Railroad News

Canadian Pacific this morning announced first-quarter 2016 net income rose 69 percent to $540 million from $320 million a year ago (in Canadian dollars), and its lowest ever first-quarter operating ratio, which came in at 58.9 percent.

CP reported diluted earnings per share increased 83 percent to $3.51 from $1.92, and adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 11 percent to $2.50 from $2.26 a year ago. Adjusted income rose 2 percent to $384 million from $375 million. Operating income rose 7 percent to $653 million from $612 million.

BNSF Railway Co. has installed signage on the Illinois side of the railroad's bridge that crosses the Mississippi River in Quincy, Ill., to discourage trespassers, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) announced late last week.

The railroad installed the "No Trespassing" signs after BNSF security video showed people being on the tracks illegally in the area, according to an ICC press release.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday released a preliminary report on the April 3 Amtrak train accident in Chester, Pa., that killed two Amtrak maintenance-of-way workers.

The preliminary report indicated that at the time of the accident, the two workers were performing maintenance on main track 2 at the accident site over a planned 55-hour period from April 1 at 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on April 4. The work included ballast cleaning and remediating fouled ballast on main track 2, according to the report.

Despite facing lower carload volumes and flooding issues during the period, Kansas City Southern reported higher profit during first-quarter 2016 compared with first-quarter 2015.

KCS announced this morning that Q1 2016 net income rose to $108 million, or 99 cents per diluted share, from $101 million, or 91 cents per diluted share, in Q1 2015.

BNSF Railway Co. has been named the 2015 recipient of the President's Award for Logistics Excellence by Toyota Logistics Services for the second consecutive year, the Class I announced yesterday.

The award is Toyota's highest honor given to suppliers that demonstrate combined excellence in quality, customer service and on-time performance, according to a BNSF press release.

BNSF Railway Co. announced its annual "Employees of the Year Awards" earlier this week, which recognized dozens of employees for outstanding contributions in 2015.

At a ceremony held in Fort Worth, Texas, the awards were given to 52 employees for individual and team achievements, while another 40 employees were acknowledged for safety leadership in 2015. The employees were honored out of more than 40,000 employees across the company, according to a BNSF press release.

CSX Corp.'s first-quarter 2016 revenue fell 14 percent to $2.62 billion compared with Q1 2015 revenue as the Class I faced continuing volume declines, particularly in the coal market, executives announced yesterday.

Q1 earnings fell to $356 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $442 million, or 45 cents per share in the same period a year ago, according to a CSX press release.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) yesterday welcomed Canadian Pacific's decision to terminate its six-month attempt to merge with Norfolk Southern Corp.

CP officials announced yesterday that the company has ended its merger attempt and will withdraw its resolution calling for NS shareholders to vote in favor of negotiations between the companies.

The first trains arrived yesterday at the Jacksonville Port Authority's (JAXPORT) new intermodal container transfer facility at Dames Point in Jacksonville, Fla.

Prior to the facility's official opening for commercial cargo later this year, the terminal is being used to support the port-based 832nd Transportation Battalion's military training exercises, port authority officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has filed a lawsuit alleging that Cimarron Crossing Feeders engaged in "gross negligence" in relation to a train derailment in Kansas last month.

Filed late last week, the lawsuit — which lists Amtrak and BNSF Railway Co. as plaintiffs — alleges Cimarron Crossing Feeders employees left a truck "unattended, out of gear and without any brakes applied" when it was loading grain March 13 into March 14, according to The Hutchinson News.

BNSF Railway Co. may cancel plans to build a new intermodal rail facility near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach following a California judge's recent ruling that found fault with the proposed project's environmental review process.

After reviewing California Superior Court Judge Barry Good's ruling, BNSF officials are "troubled by what the decision represents and uncertain whether moving forward with the project is feasible at this time," said BNSF Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Steve Bobb in a press release.

Canadian Pacific announced today that it will end its attempt to merge with Norfolk Southern Corp., and will withdraw a resolution calling for NS shareholders to vote in favor of negotiations between the companies.

CP plans "no further financial offers or overtures to meet with the NS board" at this time, according to a CP press release.

Canadian Pacific yesterday released another in a series of white papers that try to make the case for a proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern Railway.

The white paper details how the "precision railroad philosophy" that CP has applied to elevate its status from "industry laggard to leader" would transform NS to create a leading North American transcontinental railroad, according to a CP press release.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has directed Amtrak to conduct an immediate safety review with key workers, including track workers and train dispatchers, as the regulator continues its investigation into this week's fatal train accident in Chester, Pa.

The FRA also directed Amtrak to improve communication among work crews, supervisors and rail dispatchers. 

Norfolk Southern Railway has presented 60 customers with its Chemical Safety Award for safely transporting hazardous products on its rail lines in 2015, the Class I announced earlier this week.

Last year, the award-winning companies delivered 224,660 carloads of chemical products that the federal government regulates as hazardous, NS officials said in a press release.

[Editor's note: This story was updated at 11:50 a.m. CDT.]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) earlier this week issued its preliminary report on the Amtrak derailment that occurred March 14 near Cimarron, Kan.

Union Pacific Corp.'s board has elected Jane Holl Lute as its newest member, the Class I announced yesterday.

Lute is former deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, having served the agency from 2009 to 2013.

Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (KCSR) will spend $20 million on construction and improvement projects on its main line from Kansas through Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and northwest Louisiana, the railroad announced yesterday.

The projects include replacement of 6 miles of rail and 92,400 cross ties, as well as improvements to more than 100 grade crossings. Work will begin April 19 and end in mid-June, according to a KCSR press release.

BNSF Railway Co., real estate developer Hillwood and resin packaging firm Packwell Inc. have agreed on a framework for construction of a new plastics export packaging facility at the AllianceTexas development in north Fort Worth, Texas.

The facility will be built in the rail-connected Alliance Westport industrial sector located at AllianceTexas, a 180,000-acre mixed-use development, according to a press release issued by Hillwood.

CN announced yesterday that 15,000 employees have completed railway training at its two education campuses since they opened in 2014.

The milestone of 15,000 workers trained "reflects the re-engineering of how CN hires a new generation of railroaders and upgrades the skills of current ones," said CN President and Chief Executive Officer Claude Mongeau in a press release.