Latest News

November 20, 2009

FRA: Freight Rail Fuel Efficiency Up

(03:05 p.m. CST) The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Nov. 19 released a study showing vast improvements in freight rail fuel efficiency over the last two decades, approximately 22 percent between 1990 and 2006. More...

Freight Volume Down During Holiday Week

(02:55 p.m. CST) U.S. railroads reported originating 281,218 carloads for the Veterans Day holiday week ended Nov. 14, down 8.9 percent compared to the same week in 2008 and down 17 percent from from the same week in 2007, reports the Association of American Railroads. More...

New Jersey Transit Joins Safety Pilot Program

(02:40 p.m. CST) New Jersey Transit has started its participation in the Close Call Project, a safety pilot program designed to give rail employees the ability to voluntarily and anonymously report "close call" incidents that could have resulted in an accident but did not. More...

November 18, 2009

STB: Rails Cut More Jobs

(02:00 p.m. CST) The U.S. lines of the seven Class I railroads trimmed another 408 jobs as of mid-October from a month earlier, taking their total employment level down to a new low. More...

November 13, 2009

Intermodal Traffic Sees Improvement

(11:45 a.m. CST) U.S. railroads reported originating 274,846 carloads for the week ended Nov. 7, down 12.2 percent compared to the same week in 2008 and down 19.6 percent from 2007. More...

November 10, 2009

Berkshire to Sell UP, NS Stakes

(01:30 p.m. CST) Warren Buffett's company will sell its stakes in Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads before it completes its $26.3 billion acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. railroad. More...

November 6, 2009

BNSF, BLET Reach Tentative Accord

(01:15 p.m. CST) BNSF Railway Co. and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) reached a tentative agreement to settle wage and work rule matters concerning BNSF's locomotive engineers for the major round of collective bargaining that will begin Jan. 1, 2010. More...

Some Commodity Groups Show Increase

(01:00 p.m. CST) U.S. railroads reported originating 275,439 carloads for the week ended Oct. 31, down 13.7 percent compared with the same week in 2008 and down 18.2 percent from 2007. More...

Employee Helps Homeless Boost Computer Skills

(12:45 p.m. CST) Khaled Mabrouk has been volunteering two hours each Saturday morning since June 2008 in the Omaha Open Door Mission's learning center computer room. More...

Emergency Funds Aid Struggling Families

(11:25 a.m. CST) Emergency funds were scarce for a Salvation Army in Blair, Neb. Several weeks ago, the organization found itself unable to provide support to residents needing assistance with rent and utilities until its new fiscal year began on Oct. 1. More...

November 4, 2009

Railroads Post New Gains in Safety

(03:45 p.m. CST) According to the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety, U.S. rail-related fatalities declined 12.4 percent to a total of 466 in the 12 months ended Aug. 31. More...

NMB Proposes Union Election Rule Changes

(03:25 p.m. CST) The board is proposing to change the threshold for a successful union election from a majority of eligible voters in a classification to a majority of voters who actually participate in an election. More...

November 3, 2009

Warren Buffett Buys BNSF

(09:20 a.m. CST) Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will pay $26 billion to buy out railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in what the billionaire investor called a bet on the U.S. economy. More...

October 30, 2009

Carload, Intermodal Numbers Continue Weak Pace

(04:40 p.m. CDT) U.S. railroads reported originating 276,357 carloads for the week ended Oct. 24, down 14.8 percent compared with the same week in 2008 and 17.3 percent from 2007. More...

October 28, 2009

Norfolk Southern 3Q Earnings Plunge

(04:15 p.m. CDT) Norfolk Southern Corp. said Oct. 27 that its third-quarter earnings plunged 41 percent as shipments sank for everything from coal for power plants to retail goods. More...

October 27, 2009

Nevada Main Line Reopened Following Derailment

(02:30 p.m. CDT) Union Pacific's main line No. 1 near Valmy, Nev., is back in service after an intermodal train derailed about 40 containers Oct. 25. More...

CP Profit Rises, Revenue Tumbles

(10:40 a.m. CDT) Canadian Pacific Railway Limited announced third-quarter net income of $195 million, an increase of 14 percent from $171 million in 2008. More...

October 26, 2009

New DOT Council to Enhance Safety Focus

(02:55 p.m. CDT) Secretary Ray LaHood Oct. 26 convened the first meeting of a newly created U.S. Department of Transportation Safety Council formed to tackle critical transportation safety issues facing the department's 10 operating administrations. More...

Amtrak: PTC Costs Could Shut Down Train Services

(02:50 p.m. CDT) Amtrak has told the Federal Railroad Administration that the cost of installing Positive Train Control collision-avoidance systems in at least 12 states "may be so high as to not be undertaken and therefore result in the elimination of Amtrak service." More...

Derailment Closes Nevada Main Line No. 1

(11:50 a.m. CDT) A Union Pacific freight train travelling from Chicago to Oakland, Calif., derailed more than 40 cars, taking out main line No. 1 on Sunday at 11:45 p.m. near Valmy, Nev. More...

October 23, 2009

Burlington Northern 3Q Profit Falls

(09:15 a.m. CDT) Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation Oct. 22 reported quarterly earnings of $1.42 per diluted share, which included a $0.06 per share impact related to a favorable coal rate case adjustment. This compared to third-quarter 2008 earnings of $1.99 per diluted share. More...

Class I Workforce Slips in September

(09:05 a.m. CDT) The U.S. Class I workforce not only shrank for the second-straight month in September, it fell below 150,000 for the first time in many months. More...

Rail Traffic Reflects Economic Slump

(08:45 a.m. CDT) U.S railroads reported originating 275,545 carloads for the week ended Oct. 17, down 15.4 percent compared with the same week in 2008. More...

October 21, 2009

CN Rail Profit Sags, Says Worst Is Over

(01:00 p.m. CDT) Executives at Canada's biggest railroad repeated cautiously upbeat comments made in recent months that the worst of the economic downturn was over, but also pointed out there would still be economic head winds. More...