Regulatory

’Twas one week before Christmas, and all through the land, rail stakeholders were stirring, as Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern dealt their merger hand.

Union Pacific’s (UP) Chicago Service Unit celebrates a world-class safety achievement. Also, CSX’s Columbus, Ohio, Mechanical Team achieves 1,500 days injury-free; and the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) releases its annual…

The Regional Transportation Authority (Chicago, Ill.) on Dec. 18 voted to adopt the 2025 Regional Transit Operating Budget and 2026-2030 Capital Program following the signing of the Northern Illinois Transit…

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has adopted for first-quarter 2026 the rail cost adjustment factor (RCAF), which is defined as “an index formulated to represent changes in railroad costs incurred…

The Senate Dec. 18 voted 53-43, along party lines, to confirm STB member Michelle A. Schultz to a second two-year term on the five-member agency.

The level of granularity in evaluating thousands of pages of a merger application prompted William H. Tucker, when a member of Surface Transportation Board (STB) predecessor Interstate Commerce Commission in…

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED), representing 53% of the unionized workforce at Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk…

Alstom will supply 47 DMUs for the government’s passenger revival program.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on Dec. 16 signed the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act, SB2111, into law, “marking a landmark action in modernizing Illinois’ transit system.” The law creates…

The Amtrak Board of Directors held its year-end 2025 meeting earlier this month in New Orleans, the site of a celebration held three-and-a-half months ago for the inauguration of Mardi…

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Dec. 15 announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) through Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants for Fiscal Year 2026 that…

Canada’s Alto and its private-developer partner Cadence will soon begin outreach to the steel industry in support of the roughly 621-mile (1,000-kilometer) Toronto-Québec City HSR (high-speed rail) project, whose first…

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) elects its 2026 Board of Directors and Officers. Also, Harbor Logistics names Jason Essenberg Senior Vice President of Business Development; and the Short…

Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Troy Carter (D-La.), and Cleo Fields (D-La.) are asking the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to not only consider the “tangible impact the [proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern]…

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) on Dec. 10 reported joining disability advocates and the original plaintiffs of an accessibility lawsuit “to celebrate a historic milestone in the ongoing effort…

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is seeking nominations to fill vacancies on its Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC). The deadline is Jan. 12, 2026; candidates may nominate themselves.

Dear members, partners, and supporters of the North American rail supply industry: As we close out this year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve undertaken together. Stepping into the role of RSI president at the end…

California’s Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) secures state funding for new LRVs (light rail vehicles) and station construction and other transit projects. Also, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) celebrates the…

FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE DECEMBER 2025 ISSUE: When I started freshman year at Essex Catholic High School, Newark, N.J.,  in September 1973, Latin had been dropped as a requirement. Though…

2026 FREIGHT RAIL OUTLOOK, RAILWAY AGE DECEMBER 2025 ISSUE WITH WALL STREET CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JASON SEIDL: For most if not all of 2026, the industry will be preoccupied with the…