Railroad

Jim Blaze explores the pontential for a merger or mergers among the Class 1 railroads.

BNSF and others are monitoring their rail networks as Cristobal moves up the Mississippi River Valley.

Darren Prokop provides information on the USMCA, which goes into effect on July 1, 2020. How will the agreement impact trade and supply chains in the three countries?

The tropical storm, expected to make landfall Sunday evening, could cause shipment delays because of potential flooding.

Labor groups praise bill’s contents but key freight rail group is “disappointed.”

The railroad’s deployment of precision scheduled railroading resulted in faster and longer trains and reduced car sorting, according to the company’s recent sustainability report.

Alabama State Port Authority and APM Terminals Mobile will help get products to customers quickly

Although rail traffic is still down significantly over 2019, that wide difference in volumes could be slowly starting to narrow.

Investments in recent years to expand capacity along their western Canadian grain networks have paid off for Canadian Pacific and CN.

CP has said the acquisition of the U.S. and Canadian operations of the short line railroad would boost CP’s reach into eastern Canada, as well as grow CP’s network into about 13,000 miles coast-to-coast over six Canadian provinces and 11 U.S. states.

The changes come as the eastern U.S. railroad enters another year of precision scheduled railroading.

Move aimed at preventing possible container transportation emergency.

Dredging efforts and rail capacity expansions at the Southeastern U.S. ports are part of a broader regional strategy to capture more Midwest-bound container traffic on the East Coast.

Shippers’ lawsuits on alleged price fixing on fuel surcharges see continued activity. A hearing is scheduled in August.

Sysco, Svitzer, Adnavem and AddSecure add industry all-stars

Railroad volumes continue to drop. What might they do to increase volumes? Where are the volume increases going to come from?

The waivers were given to passenger and freight railroads because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twelve projects in nine states get funding to upgrade track and rail crossings and other types of rail infrastructure.

Despite U.S. rail traffic remaining sharply lower on a year-over-year basis, rail volumes for commodities such as grain and motor vehicles and parts helped to push volumes higher on a week-to-week basis.

The bipartisan bill seeks to streamline the application process and lower the application costs for a loan program for short line and passenger railroads.

Leasing companies say a neutral chassis pool lacks incentive to invest the tens of millions of dollars each year to maintain viable chassis equipment.

The coronavirus pandemic and declining coal volumes hit employee levels at freight and passenger rail companies.

New Orleans Public Belt Railroad brings on eight new engines, which will reduce the operation’s fuel consumption by 25% and emissions by 40%.

A new rule adopted by the Surface Transportation Board, effective July 20, calls for the Class I railroads to report when railcars designated for chemicals or plastics are held for longer than two days.

The Class I railroads are hoping that the restart of U.S. automotive production will be one of the first significant steps towards growing rail volumes. Automakers are resuming production as weekly U.S. carloads tumble 30% year-over-year, the widest decline since 1988.

The fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021 might be when the intermodal sector will see some volume growth. But truck capacity, fuel pricing and pandemic uncertainties make a recovery hard to pin down.

Jim Blaze writes about the advantages to the railroads of rebuilding locomotives instead of buying new ones.

Interoperability between host and tenant railroads nears 60% at the end of the first quarter, up from 48% in December.

Actions by the Surface Transportation Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada show both agencies exploring whether there is a need to modify existing regulations.

As various parts of the nation and the world begin to open up, there will be logistical and supply chain issues. Darren Prokop explores those issues.

As Congress and the White House consider short- and longer-term funding infrastructure needs, the railroads want to ensure that the rail sector is part of the discussion.

Are the railroads following Hunter Harrison’s PSR directives? Railroad expert Jim Blaze explores the topic.

OmniTRAX is looking for interested parties seeking to develop commercial facilities along its West Virginia rail lines.

The Class I railroads’ expectations that the second quarter could be rough volume-wise are ringing true.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has determined that existing federal laws preempt a state law that restricted the rail transport of crude oils exceeding a certain vapor pressure limit.

Private equity funds and other investors are scouring 35,000 miles of North American short-line rail track for deals even as the industry sees one of the biggest volume drops since 2008.

The manufacturer is still producing new railcars but expects market conditions to be rough for a while.

Inadequate cybersecurity will allow attackers to hack into railway systems and stop trains, causing massive disruption to freight movement.

Moody’s says rail volumes could slip 15% or more in 2020. Meanwhile, IANA confirms declines in international intermodal volumes in the first quarter.

Union Pacific shutters Cold Connect, citing low freight rates and consumers purchasing shelf-stable items instead of fresh produce amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of employed is down to 2014 levels.

The COVID-19 pandemic sent U.S. rail volumes tumbling last month. But now, stakeholders are looking at the shape and scope of an eventual recovery.

The coronavirus pandemic didn’t slow grain movement.

The pandemic is exacerbating existing problems with vendors and software installation, according to a federal report.

Some shipping groups say the Board’s recent actions on demurrage and accessorial charges will help bring about more productive rail rate disputes.

The railcar lessor is looking for further add-ons to its fleet as competitors face pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic and the volatile crude oil market.

Multimillion-dollar backlog will help the rail equipment and locomotive manufacturer stay afloat, executives said.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission asks lawmakers to consider “financial bridge” to help container terminals make their lease payments.

The COVID-19 pandemic dented volume growth in the first quarter for the privately owned railroad.

Like all industries, the coronavirus has impacted railroads. What should they be doing to gain market share and better serve their customers?

