January 5, 2024 | AAR Freight Trends, CPKC, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com, January 4, 2024) Canadian Pacific Kansas City was the only Class I railroad that was able to eke out higher volume last year. CPKC’s traffic was up a scant 0.1% in 2023, which was a down year for North American freight volume. The other five Class...
January 5, 2024 | AAR Freight Trends, Headlines
(Source: Railway Age, January 3, 2024) The fourth quarter was “the best quarter of 2023 for U.S. rail volumes on a year-over-year basis,” AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported Jan. 2. “It appears that intense rail efforts to improve service quality are...
January 5, 2024 | Headlines, Shippers
(Source: Freight Waves, January 3, 2024) Intermodal rail in 2024 is likely to still face pressure from the trucking market; however, market conditions for the overall freight transportation market also appear to be returning to pre-pandemic patterns, and so providing...
January 4, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Freight Waves, January 3, 2024) The Federal Railroad Administration has submitted its final rule on train crew staffing to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, with the final rule potentially being released in March, according to OMB’s...
January 4, 2024 | 2-man Crews, Contract Negotiations, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Shippers, STB
(Source: Freight Waves, January 4, 2024) Railroads, shippers and unions are tracking hot topics ranging from service improvement to government oversight to safety regulations in 2024. Two of the items are federal action on rail safety and labor contract negotiations....
January 4, 2024 | Commuter Rail, Headlines, STB
(Source: Railway Age, January 4, 2024) The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is seeking candidates to fill 18 vacancies on its newly formed Passenger Railroad Advisory Committee (PRAC). Nominations are due by Feb. 5, 2024; candidates may nominate themselves. Full...
January 4, 2024 | DOT, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com analysis by Bill Stephens, January 3, 2024) Why is it that no one notices railroads until there’s a derailment, blocked grade crossing, or a massive supply chain problem like we saw in 2022? Full story: Trains.com
January 3, 2024 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Legislation, NTSB, Railroad Safety
(Source: Freight Waves, January 1, 2024) The passage of any rail safety legislation in Congress next year is likely to be influenced by two things, industry observers told FreightWaves: the 2024 presidential election and the release of a report by the National...
January 3, 2024 | Headlines, PSR, STB
(Source: Trains.com, December 29, 2023) Martin J. Oberman isn’t ready to retire just yet. That much was clear from his impassioned talk at a recent Northwestern University Transportation Center gathering. Full story: Trains.com
January 3, 2024 | BNSF, Headlines
(Source: Progressive Railroading, January 2, 2024) BNSF Railway Co. yesterday resumed operations of Montana Rail Link (MRL), which now is part of the Class I’s Montana subdivision. Full story: Progressive Railroading
