CN

CN, IBEW reach tentative agreement, avoid strike

Canadian National and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of Canada have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract, averting a strike that was slated to begin Tuesday.

The union represents approximately 750 signals and communications employees across Canada. They have been working without a contract since Dec. 31, 2024.

Montreal-based CN (NYSE: CNI) said in a release that terms of the agreement would not be disclosed until the contract is ratified.

The union had...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cn-ibew-reach-tentative-agreement-avoid-strike

CN braces for rail strike

Canadian National Railway is bracing for a work stoppage Tuesday after members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in Canada issued a 72-hour strike notice.

The union represents about 750 signal and communications workers, who are prepared to walk out if a new agreement is not reached by a Jan. 28 deadline. 

“CN is aware of the notice. The company has a contingency plan in place and is focused on keeping the supply chain fluid and goods moving safely. These activities...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cn-braces-for-rail-strike

U.S. weekly rail volume shows big jump

U.S. rail traffic showed a massive jump for the week ending Jan. 18, 2025, with both carload and intermodal traffic up more than 25% from the same week a year earlier.

Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show overall traffic for the week was 500,160 carloads and intermodal units, a 25.9% increase. That included 216,457 carloads, up 25.1%, and 287,703 containers and trailers, up 26.5%.

While railroad officials have suggested that they are seeing traffic increases as importers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/u-s-weekly-rail-volume-shows-big-jump

Intermodal strength keeps US rail volume ahead of 2024 levels

Carload traffic was down considerably, but intermodal volume remained strong in the latest report on U.S. weekly rail traffic.

According to the Association of American Railroads, traffic for the week ending Jan. 11, 2025, included 465,390 carloads and intermodal units and was up 1.8% from the same week in 2024. That included 199,511 carloads, down 6.4% compared to the corresponding week a year ago, and 265,879 containers and trailers, up 8.9%.

Through two weeks of 2025, the cumulative volume of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/intermodal-strength-keeps-us-rail-volume-ahead-of-2024-levels

CN testing hybrid biofuel-ready locomotive

Canadian railway CN announced the launch of its medium-horsepower hybrid-electric locomotive developed in collaboration with Knoxville Locomotive Works (KLW) of Tennessee. 

The Montreal-based company said the biofuel-ready locomotive will undergo testing across its network as a pilot project, to evaluate its potential to enhance operational efficiency and fuel savings.

Biofuel is a renewable energy source produced from organic plant or animal material. 

The 3,200-horsepower unit is built on the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cn-testing-hybrid-biofuel-ready-locomotive

Weekly US rail traffic continues to gain

Weekly rail traffic in the United States remains up as the year winds down.

Figures for the week ending Dec. 14 saw U.S. railroads move 526,166 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.8% increase over the same week in 2023, according to the Association of American Railroads. Those figures include 228,400 commodity carloads, down 2.4% from the corresponding week a year ago, and 297,766 containers and trailers, up 11.1%.

Among carload gainers, farm products excluding grain and food increased 3.6%, while...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/weekly-us-rail-traffic-continues-to-gain

Ottawa should stay out of rail bargaining, says Teamsters Canada

Teamsters Canada union leaders are urging federal officials in Ottawa to stay out of the collective bargaining process and back railway workers’ right to strike.

“The transportation industry’s most powerful chief executives have developed a way to sidestep union negotiations,” Francois Laporte, national president of Teamsters Canada, and Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, wrote in an op-ed in Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper this week. “Here’s their playbook, as...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ottawa-should-stay-out-of-rail-bargaining-says-teamsters-canada

US rail traffic shows weekly gain

After two weeks in which weekly U.S. rail traffic numbers showed major swings because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the latest numbers are back to normal — which is to say, showing a nominal overall increase.

Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending Dec. 7 show U.S. railroads moved 520,894 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.4% increase from the same week in 2023. That includes 224,899 carloads, down 1.8%, and 295,995 containers and trailers, up 9.7%.

Those figures...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/u-s-rail-traffic-shows-weekly-gain

At Rail Trends: Grants, real estate key to short line rail growth

Short lines are on the headpin as the North American rail business embraces a welcome rebound.

“It’s been a tumultuous eight years but the railroad industry is turning a corner as a whole, and that’s where [short lines] are going,” said Chuck Baker, president and chief executive of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, speaking at the Rail Trends conference in New York.

“This year I have visited with all six Class 1s and they all have engaged short line teams. They all say...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/at-rail-trends-money-real-estate-key-to-short-line-rail-growth

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