arise from a seven-year partnership with Google Cloud.

Twenty-five port projects in 19 states are receiving U.S. Maritime Administration grants aimed at bolstering port infrastructure.

Canadian Pacific inks a potash contract while CN’s British Columbia operations are nearly back to normal.

From M&A to supply chain disruptions, the freight rail industry navigated an often unpredictable 2021.

U.S. utilities are facing record low coal stockpiles, and network congestion on the rails is only adding to the stress.

The pilot program in Chicago and Kansas City aims to encourage trucks to come — and go — with a shipping container.

The end of 2021 brings the confirmation of a Surface Transportation Board member and approvals of short line requests.

The railroad veteran removed himself from consideration over the weekend.

The logistics startup has wrapped up its series B funding round.

Auxo Investment Partners explains rationale for why it chose to invest in rail service providers.

Cylus raised $30 million in a recent funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to over $57 million.

An initiative to transport a type of heavy Canadian crude oil to the Gulf Coast via Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern has begun operations.

The three companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue the demonstration project to test the feasibility of hydrogen-powered locomotives.

The eastern U.S. railroad is aggressively courting new employees as well as seeking to retain current ones to improve traffic flow and reduce delays.

Canadian Pacific has formally completed its acquisition of Kansas City Southern, and now both companies are waiting for the Surface Transportation Board to approve the merger.

November volumes rose nearly 4% year-over-year, although on a sequential basis, volumes fell nearly 9% from October.

Two bills in the Michigan Legislature are calling for freight train crews to consist of at least two people.

The Port of Savannah handled 6.7% more containers in November compared to a year ago, according to the Georgia Ports Authority.

Canadian Pacific says it will work to get passenger rail service going between Baton Rouge and New Orleans should its merger with Kansas City Southern pull through.

The three companies have partnered to produce a more sustainable gondola car in anticipation of the eventual retirement of the existing fleet.

A Tuesday federal court ruling puts on hold the requirement that federal contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19 — and that ruling extends to Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern.

GATX President and CEO Brian Kenney is retiring, and EVP Bob Lyons will succeed him.

South Carolina Ports experienced an all-time high for the number of containers handled in November amid higher import volumes.

Two unions representing railroad employees want the federal court to make BNSF negotiate with the unions over implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The terminal says it has “abundant space” at the Millennium Marine Rail facility in New Jersey, as well as competitive import dwell time.

Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires is retiring in May 2022, and current Chief Marketing Officer Alan Shaw will succeed him.

Economist Steve Pociask opines on why he thinks the Surface Transportation Board should tread carefully when deciding how to proceed with the issue of reciprocal switching.

The Surface Transportation Board has adopted a final rule that addresses temporary trackage rights in situations in which one rail carrier needs access to another carrier’s track due to an emergency.

Wallace served as CSX’s executive vice president of sales and marketing before moving into an advisory role in July as he underwent cancer treatment.

Heightening the clearance of the Howard Street Tunnel will enable double-stacked trains to run in and out of the Port of Baltimore.

CSX and Canadian Pacific were recognized this month by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America for the ways they address environmental, social and governance issues.

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Marty Oberman is asking Norfolk Southern why service has deteriorated, according to shippers — and what the railroad plans to do about it.

Two agencies in Mexico have given their approval of the proposed merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

Lawsuits between two Class I railroads and three unions have been consolidated into one proceeding in federal court, with a request to fold an additional lawsuit from BNSF into the proceeding.

New Fortress Energy subsidiary Energy Transfer Services’ permit allowing the transport of liquefied natural gas in special tank cars is set to expire next week, according to environmental group Delaware Riverkeeper.

The STB is allowing the merger application of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern to proceed as is, rejecting Union Pacific’s concerns over the application’s completeness.

CN’s line between Kamloops and Vancouver has been shut down since Nov. 15 following extensive flooding and mudslides. Canadian Pacific reopened its line to limited traffic on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded grants for a number of projects across the country that involve Class I and short line railroads, including G&W subsidiary Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad.

