railroad

Ag secretary: Rail service ‘remains inadequate and unreliable’

While rail service has improved for agricultural and grain shippers in 2023 compared with last year, ongoing service issues warrant continued attention and regulatory action, rail shippers are telling the Surface Transportation Board.

For starters, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently urged STB to follow through with a number of actions to bolster rail service, including moving forward on proceedings regarding private rail car use and emergency service orders, including addressing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ag-secretary-rail-service-remains-inadequate-and-unreliable

Rail industry ‘crises’ spur call to oust STB chair

Three progressive groups want President Joe Biden to remove Marty Oberman from chairmanship of the Surface Transportation Board and replace him with board member Robert Primus because of the way Oberman handled the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

Their Wednesday letter addressed to Biden follows unrelated actions last week when the Coalition to stop CPKC, a group representing Chicago’s western suburbs, filed a lawsuit against STB on its decision to approve the $31...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-industry-crises-spur-call-to-oust-stb-chair

Union group pushes for passage of rail safety bill

Rail union representatives are poised to adopt a policy statement that urges Congress to pass a rail safety bill — one that mandates a minimum of two-person crew sizes on all passenger and freight trains, regulates train lengths exceeding 7,500 feet and ensures adequate inspections of rail cars, locomotives and brakes.

The latest policy statement of the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO cites at least 18 areas where regulations and guidance via the Federal Railroad...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/union-group-pushes-for-passage-of-rail-safety-bill

Short-line operator: California’s new locomotive emissions rule could ‘kill’ industry

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Kennan H. Beard III doesn’t think it’s an exaggeration that the new California Air Resources Board...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/short-line-operator-californias-new-locomotive-emissions-rule-could-kill-industry

Intramotev gets grant to deploy self-propelled rail cars at mining site

St. Louis-based autonomous rail car developer Intramotev has received a $200,000 grant to deploy three self-propelled rail cars at a mining site in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Intramotev expects to deploy its TugVolt rail cars in late 2023. The company has been testing its battery-electric rail car prototype at its St. Louis headquarters.

“We are excited to partner with Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification to usher in a new era of industrial revitalization,” Intramotev...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/intramotev-gets-grant-to-deploy-self-propelled-rail-cars-at-mining-site

Freight rail stakeholders lay out their challenges before Congress

Longer trains, employee morale and the role of technology in freight rail operations came under at times withering scrutiny at a U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing.

The hearing, convened to discuss supply chain challenges in the freight rail industry, became a forum for discussion of hot-button topics. Five witnesses at the Thursday hearing spelled out ongoing concerns of stakeholders.

Asked what problems a bipartisan House supply chain caucus should focus on,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freight-rail-stakeholders-lay-out-their-challenges-before-congress

CPKC now offering daily intermodal service between Midwest, Mexico

Canadian Pacific Kansas City is now offering a daily premium intermodal service running between the U.S. Midwest and Mexico.

This latest offering, which CPKC (NYSE: CP) says will be “the first truck-competitive, single-line rail service option between the Midwest and Mexico,” comes as competing Class I railroads aim to bolster their own transcontinental offerings. Late last month, rival CN (NYSE: CNI) announced it, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Mexico railway Ferromex would be offering a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cpkc-now-offering-daily-intermodal-service-between-midwest-mexico

Renewable fuels feedstock facility opens on CSX network in Mississippi 

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Renewable fuels producer Oleo-X has established a production facility in Mississippi that will be...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/renewable-fuels-feedstock-facility-opens-on-csx-network-in-mississippi

BNSF’s Q1 net income falls 9% amid 10% drop in carload volumes

BNSF’s net profit for the first quarter of 2023 slipped 9% amid a 10% drop in carload volumes, the railroad’s parent company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), reported Saturday.

Net income was nearly $1.25 billion in the first quarter, compared with $1.37 billion year over year. 

Total revenues were $6 billion, up 1% from $5.97 billion a year ago. Of that, freight revenues were $5.75 billion, up 2.2% from nearly $5.63 billion in the first quarter of 2022. 

BNSF attributed the revenue increase to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/bnsfs-q1-net-income-falls-9-amid-10-drop-in-carload-volumes

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