The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $16.4 billion to 25 passenger rail projects, many of which are in the busy Northeast corridor. Freight rail may also benefit from the projects.
The National Transportation Safety Board says more frequent track inspections could have helped prevent a fatal September 2021 Amtrak derailment that was caused by “poor track conditions.”
The Surface Transportation Board will look into whether freight rail operations are affecting the on-time performance of Amtrak’s passenger rail service between New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Passenger rail advocates call for swift action to resolve Amtrak’s substandard on-time performance for its Sunset Limited service. But freight rail supporters say better data is needed to assess what the problems are.
A roundup of recent news items from Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, Amtrak and the Surface Transportation Board.
Amtrak and other stakeholders are asking the Surface Transportation Board to hold off on a November hearing on Amtrak’s request to restore Gulf Coast service because of a potential settlement.
Thanks to a federal grant, the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University will be working with four other colleges to develop climate-resiliency strategies and tools for U.S. freight and passenger railroads.
Recent filings to the board from various parties focus on wo bears the burden to show if or how Amtrak service between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans would affect freight operations.
The Surface Transportation Board will conduct a three-day hearing in late September to find out from Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern directly about issues related to the railways’ proposed merger.
The STB is sifting through hundreds of pages on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of a merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.
Comparing Amtrak and Freight Railroads
The Surface Transportation Board has granted Amtrak’s request to access limited confidential data from CSX and Norfolk Southern as the board mulls Amtrak’s request to establish Gulf Coast passenger rail service. The board also ordered mediation among all parties.
The Federal Railroad Administration is now requiring the Class I railroads, Amtrak and commuter railroads to submit fatigue risk management plans annually to the agency.
The Federal Railroad Administration has established a Climate Challenge initiative, which is targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the industry by 2050.
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.
FreightWaves rounds up recent freight rail-related news items.
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.
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.
Amtrak limits Acela and Northeast regional service.
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.
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.
This week: Operation Lifesaver celebrates 50 years of rail safety education, PCG donates 20,000 boxes to service organizations and Gopuff begins delivering COVID-19 tests in 20 mins.
Canadian Pacific and CSX want to show federal regulators and the broader public that they have widespread support for their proposed acquisitions.
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.
From M&A to supply chain disruptions, the freight rail industry navigated an often unpredictable 2021.
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 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.
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.
Amtrak has petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to compel CSX and Norfolk Southern to allow access to their Gulf Coast networks as part of a broader plan to restore passenger service between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans.
Truckers can go back to using Highway 101 in Southern California after it was closed due to a spreading wildfire.
The plan, which goes to 2055, seeks to restore and develop intercity passenger rail along four “cornerstone corridors.”
Stakeholders and observers such as Amtrak, Canadian Pacific and the Vermont Department of Transportation want the Surface Transportation Board to consider placing conditions that would bolster both competitive access and passenger rail service.
The Surface Transportation Board will review Amtrak’s request to restore Gulf Coast service, dismissing calls by CSX and Norfolk Southern, whose networks will be affected by the service restoration, to reject the request.
Senate lawmakers find more money for highways and ports in a bipartisan infrastructure package.
Amtrak wants federal regulators to expedite a request to reestablish passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans. But CSX and Norfolk Southern say, not so fast.
President Joe Biden’s budget for the Federal Railroad Administration supports funding to rehabilitate Amtrak, expand passenger rail service and provide continued support to grant programs.
The U.S. Department of Transportation wants the Surface Transportation Board to take up Amtrak’s request asking to establish passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans.
Amtrak must follow new on-time performance metrics starting July 1. Democratic congressional leaders and the Surface Transportation Board are looking at different ways to help Amtrak reach that goal. Amtrak and the freight railroads share track in certain U.S. regions.
The $3.7 billion partnership calls for the construction of a $1.9 billion passenger rail bridge that would relieve traffic from the Long Bridge.
Amtrak wants to establish passenger rail service between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, but CSX, Norfolk Southern and the Port of Mobile have some reservations. Amtrak has filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board to turn its plan into fruition.
FRA announces the full implementation of PTC as well as interoperability among competing railroads.
The Association of American Railroads recently laid out some issues that Amtrak, host railroads and the federal government must grapple with as they implement on-time performance metrics and standards for Amtrak.
The rule defines performance and service metrics for Amtrak and it requires freight rail to meet an on-time performance standard.
Interoperability between host and tenant railroads nears 60% at the end of the first quarter, up from 48% in December.
The Class I railroads would need to ensure that Amtrak can meet FRA’s on-time performance metrics for the routes they share with Amtrak.
William J. Flynn was formerly CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, and his leadership experience spans the air cargo, freight railroad and maritime industries.
CSX and passenger and commuter rail share the same railroad track between Washington, D.C. and Richmond. Investments to the corridor south of Washington, D.C. would change that.
Legislation demands OMB and HHS estimate rule publication date.
Shippers need to take heed of the Congressional push to allow Amtrak to sue freight railroads over on-time performance.
The bill introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) would allow Amtrak to sue freight railroads for not giving Amtrak preference on freight rail-owned track.
Freight railroads need push to ensure Amtrak’s trains are on time, Durbin says.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case again about whether Amtrak can have a role in crafting the on-time performance metrics and standards for the freight railroads. The Court’s June 3 action paves the way for Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration to finish establishing those metrics and standards.
Market expert Jim Blaze compares and contrasts Amtrak and America’s freight railroads.
Market expert Jim Blaze looks at an under-appreciated asset of North America’s freight railroads – their real estate holdings. Read Jim’s hypothesis of what the railroads might do with this real estate in the near future.
Amtrak wants to cut long distance trains for those that travel between heavily populated city pairs. But that plan doesn’t track with what Congress and the freight railroads want.
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Amtrak train 91, which was traveling from Penn Station in New York to Miami, should have been on the main line, but it was directed to tracks just east of it, where a CSX train was parked.
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Global technology company Wabco Holdings has acquired a 1% equity stake in Nikola Motor Company with a $10 million investment. Nikola is designing a hydrogen-electric Class 8 truck.
Travel around the DuPont area of Washington remains snarled this morning as officials work to clear wreckage from the Amtrak derailment over Interstate 5, just south of Tacoma, that killed at least 3 people and injured dozens more.
Skepticism over hyperloop technology has been expressed by Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson. Business Insider quoted Anderson as saying that the technology is not “realistic right now.”