The railroad says CP’s and KCS’ traffic diversion analysis is incomplete, and so the board should compel CP and KCS to revise its merger application.

The board of commissioners for the Virginia Port Authority unanimously approved a $61.5 million construction bid for a project that would increase on-dock rail capacity to 1.1 million containers a year.

An anticipated rebound in volumes as supply chain kinks smooth out will be a theme in 2022, while customer-friendly technological applications will drive rail technology long term, Class I rail CEOs said in recent conferences.

The state-of-the-art terminal has rail-to-truck transfer capacity domestic and international containers and deploys automated container handling.

Railway Supply Institute will install a new president after Thanksgiving, while two rail advocacy groups release survey results showing public support for rail.

Rail-related provisions in the newly signed infrastructure bill span from federal grants to support infrastructure projects to studying the impacts of positive train control and train lengths.

The Surface Transportation Board is advancing two rulemakings on small rate disputes concurrently to determine how best to address such disputes. The railroads prefer one rulemaking while shippers prefer another.

Although customers may have pulled back from ordering in the third quarter, that pullback is temporary and customers will still need new railcars eventually, FreightCar America executives said during Monday’s third-quarter earnings call.

The board has said it plans to seek input on the environmental impacts of the CP-KCS merger; CSX’s planned acquisition of Pan Am Railways; Amtrak’s plan to restore its Gulf Coast service; and reciprocal switching.

The suspension would allow the July 2020 rule to be aligned with a separate and companion regulation currently being worked on by federal regulators.

Ravi Shanker, Morgan Stanley executive director and lead transportation analyst, talks with Danny Gomez, FreightWaves managing director of financial and emerging markets, about how autonomous technology will continue to disrupt the freight transportation space.

SC Ports and the Virginia Port Authority are benefiting from customers seeking less congested ports, they said.

CSX defended its service record and its responsiveness to customer concerns to the Surface Transportation Board, which had sent CSX a letter in October saying that the board received complaints over the railroad’s recent performance.

Growing headcount and relieving supply chain congestion dominated Class I railroads’ third-quarter 2021 earnings commentaries — and these issues look poised to persist in Q4 and into 2022.

BNSF is suing four railroad unions over its ability to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. BNSF says it needs to comply with President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.

BNSF’s third-quarter net income rose 14%, to $1.5 billion, despite supply chain disruptions.

CSX and Norfolk Southern are asking the Surface Transportation Board to deny Amtrak’s request to restore U.S. Gulf Coast service between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans unless the passenger railroad agrees to pay for capital improvements to facilitate rail moves.

The Canadian railway is purchasing battery-electric freight locomotives from Wabtec and it is testing renewable fuel blends with Progress Rail.

Port America, Ceres and SSA Atlantic have formed joint venture Gateway Terminals at the Port of Savannah as a way to consolidate terminal, truck gate and stevedoring services.

Trinity is selling its highway products business for $375 million in cash.

STB has allowed agri-food shipper Sanimax to proceed in its complaint against Union Pacific over service issues.

Rail technology company Intramotev is developing hardware and software to enable battery-powered railcars to make short-haul movements without a locomotive.

The proposed schedule will provide room for rebuttals and responses, STB said.

The grant from Emissions Reduction Alberta will help CP convert two more locomotives to hydrogen power and add more hydrogen production and fueling facilities.

A private investment firm’s acquisition of a MOW services company, AAR’s environmental nods and Lineage’s new cold storage warehouse round out the rail roundup.

BLET, SMART-TD and Norfolk Southern continue to fight in federal court over the vaccine mandate and NS’ practice of using train engineers as conductors.

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern submit a joint application before the Surface Transportation Board asking to consolidate the two railroads while CN adds a rail and technology expert to its board.

Underneath the supply chain disruptions and the chip shortage are customers that need Wabtec’s components to improve their rail operations, executives said during the third-quarter earnings call.