The National Transportation Safety Board said a proper risk assessment by the state of Maryland may have avoided the deadly Key Bridge collapse in 2024, and the agency warned that dozens of other bridges are at similar risk throughout the United States.
The warning comes as part of the NTSB’s ongoing investigation into the March 2024 allision of the containership Dali with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which killed six road workers.
In a new report, the NTSB said it conducted a...
In a significant win for rail workers across the United States, over 8,700 members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) of the Teamsters Rail Conference have voted to approve a new contract with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC).
The agreement covers workers from more than 20 railroads who bargained collectively through the NCCC. They include welders, track inspectors and electricians.
BMWED President Tony Cardwell in a release emphasized the broad...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/thousands-of-teamsters-rail-workers-ratify-new-national-contract
Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains ahead of 2024 levels, with a third straight week of gains greater than 5%, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Volume for the week ending March 15 was 503,473 carloads and intermodal units, a 6.2% increase from the same week a year ago. That includes 226,027 carloads, an increase of 3.1%, and 227,446 containers and trailers, up 8.8%.
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https://www.freightwaves.com/news/weekly-us-rail-traffic-remains-ahead-of-2024-levels
PITTSBURGH — Rail technology provider Wabtec (NYSE: WAB) will acquire Dellner Couplers, manufacturer of equipment and services for passenger rail rolling stock, in a $960 million deal, the companies announced Tuesday.
Dellner, based in Sweden, has an 84-year history in train connection systems, with about 100,000 couplers and 12,500 gangways installed worldwide. It has production, assembly and aftermarket service facilities in 13 countries, employing more than 1,200 people and serving more than...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/wabtec-to-acquire-swedens-dellner-couplers-for-960m
Rail logistics provider County Line Rail (CLR) announced the acquisition of the Sabine River & Northern Railroad (SRN), a 40-mile shortline railroad in east Texas.
Founded in 1965, the SRN provides freight service over 40 miles of track from Bessmay to Echo, Texas, with a branch line from Buna to Evandale. It connects with Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. It handles mostly chemicals, pulp and paper products.
No terms were disclosed by privately held...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/county-line-rail-acquires-sabine-river-northern-railroad
WASHINGTON – La Junta de Transporte Surface analizará más de cerca la propuesta de Norfolk Southern de controlar oficialmente la línea de cinturón de Norfolk y Portsmouth de Virginia Terminal. CSX le había pedido a la junta que revisara los problemas de competencia que involucran NS y NPBL. CSX y...
WASHINGTON-La Oficina de Análisis Ambiental de la Junta de Transporte de Surface emitió el viernes un borrador de la declaración de impacto ambiental para la construcción y operación propuesta por Green Eagle Railroad de una línea ferroviaria de 1.3 millas y un cruce fronterizo en Eagle Pass,...
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis on Friday issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Green Eagle Railroad’s proposed construction and operation of a 1.3-mile rail line and border crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The draft reviews two potential routes for the line, which was proposed in December 2023, as well as a “no build” alternative.
Green Eagle Railroad, a subsidiary of Puerto Verde Holdings, aims to build a 19.12-mile secure cross-border...
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will take a closer look at Norfolk Southern’s proposal to officially control Virginia terminal railroad Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line.
CSX had asked the board to review competition issues involving NS and NPBL.
CSX and NS have been locked in a legal dispute over the NPBL for six years. NS has controlled the 36-mile NPBL since 1982 by virtue of its 57% ownership stake; CSX owns the other 43% of the railroad that was created as a neutral switching...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stb-to-scrutinize-ns-bid-to-control-norfolk-portsmouth-belt-line
BALTIMORE — Just hours after empty coal train E730 rolled through the Howard Street Tunnel at 3:35 a.m. Feb. 1, a small army of contractors and CSX workers arrived to begin removing the 1.7-mile tunnel’s single track.
The 100-car coal train was the last through the 1895 Baltimore & Ohio tunnel, which will be shut down for six to eight months as work on the double-stack clearance project continues around the clock, seven days a week.
For now that means detouring 16 scheduled trains per day — five...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/csx-detours-16-plus-trains-per-day-as-baltimore-tunnel-work-begins