Opinion

While the world winds down for the holidays, Team NS gears up to deliver them. The six weeks of Peak Season—from Thanksgiving to Christmas—is our championship stretch.

Orders for new railcars in 2025’s third quarter amounted to 3,071. We’re not facing a financial crisis, or a COVID lockdown, but orders are behaving as though we’re in a…

The U.S. transportation system is being pushed beyond the limits of what it was built to handle. Freight volumes continue climbing, supply chains are more time-sensitive, and our roads —…

To those of us having experience as both a Class I pricing officer and a railroad shipper, it’s axiomatic that the primary advantage of shipping by rail is price. Now…

The late Henry G. Manne, a pioneer in melding the academic disciplines of economics and law through a lens favoring free markets and reduced government regulation, gained international acclaim through…

In the heart of the Windy City, BNSF’s Cicero Intermodal Facility underwent a transformation that’s as strategic as it is sustainable. With the final phase of a multi-year expansion nearing completion, the project is already delivering on…

Each year, Norfolk Southern (NS) conducts a comprehensive customer survey to gauge service performance and identify opportunities for improvement. In 2025, we achieved a world-class response rate of 42%, with…

A thriving rail industry is foundational for the U.S. economy. Since the 1800s, railroads have powered the U.S. by hauling grain, chemicals, vehicles, coal and all kinds of critical supplies…

After a year of significant transitions, quality assurance (QA) across railway suppliers’ products and services are more important than ever. Guidance and service offerings that can assist the industry are…

Union Pacific Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Rahul Jalali told reporters on a media day business train that UP-NS computer systems integration will go smoothly if the merger…

Since 2020, Class I railroads have acquired more than 3,000 miles of trackage from short line and regional carrier—some of which they previously owned.

I will attempt to clarify a rather “interesting” indirect exchange involving Union Pacific’s Jim Vena, who hopes to one day head the first East-West U.S. transcontinental Class I railroad, and…

In April 2019, Matt Rose stepped down as BNSF Executive Chairman. At the end of his tenure, Rose had been Executive Chairman for six years, and BNSF President and CEO…

On Sept. 30, I reported on Brightline, the private-sector passenger railroad that currently operates in Florida and is building a high-speed railroad between Southern California and Las Vegas. I examined…

Election Night 2025 was a good one for Democrats. Although there were some local elections earlier this year, the first multi-state set of contests since POTUS 47 returned to office…

FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE NOVEMBER 2025 ISSUE: At this writing in late October, we are nearly five months out from our annual Next-Generation Freight Rail (“NGFR”) Conference, slated for…

FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE NOVEMBER 2025 ISSUE: Just about everybody has at one point in their life mused about the paradoxical nature of the weather forecaster, the most common refrain…

Jacob Elium, VP of Financial Planning and Analysis, didn’t just choose a career in railroading; he followed a path carved decades earlier by his grandfather, Robert “Bob” Elium. His grandfather's…

Starting next spring, on a date not yet announced, trains will again run on a regularly scheduled basis between New York City’s Grand Central Terminal (GCT) and Amtrak’s Albany-Rensselaer station.…

Prior to the Staggers of Act of 1980, the only way a Class I railroad could shed the cost of marginal or money losing light density rail line was abandonment.…