Rail Industry News
Union Pacific tracks flood disaster
(Source: Omaha World-Herald, July 12, 2011) OMAHA, Neb. — Responding to natural disasters is a big part of running a railroad, and at its headquarters in Omaha, the Union Pacific is monitoring the Missouri River to determine how flooding will impact its tracks and...
Western railroads warn of lengthy flood problems
(Source: Journal of Commerce, July 11, 2011) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Journal of Commerce is reporting that major railroads in the Western United States and Canada, including Union Pacific, BNSF and Canadian National, are warning customers of shipping delays because of...
20 Senators seek $2.2 billion for Amtrak
(Source: Progressive Railroading, July 11, 2011) Twenty United States Senators have sent a letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation calling for $2.2 billion in Amtrak funding for fiscal year 2012. According to Progressive Railroading, the coalition is led...
President Obama presses infrastructure amid debt talks
(Source: Journal of Commerce, July 11, 2011) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Journal of Commerce reports that President Obama is keeping transportation infrastructure improvements at the forefront during the debate regarding the federal budget deficit. Full story:...
House GOP budget/Mica proposal would cut 140,000 public transportation jobs, Democrats say
(Source: Progressive Railroading, July 11, 2011) House Republicans’ budget plan and Rep. John Mica’s (R-Fla.) six-year, $230 billion surface transportation proposal would cut current levels of public transportation funding by one-third and eliminate 140,000 jobs,...
House GOP seeks to redistribute high-speed rail money
(Source: Sacramento Bee, July 12, 2011) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressional Republicans are seeking to cut $1.5 billion in high-speed rail money that had been awarded to projects across the country. The GOP lawmakers propose shifting the high-speed rail money to...
Police crack down, but annual mooning of Amtrak continues
(Source: Orange County Register LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — Over the past three decades, thrill-seekers have ventured here to participate in the annual "Mooning of Amtrak." This year, however, participants are blaming a police crackdown for the smaller than normal...
Durbin announces rail studies will be combined
(Source: State Journal-Register, July 10, 2011) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The State Journal-Register is reporting that a rail-consolidation study in Springfield, Ill., will be rolled into a larger study of the St. Louis-Chicago rail corridor, according to U.S. Senator Dick...
Ridership on Amtrak’s Silver Star route continues to increase
(Source: Tampa Bay Tribune, July 8, 2011) TAMPA, Fla. — Amtrak's ridership in Tampa continues to grow as the passenger railroad's ridership also grows nationwide. The Silver Star, Amtrak's route from New York to Miami, saw a ridership increase of 12.7 percent from May...
Death toll climbs to 80 in India rail accident
(Source: Reuters, July 11, 2011) LUCKNOW, India — The death toll in a train accident in northern India climbed to 80 on Monday with more than 350 injured in one of the worst rail disasters to hit the country's troubled rail network in years. The accident occurred on...
Amtrak suspends Missouri trains because of flooding
(Source: Kansas City Star, July 9, 2011) KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Star is reporting that Amtrak is suspending one of its Missouri River Runner round trips between St. Louis and Kansas City to allow diversion of freight traffic from flooded tracks. The train...
CSX seeks to lower operating ratio through ‘Grow to 65’ initiative
(Source: Progressive Railroading magazine, July 11, 2011) In its latest issue, Progressive Railroading magazine explores CSX's "Grow to 65" initiative, a drive to lower the railroad's operating ration to the mid-60s level by 2015. According to the magazine, CSX's...
Man accused in plot to steal locomotive getting mental exam
(Source: Associated Press, July 8, 2011) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A retired railroad employee accused in a plot to steal a Union Pacific locomotive has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation by a federal judge. According to the Associated Press, he and two other men...
How trains ‘railroaded’ the American economy
(Source: National Public Radio, July 11, 2011) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Richard White, author of a newly-published book titled "Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America," recently granted an interview to National Public Radio. In the book and in...
Northeast Corridor privatization bill has little protection for NJ Transit
(Source: Daily Record, July 10, 2011) PARSIPPANY, N.J. — The hastily written and poorly thought out plan by Congressional Republicans to privatize the Northeast Corridor fails to properly address how it will impact other commuter rail services along the route — such...
Sixth and final fatality identified from Amtrak crash
(Source: Lahontan Valley News, July 10, 2011) FALLON, Nevada — Medical examiners identified the sixth fatality from the June 24 Amtrak train accident as Barbara Bell, 60, a resident of from the United Kingdom. Officials said DNA tests had to be used to identify the...
U.S. coal exports on track for 19-year high
(Source: Bloomberg News, July 9, 2011) NEW YORK — Filling a gap created when flooding interrupted Australian coal supplies, the United States stands to export the highest levels of coal since 1992. It is a boon for railroads such as Union Pacific and CSX...
Rail executive gets probation in campaign finance case
(Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 8, 2011) MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — William Gardner, CEO of the Wisconsin & Southern short line and a major donor to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation for violating state campaign finance...
STB cuts filing fees for certain rate and unreasonable practice complaints
(Source: Surface Transportation Board press release, July 7, 2011) WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an action that will provide greater public access to its processes, the Surface Transportation Board today announced that it is reducing the fee charged shippers to file a...
BNSF offers $5,000 reward for information about trestle fire
(Source: Bellingham Herald, July 7, 2011) BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The BNSF Railway is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people who started a July 4 fire on the railway's bridge in Bellingham, Wash. The railroad said the...
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