Rail News

The House Judiciary Committee passed an antitrust bill that railroads oppose, as it would put them under the same antitrust provisions faced by other industries, but any similar measure in the Senate

With Labor Day removing the first normal shipment day from the schedule of major U.S. railroads, railcar loadings and intermodal units last week were their lowest since early July.

The French government unveiled an $11.8 billion plan Sept. 16 to significantly increase rail's share of Europe's second largest transport market over the next 10 years.

Eastern-U.S.

Railroad freight volumes are probably the single most important indicator of the economy’s health to billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

A growing number of Washington insiders say the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is close to introducing the first reform of rail economic regulation in 30 years, but indicate all

Famed U.S. investor Warren Buffett thinks the economy has “plateaued” along a bottom after a sharp decline, with little sign of recovery.

Distribution centers and manufacturing plants in the Ohio Valley will soon have two new intermodal options for moving their cargo to and from Asia.

As more wind towers sprout on alternative energy farms around the United States, Union Pacific Railroad is taking a growing share of wind shipments away from trucks.

Daniel R.

Canadian National Railway opened a $14 million automobile unloading facility at its MacMillan Yard in Toronto that more than doubles the railcar spots available.

The chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is expected soon to introduce legislation that could toughen rail competition rules for the first time since railroads were de

At major U.S. railroads, even a minor decline in weekly traffic can look pretty good.

After weeks of steady gains, freight traffic at small North American railroads in the week ending Sept. 5 slipped to its lowest level in a month, said the RMI RailConnect index.

B.H.I.T, a Boca Raton, Fla. investment firm that has been looking to buy railroad service operations, said it acquired the stock of St.

Short line operator RailAmerica said its first half 2009 profit rose to $19.2 million from $4.8 million in the same period in 2008, suggesting a surge in in demand in this year’s April-June quar

U.S. railroads are riding a tailwind generated by federal stimulus programs but need to beware: That tailwind may turn out to be a gust that can’t be sustained.

Small North American railroads hauled more railcar loads of automobiles and other large pieces of equipment in the week ending Aug. 29 than any other time this year.

Large U.S. railroads have waited all year for a week like this one.

Veolia Transport sold its Cargo division, including 20 European subsidiaries, to two rail freight operators, SNCF and Eurotunnel.

Intermodal consolidator Pacer International’s capital spending will be capped at $6.5 million starting in 2010 under the debt agreement it reached last week with creditors.

The new chairman of the Surface Transportation Board opted out of a regulatory ruling this week for what would have been his first controversial case, under a policy of recusal from issues involving h

The Port of Long Beach is seeking ideas from transportation planners for developing zero-emission systems to shuttle containers between marine terminals and near-dock rail yards.

The Port of Long Beach on Wednesday is hosting a public meeting to solicit community input on plans to expand a staging area for double-stack trains.

The Surface Transportation Board cleared the way for Canadian National Railway to knit its various Chicago-area rail units more tightly together through a new batch of immediate trackage rights, rebuf

Two ports along Oregon's Columbia River are putting together multi-million projects aimed at helping shippers gain easier access to the Puget Sound ports of Seattle and Tacoma, according to a report i

What’s in a name? Union Pacific Railroad thinks a more direct branding plan can help it boost revenue by putting more used cars on its trains.

Intermodal intermediary Pacer International, looking to shore up its finances amid big losses in the economic downturn, announced a restructured credit agreement with bankers Friday, beating its end-o

Freight traffic at small North American railroads in the latest week grew to its highest level in nearly six months last week as short lines, like major carriers, enjoyed an accelerating recovery from

A rise in railcar loads of coal, plus metal industry inputs of scrap and metallic ores, pushed bulk carloadings up by 2,990 units for major U.S. railroads in the week ending Aug.

Illinois will ask Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to award $300 million to a multi-year project to untangle its congested freight and passenger rail lines, under a $1.5 billion discretionary fundi

U.S. rail equipment maker Wabtec said its subsidiary in Doncaster, England, won a $9 million contract to build 24 specialty trackbed maintenance cars for Irish Rail.

The state of Illinois is seeking about $550 million in federal passenger rail grants under the Recovery Act, with most of the money aimed at projects that tie into freight rail corridors as well.

Rail equipment supplier Trinity Industries told a state agency it will close a railcar manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Texas, for an undetermined period of at least six months, and furlough 158 wor

Kansas City Southern, smallest of the top tier or Class I North American railroads, unveiled a second set of management changes following the departure Aug. 7 of Scott E.

The Federal Railroad Administration is gearing up for big changes in the nation’s freight rail system, including direct government spending on track projects, as it implements President Obama’s plan t

Pricing information for container traffic from the West Coast is not publicly available, but industry traffic and revenue figures suggest railroad efficiency efforts have helped rail carriers maintain

The man running the nation’s rail safety and financing agency is a fifth-generation rail worker, onetime mayor of a Chicago suburb, longtime union official and someone who brings to his job a personal

The executive directors of the West Coast’s six major container ports in early August broke an informal code of silence on an issue that has concerned them since at least 2007.

The first state applications for “shovel-ready” passenger rail projects are due into the Federal Railroad Administration on Aug.