Rail Industry News
Amtrak, Metro-North reach deal on Bronx expansion plans
(Source: WNYC, January 23, 2019) NEW YORK — A year-long stalemate between Amtrak and the MTA over expanding Metro-North service in the East Bronx has ended. Amtrak agreed to drop its demands after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped in to broker a deal, according to...
Senators caution WMATA against cyber threats in new rail cars
(Source: Progressive Railroading, January 23, 2019) Four Democratic senators representing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) service area are calling on the agency to mitigate cybersecurity risks as it seeks to procure new 8000-series rail...
Proposed Chinese grain buy could boost railroad volumes
(Source: Freight Waves, January 23, 2019) CHATTAGOOGA, Tenn. — The Chinese government is considering buying up to 7 million tons of U.S. wheat, Bloomberg reported Tuesday afternoon. The proposal has been floated as a means to help reduce the China - U.S. trade deficit...
CP Rail’s Q4 2018 revenue surges, but net income drops from Q4 2017
(Source: Canadian Press, January 23, 2019) CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. says freight sales drove a 17 per cent leap in revenues to $1.96 billion in the fourth quarter, fuelled by oil, grain and other commodities. Net income for the country’s second-biggest...
CP Rail posts sub-57 percent operating ratio
(Source: Freight Waves, January 23, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In the fight to have the lowest operating ratio (OR) among Class 1 railroads, Canadian Pacific just took first prize. The company, in announcing its fourth quarter 2018 earnings Wednesday, said it had an...
NS increases quarterly dividend by 8 percent
(Source: Norfolk Southern press release, January 23, 2019) NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corporation announced that its board of directors today approved an 8 percent increase in its quarterly dividend on the company’s common stock, from 80 to 86 cents per share....
Teamsters take part in government shutdown protest on Capitol Hill
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, January 23, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Teamsters, unions that represent federal workers and their allies participated in a protest at the U.S. Capitol earlier today. The action was done to show solidarity...
CP Rail reports Q4 and 2018 full year results
(Source: Canadian Pacific Railway press release, January 23, 2019) CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway Limited today announced its fourth-quarter results, including revenues of $2.0 billion, an operating ratio of 56.5 percent and record operating income of $874...
UP workforce reduction hits Bailey Yard
(Source: North Platte Telegraph, January 24, 2019) NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Union Pacific announced more layoffs in North Platte’s Bailey Yard this week. On Tuesday, an undisclosed number of employees were laid off under the railroad company’s Unified Plan 2020. Full...
Union Pacific reports Q4 and full year 2018 results
(Source: Union Pacific press release, January 24, 2019) OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Corporation today reported record 2018 fourth quarter net income of $1.6 billion, or $2.12 per diluted share, which represents 29 and 39 percent increases, respectively, when compared...
No injuries when CN train hauling grain derails in fiery crash north of Saskatoon
(Source: CBC News, January 22, 2019) SASKATOON — No one was injured after a train derailed and one locomotive caught fire just north of Saskatoon on Tuesday morning. Full story: CBC News
Amtrak trains could serve Long Island under tentative plan
(Source: Albany Times Union, January 22, 2019) ALBANY, N.Y. — Some Metro-North commuter trains serving the New Haven line could arrive at Penn Station instead of Grand Central, under an agreement between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Amtrak and the Empire...
BNSF exhibits new technology at North Dakota Capitol
(Source: Bismarck Tribune, January 22, 2019) BISMARCK, N.D. — In March, BNSF Railway will begin equipping its fleet with cameras capable of snapping images at 70 mph with enough detail to show cracks in rails or missing bolts. The rail company’s Track Health Optical...
NTSB not investigating transportation accidents due to government shutdown
(Source: www.news4jax.com, January 22, 2019) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There are 83 accidents around the country where a federal investigation is being delayed due to the partial government shutdown. Because most of its staff is furloughed, the National Transportation...
Indigenous energy firm touts job creation in joint venture to make bitumen pucks
(Source: Canadian Press, January 17, 2019) CALGARY — The CEO of an Indigenous energy company says a project to transform oilsands bitumen into pucks for safer shipping to customers around the world will potentially create needed jobs in northern Alberta while helping...
Netflix apologizes to Lac-Megantic for using footage of fatal 2013 explosion in ‘Bird Box’
(Source: Canadian Press, January 22, 2019) MONTREAL — Netflix is apologizing to the people of Lac-Megantic after actual footage of the 2013 rail disaster that devastated the town was used in dramas on the streaming service. The company says it had not been aware of...
Firing of Lac-Megantic engineer ruled illegal, but he won’t be returning to work
(Source: Canadian Press, January 23, 2019) MONTREAL — An arbitrator says the firing last summer of Thomas Harding, the train engineer involved in the Lac-Megantic rail disaster, was illegal. He won’t be returning to work, but he will get financial compensation....
Three companies and what they said about precision railroading in their earnings calls
(Source: Freight Waves, January 22, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three sides of the move to precision railroading (PSR) were on display last week during earnings season conference calls, and they helped to drive home how deeply the practice is embedding itself in the...
Hot food returns to Amtrak’s Capitol Limited, Lakeshore Limited
(Source: Railway Age, January 17, 2019) NEW YORK — After months of having to endure mostly cold boxed food—what some critics dubbed “Unhappy Meals”—on two Amtrak long-distance route, the New York-Chicago Lake Shore Limited (Trains 48/448 and 49/449) and the Washington...
Amtrak will begin additional service to Norfolk in March
(Source: Southside Daily, January 21, 2019) VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Amtrak will debut a second train service here March 4. The second train service will give Hampton Roads’ residents more options to avoid traffic and congestion in tunnels and on Interstates 64 and 95,...
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