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The idea of charging motorists and truckers for the space that their vehicles occupy on city streets has been discussed for some time, but it could be implemented in New York City soon. That would make Manhattan the first place in the United States to carry out such a plan. Many city leaders in the United States and elsewhere around…

A new border dispute is erupting in the United States, and it’s nowhere near the Southern Border with Mexico. The combatants are New York and New Jersey, and the dispute has reached the courts on both sides of their border. For decades, longtime New Jersey passenger rail advocate Albert L. Papp has referred to the boundary line between the two…

Veteran railroad operating officer John Orr has departed Canadian Pacific Kansas City as Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer and joined Norfolk Southern as EVP and COO, effective immediately. Orr replaces Paul Duncan, who departed NS “to pursue other opportunities,” NS said. CPKC agreed to a waiver of Orr’s non-competition agreement to allow him to work for NS “in…

A partnership of first responders and Norfolk Southern via the RapidSOS platform provides train consist information to in the event of a major derailment.

The FRA recently came out with an interim report in its Long-Distance Rail Study, which was commissioned by Congress in §22214 of the Infrastructure Innovation and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) in 2021. My first report on the study started with some background and briefly described the 15 proposed routes, the sort of report…

RAILWAY AGE, MARCH 2024 ISSUE: The rail industry grapples with developing climate-related resiliency plans.  In August 2021, Southern California received its first-ever tropical storm watch, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, when Tropical Storm Hilary was making its way to the Los Angeles Basin and the surrounding area.  The storm pummeled the region, causing Class I Union…

RAILWAY AGE, MARCH 2024 ISSUE: Hydrogen fuel locomotives will be critical to support zero emission on North American railroads. The HGmotiveTM compressed gas tender is intended to support this initiative. The global shift toward sustainable transportation has positioned hydrogen as a key player in clean energy, especially for long-haul rail applications where batteries are at best decades away from having…

CN has been handed a setback in the construction of the Milton Intermodal Terminal, following a March 1 decision by the Canadian Federal Court.

Class III D&I Railroad (D&I) in northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota, plus two long-time CN customers have submitted letters of support for the Canadian Class I’s application to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to acquire control of U.S. regional Iowa Northern Railway (IANR). Additionally, Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) is calling on the Board to evaluate the proposed merger as…

The GIO Railway has operated its last train out of St. Catherines, Ontario, potentially ending nearly 150 years of rail service to the city’s downtown.

Republican Patrick J. Fuchs, who was nominated late last month by President Joe Biden for a second term on the Surface Transportation Board (STB), now has shipper support for Senate confirmation. Fuchs is awaiting a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to determine whether his name goes forward for a Senate-floor confirmation vote. A group of 24 agricultural producers and agribusinesses is…

The State of Oklahoma, by and through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), and the Blackwell Industrial Authority (BIA) have petitioned the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for an emergency order allowing the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, LLC (Rock Island) to provide local rail service on the Blackwell Subdivision, 35.3 miles of rail lines owned by ODOT and BIA…

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Feb. 26 decided the Amtrak Gulf Coast Service proceeding will remain in abeyance and directed the parties to file a joint status report by March 15 covering issues raised during this month’s hearing on the slow pace of getting two Amtrak trains in each direction running between New Orleans and Mobile.

Norfolk Southern on Feb. 26 filed preliminary proxy materials (Schedule 14A) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with its upcoming 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be held in April. NS stated that it continues its “board refreshment” with nominations of two new directors, reiterated its “focus on safety and service while working to drive significant margin…

Editor’s Note: As expected, things are getting ugly. The latest press release from Ancora Holdings Group, LLC is taking the personal attacks on Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw to a new level. The activist investor is “expressing concern about NS’s lobbying efforts, which appear to be about using misinformation and inappropriate influence to protect Mr. Shaw’s status as…

I am a market economist and I’d sooner eat a bucket of ballast than have it said that I prefer any other market structure over competition or that government intervention is a natural and happy thing. When we’re in a textbook setting, nothing works better than competition, and we don’t have to lay a hand on it. Furthermore—and this is…

On Feb. 21, three days after Ancora Holdings announced its intention to replace a majority of the Norfolk Southern Board of Directors and the railroad’s chief executive and chief operating officers, Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose wrote a rather interestingly worded letter to Alan Shaw, with copies to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and outgoing STB Chair Marty Oberman. Here…

How do you save a freight rail line when it loses its primary shipper? Many cycling enthusiasts will tell you to rip up the tracks and turn it into a bike trail, but Scott R. Spencer, Chief Operating Officer of AmeriStarRail, has a better idea. He suggests running passenger trains on the line and using connecting buses to bring tourists…

Sanimax USA LLC and Union Pacific (UP) on Feb. 12 told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) they have settled their dispute and jointly requested that Sanimax’s common carrier complaint be dismissed with prejudice and the proceeding be dropped. STB on Feb. 15 approved.

Railway Age recently reported on the proposed Sunshine Corridor in Central Florida, which is slated to connect Brightline’s newly opened northern terminal at Orlando Airport with points west and southwest in the Orlando area, interchange with local service on SunRail, and serve as part of an extension of Brightline to Tampa someday. The extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando…