Railroad News

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) late last week announced a $10 million federal grant to extend Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express service to Burlington, Vt.

The award, provided through the USDOT's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) VII program, will fund about 11 miles of new track along the state-owned line and three passenger platforms in Middlebury, Vergennes and Burlington, USDOT officials said in a press release.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Senior Associate Editor

BNSF Railway Co.'s first-quarter 2016 net income plummeted 25 percent to $784 million and revenue fell 15 percent to $4.8 billion compared with a year ago, as the Class I faced a continued decline in demand for coal and certain industrial products categories, according to a government filing by BNSF parent company Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Amtrak earlier this week marked its 45th anniversary and was recognized for being a "top employer" by two separate magazines.

Amtrak began operations over a national network serving 43 states and the District of Columbia on May 1, 1971. Congress created the intercity passenger railroad, formally known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp., the year before.

CN has been recognized as one of three recipients of this year's Responsible Care Partner of the Year award from the American Chemistry Council, the Class I announced yesterday.

The award recognizes the "strong performance and safety record of companies involved in the transportation, handling and marketing of chemicals," according to a CN press release.

Union Pacific Railroad will spend $121.6 million this year to upgrade its infrastructure in California.

The Class I's capital expenditure plan for the state includes $104 million to maintain railroad track and $17.3 million to maintain bridges, according to a UP press release.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

Curwin Piper typically brings his rig to BNSF Railway Co.’s Dallas-area intermodal terminal four or five times a day. A truck driver for WB Container Services Inc., Piper got used to spending five minutes or more providing shipment information and waiting at an in-gate kiosk each time he delivered a trailer to the facility in Alliance, Texas, then another five-plus minutes doing likewise when he departed.

Next month, Amtrak will retire its fleet of 54 AEM-7 electric locomotives that run along the Northeast Corridor.

The units have been in operation for 37 years and have traveled more than 220 million miles, Amtrak official said in a press release. The locomotives will be replaced by the next generation ACS-64 locomotives.

Progressive Railroading and RailTrends® have named CN President and Chief Executive Officer Claude Mongeau the 2016 recipient of the "Railroad Innovator Award," which recognizes an individual's outstanding achievement in the rail industry.


Mongeau joined CN in 1994 and early on held such positions as vice president of strategic and financial planning and assistant VP of corporate development. He was appointed executive VP and chief financial officer in 2000, and president and CEO in 2010.

Union Pacific Railroad will spend $513 million this year to improve transportation infrastructure in Texas, the Class I announced Monday.

The projects will include $429 million to maintain track and $79 million to maintain bridges, according to a UP press release.

CN yesterday announced the winners of its annual Safety Handling Awards, which recognize customers that make the safe handling of dangerous goods a top priority.

In a ceremony held yesterday, the railroad honored 141 companies with the award.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday once again ruled that the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008 grants Amtrak unconstitutional regulatory authority because it requires the passenger railroad to develop performance metrics for its freight counterparts.

Under the law, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration are required to craft performance metrics and standards as a way of enforcing Amtrak's statutory priority over other trains. However, since Congress designated Amtrak as a private corporation, the development of these standards represents an "unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to a private entity," Judge Janice Brown wrote in the court's opinion.

Amtrak has launched a service on the Vermonter route to allow passengers to bring their bicycles on board.

Effective yesterday, the service was developed with the cooperation of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Vermont Department of Tourism, Adventure Cycling Association, and other bicycle and passenger rail groups that joined to form an advisory bicycle task force to oversee the project, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad has honored 65 companies with its Pinnacle Award for their commitment to safely transport chemical products, the Class I announced yesterday.

The award recognizes UP customers for implementing release prevention, corrective plans and having zero non-accident releases (NARs) of regulated hazardous materials shipments, UP officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has expanded its pets-on-board program to state-sponsored routes in Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin, the national passenger railroad announced yesterday.

Under the program, riders may bring small dogs and cats in carriers on Blue Water, Wolverine, Pere Marquette, Missouri River Runner and Hiawatha trains.

Lodestar Energy Group is developing a rail-served natural gas liquids (NGL) facility and rail-car storage yard at the Gulf Inland Logistics Park near Dayton, Texas, the company announced yesterday.

Scheduled to open in second-quarter 2018, the facility will be served by BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad, Lodestar officials said in a press release.

Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) yesterday announced a modified schedule for the Wolverine schedule through Sept. 23 as state-owned railroad infrastructure improvements are made as part of Michigan's Accelerated Rail program.

The temporary changes went into effect yesterday so that crews can perform track and signal work along the route, Amtrak and MDOT officials said in a joint press release.

CSX has been named one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "Best Corporate Citizens" for 2016, marking the Class I's fourth appearance on the list.

CSX placed No. 47 on this year's list, and was the only railroad included in the ranking, according to a company press release.

CN posted a 13 percent jump in net income in first-quarter 2016 compared with a year ago, but slumping commodity shipments led to a 4 percent decline in revenue for the period.

The Class I yesterday reported first-quarter net earnings of $792 million (in Canadian dollars), or $1 per diluted share, compared with $704 million, or 86 cents per diluted share compared with first-quarter earnings a year ago.

Norfolk Southern Railway late last week unveiled its new Safety Train and website to help educate first responders across its network on potential rail-related incidents, the Class I announced late last week.

The train and website are part of NS' Operation Awareness and Response (OAR) program, which was launched last year to improve relationships with first responders by providing classroom, web-based and field training on hazardous materials transportation.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved $22,964 in grants to make safety improvements to high-risk grade crossings along an oil train route in Skamania and Klickitat counties.

The commission approved the Grade Crossing Protective Fund grants at the request of BNSF Railway Co., which asked for the amount to upgrade crossings at Butler Road in Skamania County and Walnut Street in the city of Bingen. Each crossing has been identified by the UTC as an under-protected crossing along an oil route, commission officials said in a press release.