The agencies’ report, which uses findings from Sandia National Laboratories, says a crude oil’s vapor pressure shouldn’t factor into deciding whether certain types of crude oil can be transported via rail.

The board hopes the decisions will clarify the controversial practice for stakeholders.

The drop in North American rail traffic could push railcar leasing rates lower.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the structural decline in U.S. coal consumption, are pulling rail volumes downward.

The cuts to train starts are part of the railroad’s wider objective to implement precision scheduled railroading.

Like other railroads, Norfolk Southern is feeling the effect of lower rail volumes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The effect that the coronavirus pandemic is having on rail volumes could get worse in the coming weeks before things get better, according to executives.

The smallest of the standardized ocean containers in the global fleet remains ideal for dense, heavy agricultural goods, forest products, and machinery shipments.

The railway managed to boost its first-quarter net income despite the February rail blockades and the COVID-19 pandemic.

North American railroad leaders believe that the industry is resilient and have reported ongoing demand for rail services.

The western U.S. railroad can deploy additional cost reduction measures, but how much cost savings it can realize from those measures will depend on how much rail volumes fall in the second quarter.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic the Class I railroads were mothballing freight cars – and locomotives. Jim Blaze examines the issues surrounding the surplus of locomotives.

Despite lower revenues, the western U.S. railroad saw its first-quarter net income increase as the company trimmed quarterly expenses by 10%.

o hedge against rail volume uncertainty in the second quarter, CSX aims to control costs.

CSX’s (NASDAQ: CSX) first-quarter net profit fell 7.7% amid lower revenues and a record operating ratio. First-quarter 2020 net income was $770 million, or $1 a share, compared with $834 […]

U.S. rail traffic slumps amid pandemic woes, and challenges are likely to persist into the second quarter.

Precision scheduled railroading and its workforce will help CP get through anticipated challenges in the second quarter, company executives said.

The railway’s first-quarter net income slipped on higher income tax expenses. But total revenue rose nearly 16% in the first quarter of 2020 while operating expenses were roughly flat-to-higher.

Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board are urging Transport Canada to consider revising track maintenance regulations since broken rail is appearing as a possible cause for two recent crude train derailments.

Employee counts at U.S. Class I railroads continue to be lower in 2020 than 2019, although total headcount rose slightly from February.

The grant application period is open for groups seeking federal funding for capital projects related to passenger and freight rail.

The railroad will be keeping tabs on operational costs as a way to hedge against the economic uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cross-border movements of chemicals and petroleum products, as well as intermodal shipments, helped propel revenue higher.

The company says its “disposal’ of 300 locomotives and its plans to sell 400 more are due to precision scheduled railroading.

Diminished railcar demand and COVID-19 headwinds force railcar maker to halt production and trim staff.

The pandemic’s economic toll has hit all sectors of transportation, including rail. Read how railroads can manage costs during this global crisis.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is shrinking U.S. rail volumes as the housing construction and retail sectors struggle to stay afloat.

Although the space is needed, the economics don’t appear to work.

Other factors beyond the coronavirus pandemic are weighing on U.S. rail volumes for grain.

The groups want the Federal Railroad Administration to ensure that railroads’ requests to waive certain regulations stem from a true labor shortage.

While staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic, catch up on classic — and not-so-classic — movies prominently featuring modes of transportation.

In terms of financial results for the Class I railroads in 2020, it could get worse before it gets better, according to several Wall Street analysts.

North American rail volumes last week were approaching levels normally seen during Christmas and New Year’s, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Third-party logistics providers engaged in international trade are facing the difficult decision of whether to thin staff or even close altogether in the face of a prolonged economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A report from Boston Consulting Group suggests that the Class I railroads must look beyond precision scheduled railroading and operating ratios if the industry wants to be a competitive transportation mode.

Transporting grain is a major source of revenue for the railroads. How will the coronavirus impact the grain market and the railroads?

Even with a better-than-expected fiscal second quarter, Greenbrier invokes several measures to protect its workers and the “viability of the enterprise.”

A bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers are asking rail transit agencies to order safety and health guidelines that would prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Members of the Washington, D.C.-based National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America interviewed by American Shipper this week generally praised CBP for permitting the flow of legitimate trade across the continent.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission said there has been no shortage of container-shipping industry members willing to participate in its initiative to identify ways to overcome supply chain obstacles caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The partnership will produce remote tools that will enable railcar owners and operators to know where their cars are and what is their mileage and cargo capacity.

The new orders require “higher-risk key trains” to slow down their speed in the wintertime.

In an interview with FreightWaves, TRAC Intermodal President and CEO Jennifer Polli describes how her company is handling its business operations against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jim Blaze looks at the declining need for railroad tank cars. Why is this happening and what’s next?

On this week’s Drilling Deep podcast, host John Kingston welcomes Mike Baudensitel of FreightWaves to discuss whether the nation’s rail and intermodal sectors are getting any sort of lift from […]

The Eastern U.S. railroad joins CSX and Union Pacific in warning the Securities and Exchange Commission that it could see potential operational and financial impacts because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

No one was prepared for the global shipping disruption caused by COVID-19, but Mike Meierkort said Damco’s resiliency program is “the closest thing to having a playbook.”

Arrested Pacific Harbor Line locomotive driver apparently thought the Navy hospital ship was not at the Port of LA to do good.

The state’s governor Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that says a freight train crew must have at least two crew members.

Motor vehicles carloads fall nearly 67% as the coronavirus pandemic keeps buyers away from showrooms.