June 2, 2023 | AAR Freight Trends, Headlines, PSR
(Source: Railway Age, May 31, 2023) For the first 21 weeks of 2023 (ending May 27), total U.S. weekly rail traffic dipped 4.1% from the same point last year, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) May 31 report. Both Canada and the U.S. saw...
June 2, 2023 | Derailment, Headlines, NS, NTSB
(Source: Trains Magazine, June 1, 2023) The 164th car of a Norfolk Southern train triggered a critical hot box detector alert before a May wreck in Pennsylvania, but the train continued on its journey for 15.34 miles before derailing because neither the crew nor the...
June 2, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, NS
(Source: Freight Waves, June 1, 2023) “I’m taking it personal. We’re going to be the gold standard in safety in the rail industry,” Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said at the North American Rail Shippers annual conference in Chicago last week. Full story: Freight...
June 2, 2023 | Headlines, STB, UP
(Source: Surface Transportation Board press release, May 31, 2023) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) today issued a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed construction of a new rail line in Mesa,...
June 2, 2023 | Headlines, Historic/Steam
(Source: Freight Waves, May 31, 2023) The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 was enacted by President Abraham Lincoln to garner federal support for construction of the transcontinental railroad. While B&O Railroad was the first commercial transportation by rail in 1827,...
June 2, 2023 | Headlines, Railroad Retirement
(Source: Railroad Retirement Board press release, June 1, 2023) CHICAGO — The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) administers the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), which provides two kinds of benefits for qualified railroaders: unemployment benefits for those...
June 1, 2023 | FRA, Headlines
(Source: Freight Waves, May 31, 2023) The Federal Railroad Administration is proposing rules to formalize the certification process for two groups of craft employees working on U.S. freight railroads. Each proposed rule — one for train dispatchers and the other for...
June 1, 2023 | DOT, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Yahoo Finance, May 31, 2023) US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is ramping up pressure on the country’s largest freight railroads to improve safety after a series of high-profile derailments. Full story: Yahoo Finance
June 1, 2023 | Headlines, Railroad Safety, Train Length
(Source: GAO Blog, June 1, 2023) Some recent derailments and other rail incidents have had something in common: they involved longer freight trains. Federal rail regulators are investigating the exact causes of these incidents and GAO has not examined them. But, we...
June 1, 2023 | Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Times Observer, June 1, 2023) Pennsylvania’s House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee gave 19-2 approval to House Bill 1028. It would authorize the state to maintain a tighter grip on the way trains operate. But while East Palestine...
