BNSF Railway, CSX, and Union Pacific filed lawsuits against the Federal Railroad Administration today for its failure to act on a half dozen safety waiver requests that in some cases would allow railroads to scale back visual inspections in areas where they have deployed new high-tech train and track inspection systems.

The Transportation Security Administration has proposed a rule that would require cybersecurity risk management and reporting requirements for some freight and passenger railroads, as well as rail transportation.

Propelled by a big jump in intermodal traffic, weekly U.S. rail traffic had its biggest gain in seven weeks over the period ending Nov. 2.

In the wake of the disastrous hazardous materials derailment last year in East Palestine, Ohio, the Federal Railroad Administration has repeatedly said it’s doing everything it can to improve rail safety.

BNSF Railway’s profits, revenue and volume all increased for the third quarter, thanks to surging intermodal and agricultural shipments.

A dispute over terminal automation will halt freight moving through the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and disrupt U.S.-bound intermodal rail shipments.

CSX launched double-stack service to and from the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore on Monday thanks to clearance projects that have been completed north of the Howard Street Tunnel.

A total of 122 projects in 41 states and the District of Columbia have been named recipients in the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program.

BNSF Railway and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract, while the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers has ratified its agreement with the railroad.

U.S. weekly rail traffic showed a modest gain for the week ending Oct. 19, 2024.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s third-quarter profits and revenue increased despite the impact of the four-day work stoppage in Canada, the railway reported on Wednesday.

CSX Transportation has reached new tentative five-year deals with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers. The railroad also announced ratification of an agreement with yardmasters represented by the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division.

Norfolk Southern has reached a tentative five-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the railroad announced Tuesday. The agreement, subject to ratification, means the railroad has tentative deals with approximately 67% of its union workforce.

Norfolk Southern delivered significant gains in earnings and operating ratio during 2024’s third quarter, with new CEO Mark George noting the railroad is “continuing to close the margin gap” with its peers.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) posted third-quarter earnings from rail operations of $1.6 billion, along with an operating ratio of 47.7% and diluted earnings per share of $4.85, the railroad announced Tuesday. 

Mexico’s Congress has passed legislation that would reverse railroad privatization laws enacted in the 1990s and give the government more control over rail operations, particularly passenger rail.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed CSX Corp. regarding misstatements in previously financial reports, CSX said in its latest quarterly filing with the government agency.

The Surface Transportation Board has approved acquisition by Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation of the Meridian & Bigbee Railroad from Genesee & Wyoming, allowing the two Class I lines to create a new direct connection at Myrtlewood, Alabama.

Weekly U.S. rail traffic rebounded into positive territory compared to 2023 for the week ending Oct. 12, after falling below previous-year levels a week earlier.

CSX faces more than $200 million in reconstruction costs as a result of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and the income impacts of the storms will be felt in both the third and fourth quarters.

CSX Corp. reported third-quarter operating income of $1.35 billion with net earnings of $894 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, in financial results announced Wednesday.

Freight railroads from the Gulf Coast to Miami are still assessing damage and making repairs after Milton made landfall near St. Petersburg late Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane.

For the first time in more than nine months, U.S. weekly rail traffic has dropped below 2023 levels.

Class I railroads have rationalized their networks to the extent that there is very little redundancy, leaving few efficient alternatives in the event of a catastrophic event like Hurricane Helene.

Norfolk Southern says its line between Asheville, North Carolina, and Newport, Tennessee — heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene — will be out of service until at least late January, while assessment of the route between Asheville and Old Fort, North Carolina, is ongoing.

Locomotives and freight cars are being moved to higher ground and railroad operations are winding down as Hurricane Milton is only a few hours from making landfall between Tampa Bay and Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Two members of Congress have introduced legislation to place railroad yardmasters under the same hours-of-service regulations that cover workers such as train crew members and dispatchers.

Freight railroads are on high alert as massive Hurricane Milton heads toward Florida.

Union Pacific says it’s already successfully handling the surge in container volume at West Coast ports, which began weeks ago as shippers sought to dodge a potential strike at ports on the East and Gulf coasts.

Rail service across many of Norfolk Southern’s lines from Georgia to West Virginia remain out of service.

CSX Transportation’s former Clinchfield Railroad mainline has seen devastating impacts from Hurricane Helene’s once-in-a-generation flood.

As BNSF Railway, CSX and Norfolk Southern continue to sign tentative contract agreements with their labor unions well in advance of the start of national negotiations, one U.S. Class I railroad has been conspicuously absent: Union Pacific.

Norfolk Southern, which has struggled to maintain consistent and reliable service in recent years, will no longer tolerate mediocre operational performance, new CEO Mark George says.

Norfolk Southern on Wednesday terminated the contracts of embattled CEO Alan Shaw and the railroad’s chief legal officer, Nabanita Nag, for having a consensual relationship in violation of company policy.

The Norfolk Southern board of directors is investigating allegations that CEO Alan Shaw had an inappropriate workplace relationship.

U.S. rail traffic has seen its third consecutive week of increases of 8% or more.

Norfolk Southern and BNSF Railway have reached tentative five-year contract agreements with additional unions four months before the opening round of national collective bargaining.

Norfolk Southern’s final RoadRailer train left Detroit early Sunday morning for the 715-mile run to Kansas City, Missouri.

The union says it will appeal ruling to federal court.

Canadian National Railway announced it has received a 72-hour strike notice from the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which would launch a strike against the railroad at 10 a.m. ET on Monday.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference is returning to work at Canadian National Railway, but the union said the work stoppage continues at Canadian Pacific Kansas City pending an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Startup Intramotev, which converts conventional freight cars to battery-electric, self-propelled vehicles, has debuted an autonomous double-stack car.

Canada’s freight rail work stoppage — the first to shut down both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City simultaneously — is over.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday tossed out the Surface Transportation Board’s streamlined process for resolving rate disputes between shippers and railroads.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference on Sunday served a 72-hour strike notice to Canadian Pacific Kansas City, saying the union will walk out at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, barring a last-minute labor agreement.

he Surface Transportation Board will hear from more than three dozen participants during its two-day hearing next month regarding recent trends and strategies for growth in freight railroad traffic.