November 13, 2023 | Headlines, Legislation, Long Trains
(Source: Column by Ellen Montgomery published in The Pueblo Chieftain, November 11, 2023) Recent derailments clearly show the dangers that long trains carrying toxic substances pose for the environment. Shipping toxic chemicals through our communities and alongside...
November 13, 2023 | EPA, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com, November 10, 2023) The policy change, which goes into effect on Dec. 8, means the California Air Resources Board’s controversial locomotive emissions regulations will not run afoul of federal preemption of state and local regulations. Full story:...
November 10, 2023 | BNSF, Headlines, Shippers, STB
(Source: Trains.com, November 9, 2023) BNSF Railway and Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC) have reached a settlement that will end the coal miner’s common carrier complaint against the railroad. The companies today asked the Surface Transportation Board to suspend...
November 10, 2023 | Amtrak, Commuter Rail, Headlines
(Source: Urben Field Notes, October 26, 2023) On several rail-friendly corridors — big city pairs less than 300 miles apart — train travel will go from an eccentric travel option to a perfectly logical one. That vision of the not-so-distant future starts to...
November 9, 2023 | AAR Freight Trends, Headlines
(Source: Railway Age, November 8, 2023) Through the first 44 weeks of 2023 (ending November 4), total North American carload and intermodal traffic decreased 3.4% from the same point last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported November 8. Full...
November 9, 2023 | Commuter Rail, CPKC, Headlines, Mexico
(Source: Associated Press, November 8, 2023) Mexico’s president announced Wednesday that he will require private rail companies that mostly carry freight to offer passenger service or else have the government schedule its own trains on their tracks. President Andrés...
November 9, 2023 | Headlines, STB
(Source: Trains.com, November 8, 2023) The Surface Transportation Board received numerous comments on its proposed reciprocal switching rule this week, with predictable results: Railroads say the rule goes too far. Shippers say it doesn’t go far enough. And rail labor...
November 9, 2023 | Headlines, STB
(Source: Railway Age, November 8, 2023) The Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) comment period closed November 7 for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) it issued this fall regarding reciprocal switching for inadequate service. Many shipper and government...
November 8, 2023 | Amtrak, Commuter Rail, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Amtrak press release, November 6, 2023) Amtrak has been awarded nearly $10 billion in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funding from the Biden-Harris Administration to modernize critical infrastructure, improve stations and support future ridership growth...
November 8, 2023 | Headlines, NS
(Source: Freight Waves, November 8, 2023) Cincinnati voters decided on Election Day to allow their city to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern. Tuesday’s vote was 51.56% in favor of the sale and 48.44% against the sale, according to Ballotpedia....