BNSF fights fires in Yakima River Canyon
Sometimes a major fire needs to be fought with a locomotive. BNSF is supplying a firefighting train to help battle the Evans Canyon Fire. The train can transport firefighters to hard-to-reach areas
Freight
Union Pacific plans to lay off unspecified number of employees
Union Pacific announced Friday that it plans to lay off an unspecified number of employees according to the Omaha World-Herald. The announcement from the railroad said the reason for the layoffs is
BNSF now in charge of rail yard tracks where asbestos was allegedly spread
BNSF has reached an agreement with federal and state officials regarding rail yard tracks in northwest Montana. The Class 1 company is being accused of contaminating the tracks with asbestos. The Environmental
AAR rail traffic report – are we seeing a solid comeback for intermodal?
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 29, 2020, as well as volumes for August 2020. U.S. railroads originated 898,227 carloads in August
NTSB: Operator presence control could have prevented fatal railway worker accident
The National Transportation Safety Board issued Railroad Accident Report 20/02 Thursday [August 27, 2020], detailing its investigation of the March 12, 2018, fatal injury of a CSX Transportation equipment operator near Wartrace,
Canadian National gives the Lion Electric Co. largest order to date
Canadian National and The Lion Electric Co. announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for CN to acquire 50 zero-emission trucks by CN as part of its fleet of
Federal Railroad Administration announces rail inspection technology rule to improve track safety
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today submitted to the Federal Register a final rule allowing railroads to use ultrasonic inspection technology, augmented with global positioning system (GPS) technology,
Read and watch: L.B. Foster announces Track Monitoring Suite
Innovative ways to support railway safety and keep trains moving are always top of mind. Manager of Technology Sales, Michael O’Connell, walks through our Total Track Monitoring suite of products. This 5-minute
Total carloads still down but intermodal has a stronger week
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 22, 2020. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 514,914 carloads and intermodal units,
Moses Lake, Wash., ready to begin track upgrade and new track construction
Thou shall build and refurbish. Moses Lake, Wash., received some very good news this week when the Federal Railroad Administration approved a revised Northern Columbia Basin Railroad project and announced it will
RT&S August issue now online
The RT&S August issue contains stories on how Amtrak deploys ground-penetrating radar to bring efficiencies to undercutting, ballast maintenance, rail welding, and a special look at how crews at Mount Washington Cog
Railroads dealing with double whammy of storms on the Gulf Coast
It’s that time of year when U.S. residents and companies on the Eastern and Gulf coasts keep a wary eye on the skies and spend time mentally and physically preparing for the
FRA + STB: seven Class 1s, one letter
Curiously timed with the start of the Republican National Convention (or perhaps not so curiously), the Surface Transportation Board and Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 24 sent joint, identical letters to the
Union Pacific derailment comes close to striking large propane tank
Union Pacific has not set a timeline on when a line of track in Albany County, Wyo., will be reopened following a 57-car derailment over the weekend. The cars that left the
BNSF update on wounded police officer
On Monday, RT&S reported on the struggle a BNSF police officer had with a trespasser at a Denver BNSF facility last Saturday. The latest information we had at the time of the
Montana county uses grant money for Class 1 rail project
Silver Bow County in Montana is welcoming a $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Economic Development Administration, and the money will go towards a Class 1 rail project. An $11
R. J. Corman Railroad Group announces acquisition of Owego and Harford Railway, Lehigh Railway, Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway, and TranZ
R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC announced the finalization of an agreement to acquire Owego and Harford Railway, Inc (OHRY), Lehigh Railway, LLC (LRWY), and Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway Company (LS) as
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic remains down, but intermodal shows glimmer of strength
Ed. Note: It’s too early to tell, but could we be seeing a glimmer of hope in intermodal traffic? The week ending August 15 is the second week in a row that
FRA refutes index ranking regarding train derailments
24/7 Wall Street, using numbers from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Association of American Railroads, has created an index ranking the best and worst states when it comes to rail
Two CN workers performing grade crossing repair work are struck and injured
Global News reports that two Canadian National workers who were repairing a grade crossing near Edmonton, Alberta were struck by a pickup truck on Friday evening. Both suffered serious injuries and are