Network issues, weather hit CN 1Q
Canadian National plans to increase capital spending to increase capacity after delivering disappointing financial results in the first quarter.
Breaking News
Nathan Henderson, 43, contracting industry leader
Nathan Henderson, Executive Vice President of Midwest Pacific Rail Net & Logistics and Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of North America Rail Partners, LLC, died April 18, 2018.
Bentley video: Analyze rail and track condition
Bentley Systems’ AssetWise Operational Analytics platform affords users the opportunity “to quickly assess every dimension of railway infrastructure and its condition over time,” the company says. “Assess and learn from past maintenance activities. Make better decisions about track and other m/w assetts. Determine what work needs to be done and where, and predict when it should be done.”
Higginbotham heading transit and mobility for Cambridge Systematics
Cambridge Systematics announced that Herbert Higginbotham has joined the firm as head of its Transit and Shared Mobility Practice.
CP strike averted, for now
Canadian Pacific averted a strike with two of its unions, but a work stoppage is still possible as union leaders urged members to reject the railroad’s latest offers.
Revenue up, net lower for Kansas City Southern
Kansas City Southern reported record first quarter 2018 revenues of $639 million, an increase of 5%, but net income fell slightly from the year-ago period.
KCS adds NOLA port-Dallas intermodal shuttle
The Port of New Orleans is starting to ramp up intermodal rail service, beginning with a new Texas connection.
BNSF earns Toyota President’s Award
BNSF Railway was the 2017 recipient of the President’s Award for Rail Logistics Excellence by Toyota Logistics Services for the fourth year in a row.
GoTriangle selects Gannett Flemming/WSP JV for LRT
North Carolina’s Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority (GoTriangle) has chosen the Gannett Fleming/WSP Joint Venture as the construction management consultant for Durham and Orange counties’ light-rail project.
T-REX: New plan to integrate dinosaur NYC transit systems
A new report from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) calls for the merging of New York Metropolitan Area commuter railroads MTA Metro-North Railroad, MTA Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit into a single, integrated network called T-REX, for Trans-Regional Express.
Opinion
The only way to be sure
The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a Draft Safety Advisory, 2018-01, Related to Temporary Signal Suspensions. For the first time I can recall, FRA is soliciting public comment “on all aspects of the Draft Safety Advisory.”
Want airline food? Take Amtrak
Ex-Florida Congressman John Luigi Mica, a foodie who spent a considerable amount of time when he was Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee questioning Amtrak’s food service costs, must be very pleased with Amtrak’s announcement that it’s getting rid of dining cars on two long-distance trains.
House Dems grill somnolent STB
Were there any doubt that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) has been on siesta since the departure of former Chairman Dan Elliott in September, a House Rail Subcommittee oversight hearing April 17 confirmed the languor.
Rapid confirmation seen for STB nominees
Senior Senate legislative aide Patrick J. Fuchs and commuter railroad attorney Michelle A. Schultz, both Republicans, appeared April 11 before the Senate Commerce Committee as a first crucial step toward Senate confirmation to become members of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which administers remnants of what until 1980 was almost a century of pervasive railroad economic regulation.
Watching Washington, April 2018: Steep tariffs harm rails, wallets
Debates rage over the wisdom of steeper tariffs on U.S. imports and/or withdrawing from global trade pacts in hopes of protecting domestic industry and jobs. History teaches such actions pose economic and national security risks.
Labor lawyer Clint Miller: Requisat in pace
Clint Miller studied, recited and practiced railroad labor law with such determination, devotion and precision that his management adversaries often were converted to fans. Had cancer instead picked its fight with him in a courtroom, few would have expected his death last week at age 70.
Safety won’t improve with incomplete, inaccurate data
What a world. FRA is on Twitter and Facebook and YouTube. NTSB is on Twitter and YouTube, and might be on Facebook, but I don’t know since the NTSB website doesn’t say one way or another, and I’m not on Facebook or Twitter, and not, to my knowledge on YouTube, or if I am, it’s not my doing, I promise.
Stop the hand wringing. Things aren’t that bad.
So far, 2018 has left freight railroaders in a funk. Many, if not all, of the Class I’s face real service challenges; potentially disruptive trade policies threaten near-term traffic volumes; and, ever-increasing vehicle automation is pictured on the horizon like a serpent, ready to gobble up the railroads once and for always.
Rail grievance backlog haunts NMB
An essential task of the National Mediation Board (NMB), which administers the Railway Labor Act (RLA), is to resolve grievances of union-represented railroad employees relating to contract interpretation and workplace discipline.
Begeman named permanent STB chairman
Ann Dawn Begeman was designated permanent chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) March 19 by President Trump. She has been acting chairman since January 2017.