WASHINGTON, D.C. –– The Amtrak Office of Inspector General last week released a report on data and data governance shortcomings around the agency’s State of Good Repair efforts.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. –– Above: Lou Thompson on a recent edition of CBS 60 minutes. From 2009 to 2024, Louis S. (Lou) Thompson, whose distinguished career has included formation of Amtrak in the early 1970s and railways advisor to the World Bank, was a member of the California High Speed Rail project Peer Review Group reporting to the California State Legislature. He was Chairman from 2012 to 2024.
ATLANTA –– Not Worth It?
Editor’s Notebook, April 2026, Railway Track and Structures
ATLANTA –– Norfolk Southern’s Rich Heritage Is Too Valuable To Toss. “From The Dome,” Railway Track and Structures, April 2026.
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– In the opinion of the late President Ronald Regan, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Among railroaders, the phrase rang painfully and expensively true for most of the 20th century when the former Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) regulated railroads into the years the locust hath eaten. Things they have been a changin’ under ICC successor Surface Transportation Board (STB).
NEW YORK ––Between 16% and 25% of the U.S. railroad industry workforce consists of military veterans, with most Class I’s reporting that up to 20% or more of their employees have served in the armed forces. Veterans are highly valued in the industry for their discipline, safety focus, and skill sets.
CHICAGO ––RAILWAY AGE NEXT-GEN FREIGHT RAIL CONFERENCE, MARCH 10, 2026: Union Pacific sees end-to-end scale and past merger lessons supporting its consolidation case with Norfolk Southern, but peers flag competition loss and gateway risk. Union Pacific noted that it is talking to several Class I carriers behind the scenes, potentially paving the way for some concessions. The Surface Transportation Board is streamlining environmental permitting and is committed to overhauling switching rules.
ATLANTA –– From the March 2026 issue of Railway Track and Structures.
ATLANTA –– Concerns and complaints about railroad customer service have circulated for years. Many times, those comments are just not right. This is one of them.
NEW YORK –– We hosted a former Class I CEO to review the recent Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application. He sees a very strong filing with acceptance likely though not until 2027. The CGP (Committed Gateway Pricing) solution enhances competition and should pass STB’s test. The network plan supports disclosed truck conversion opportunities in transcontinental and watershed lanes. Competitors are likely compelled to adapt and could eventually propose their own combinations.
NEW YORK –– ‘Twas one week before Christmas, and all through the land, rail stakeholders were stirring, as Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern dealt their merger hand.
ATLANTA –– The CN webpage devoted to comment about UP+NS leaves one big question unanswered.
NEW YORK –– Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono previews Next Generation Freight Rail Conference in 2026.
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– WATCHING WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 2025 ISSUE OF RAILWAY AGE: Perhaps the gutsiest-ever regulatory agency decision was the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) 2001 imposition of a railroad merger moratorium. Its architect was then-STB Chairperson Linda J. Morgan.
ATLANTA –– Chances are the majority of this magazine’s readership did not see, and may not even be familiar with, the two editions of The American Freedom Train that operated in the twentieth century.
CHICAGO –– Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena claims to have identified a number of rail industry shortcomings that according to him can only be solved by his proposed transcontinental merger between the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads. The first of these shortcomings we would like to focus on is the well-known issue of the Chicago interchange.
ATLANTA –– Norfolk Southern is once again making history more accessible. Thanks to a $500,000 contribution from NS, the Atlanta History Center and the Georgia Historical Society have completed a landmark archival exchange—preserving Georgia’s rich heritage and making it easier to explore.
ATLANTA –– It doesn’t take much looking around to appreciate the amounts of creativity and ingenuity that go into our nation’s transportation infrastructure.
ATLANTA –– From the October 2025 Issue of Railway Track and Structures.
JACKSONVILLE –– CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs, Railway Age’s 2025 Railroader of the Year, has been suddenly and unexpectedly railroaded by his own collectively myopic Board of Directors, and for no reason other than, sooner or later, refusing to join the transcon merger fray. I’m not the only one who wholeheartedly agrees with CNBC’s Jim Cramer that there has been an “injustice in Jacksonville” based on short-sightedness and hedge fund pressure. Call me naïve, but I didn’t see it coming. Nor did many others.
