Railroad News

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern officially merge

Friday marks the first day of Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), the combined company of Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) and Kansas City Southern, and ends the journey that officially started just over two years ago in March 2021 when CP first declared publicly its interest in merging with KCS.

“Today, we celebrate this historic combination creating a truly unique single-line rail network that begins a new chapter of railroad history in North America,” CPKC President and Chief Executive Officer...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/canadian-pacific-and-kansas-city-southern-officially-merge

Rail service metrics still lacking

Rail service has gotten better since the service meltdowns seen in the first half of 2022, but more needs to be done to get service metrics back to pre-pandemic levels, according to two reports on rail service.

ACC: Most say rail service in H2 2022 didn’t improve from H1

Seventy-eight percent of the members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) say rail service was the same or worse in the second half of 2022 compared with the first half of that year, according to a report released Thursday.

Fort...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-service-metrics-still-lacking

Autonomous rail vehicle maker outlines next steps

FreightWaves recently chatted with Matt Soule, co-founder and CEO of Parallel Systems, a company that seeks to build an autonomous rail option. The company’s goal is to develop autonomous rail vehicles that would be deployed in a platoon of rail vehicles. This platoon would not hook up with locomotives or conventional freight trains, although it would utilize the existing rail infrastructure. 

Parallel Systems has made an autonomous rail vehicle, but its goal is to produce multiple vehicle and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/autonomous-rail-car-maker-outlines-next-steps

Higher revenues boost Greenbrier’s fiscal-quarter income

Quarterly earnings for rail car manufacturer Greenbrier got a boost from higher revenue in all three of its operating segments, according to a Monday release discussing financial results for the company’s second fiscal quarter, which ended Feb. 28.

The Lake Oswego, Oregon-based company reported adjusted basis net earnings of $34 million, or 99 cents per diluted share, in the second fiscal quarter of 2023. This is compared with $1.6 million, or 5 cents per diluted share, in the first fiscal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/higher-revenues-boost-greenbriers-fiscal-quarter-income

FRA links train configuration to 6 derailments, issues safety advisory

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The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety advisory that calls on freight railroads to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fra-links-train-configuration-to-6-derailments-issues-safety-advisory

Trucking slowdown? No sign of it in March employment figures

After a decline in truck transportation jobs in February that seemed to signal the end of the long, almost unbroken post-pandemic climb in trucking employment, the jobs total in that sector reversed course in March and headed higher yet again.

Seasonally adjusted jobs in March, according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday morning, rose to 1,612,000 jobs in March. That is up 5,700 jobs from the revised figure for February, which was 1,606,300 jobs. The initial...

Train length and train crew sizes see state legislative action

Two popular issues among rail unions — train lengths and train crew sizes — have gained traction in state legislatures, with a bill in the Nevada legislature limiting train lengths and a provision requiring train crew sizes of at least two people becoming law in Ohio.

In Nevada, Assembly Bill No. 456 seeks to prohibit trains more than 7,500 feet long on main lines, which would consist of railroad tracks that see 5 million gross tons or more transported annually, as well as on lines that branch...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/train-length-and-train-crew-sizes-see-state-legislative-action

Rail Roundup: Port of Virginia to invest $18M to upgrade facilities

Port of Virginia to invest more than $18M at Virginia Inland Port and Richmond Marine Terminal

The Port of Virginia is planning to invest more than $18 million to expand capacity at the Virginia Inland Port (VIP) near Front Royal and the Richmond Marine Terminal (RMT).

At VIP, the Port of Virginia has plans to expand and reconfigure the terminal’s rail operation and the container stack yard through building three new rail sidings and installing backbone infrastructure for technology, the port...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-roundup-port-of-virginia-to-invest-18m-to-upgrade-facilities

Latest rail safety bill takes aim at wheel-related train derailments

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Lawmakers from Pennsylvania and Ohio have introduced another rail safety bill in Congress that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/latest-rail-safety-bill-takes-aim-at-wheel-related-train-derailments

EIA: Power generation from renewables outpaced coal in 2022

The amount of electricity generated in the U.S. in 2022 from renewable sources was greater than that generated from coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

This is the first time that power generation from coal has been outpaced by renewable sources, such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass and geothermal, EIA said in a March 27 report. Renewable power generation also surpassed nuclear generation for a second consecutive year in 2022.

This change has significant...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/eia-power-generation-from-renewables-outpaced-coal-in-2022

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