Union Pacific’s second-quarter 2024 results showed increases in volume, earning and income and improvements in safety, productivity and operating ratio. “Our performance demonstrates the team’s ability to deliver strong results,” said CEO Jim Vena. “This provides further proof that our strategy to be the best in safety, service and operational excellence will drive success. The entire Union Pacific team is…

On July 23, the Rail Subcommittee of the House Transportation Infrastructure Committee convened a hearing, “Examining the State of Rail Safety in the Aftermath of the Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio,” the purpose of which, frankly, escapes me. The National Transportation Safety Board issued its East Palestine Final Report and held a hearing three weeks prior as a sort-of preview,…

The Reading & Northern (RBMN) has promoted long-time employee Jolene Busher to Vice President-Real Estate, reporting to Executive VP-Strategic Planning Christina Muller-Levan. Busher joined RBMN in April 2007 as a part-time car attendant in the Passenger Department. She worked her way up to become a narrator, a saleswoman in the souvenir car, and ultimately manager of the private car fleet…

Work on Amtrak’s $2.7 billion Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project on the Northeast Corridor in Maryland has begun with pre-construction work that includes removal of remnant bridge piers from the Susquehanna River and utility upgrades in the town of Perryville, Md.. This work sets the stage for start of actual bridge construction later next year. In the Susquehanna River, an…

In June and July, Norfolk Southern conducted two multi-day Safety Leadership Summits for more than 100 field facing and non-field facing employees. The Keystone Division “significantly improved performance in safety, service, and productivity into 2024.” The Safety Leadership Summits, held at NS headquarters in Atlanta and at Moorman Yard in Bellevue, Ohio, are “part of our year-round efforts to advance…

Class II Reading & Northern, Railway Age’s four-time Regional of the Year recipient, has made a few changes in its corporate leadership structure “to better deal with the unprecedented growth in its anthracite coal business.” During the past two years, “The Road of Anthracite” has responded to growing demand for domestic and export anthracite coal by increasing service to coal…

The Railway Supply Institute reports that 17 rail industry figures have confirmed their speaking slots at the Oct. 9-11  2024 RSI Expo & Conference, which includes a comprehensive Education program presented with five industry partners—Air Brake Association, IAROO (International Association of Railway Operating Officers), LMOA (Locomotive Maintenance Officers Association), League of Railway Women and RTSA (Railcar Technical Services Association. “Taking place in…

The Port of Long Beach (POLB) set a TEU record for June, moving 842,446 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), up 41.1% from the same month last year and surpassing the previous record set in June 2022 by 7,034 TEUs. Imports jumped 53% to 419,698 TEUs, exports rose 4% to 98,300 TEUs, and empty containers increased 42.1% to 324,448 TEUs. POLB moved…

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has contracted with Chen Ryan Associates (CRA) to replace five traction power substations (TPSS) for the San Diego Trolley light rail system. CRA subcontractor STV Inc. is the overall task lead. The project team will design plans to replace the existing TPSS while minimizing system impacts and delays, “maintaining the operational efficiency of MTS’s extensive…

Approximately three weeks after its June 25 public meeting in East Palestine, Ohio, site of the Feb. 3, 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train that resulted in a hazmat release and fires, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on July 16, 2024 published its final report, Railroad Investigation Report RIR-24-05, Norfolk Southern Railway Derailment and Hazardous Materials Release…

SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) said on July 16 it will implement “additional initiatives and a series of corrective action plans (CAPs)” in response to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Safety Management Inspection (SMI) Final Report issued the same day. The CAPs, the agency said, “will help further the series of proactive efforts initiated late last summer aimed at enhancing…

The Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board (TSB, Canada’s equivalent of the U.S. NTSB) has a new incoming Chairperson: Yoan Marier, a TSB member since September 2020. His appointment to a four-year term is effective Aug. 21, 2024. Marier will replace Kathy Fox, a 17-year TSB member and Chairperson for the past 10 years. Marier, TSB noted, “has several years…

Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) and 145 members of BLET (Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen) Division 214 (Long Beach) have ratified a three-year extension of their current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) ahead of schedule. The agreement, they said, “represents a step forward in labor relations and underscores the commitment of both parties to fair working conditions…

Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer joined Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono at the 2024 Rail Insights Conference for this wide-ranging discussion on the changes that have been under way at the Class I railroad. Much has been accomplished, and much more work needs to be done, now that the dust has settled following the hard-fought…

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) have sent identical letters to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and EPA Administrator Michael Regan “requesting information about any agency rules, actions, or decisions impacted by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which overturned the…

Midyear Report, Railway Age July 2024 issue: 2024’s tumultuous first half should transition to a calmer period. But then again …

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) on July 8 signed a $6.88 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP) and closed on three Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans from the Build America Bureau totaling $4.06 billion to fund the local share of the project. GDC said it has…

FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE JULY 20224 ISSUE: When CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs joined us last month for our annual Rail Insights conference, I wanted to take the discussion in a somewhat different direction. Hinrichs, in the top post at CSX just under two years, is in many ways unlike those who became CEO after many years as…

How can Class I scheduled railroad operations translate into volume growth? What are the opportunities for industrial development? Why are short line and regional partnerships key to overall rail industry success? Is more culture change needed at the Class I’s? Farrukh A. Bezar offers his perspectives during this discussion with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. Bezar has more than…

The National Railway Historical Society has kicked off its second annual recognition of a railroad’s historic preservation efforts. NRHS is again partnering with Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures to present the Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award in recognition of a working common-carrier railroad for its efforts to preserve railroad history in the United States, Canada or Mexico.  Criteria for the Outstanding Railroad…