Railroad News

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is meeting this morning to report on its findings and the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia.

On May 12, 2015, northbound Amtrak train No. 188 derailed on the Northeast Corridor route after entering a curve at 106 mph where the speed limit is 50 mph. The locomotive and all seven passenger cars derailed. Eight passengers were killed and more than 200 others were injured.

Union Pacific Railroad and international logistics service provider Katoen Natie announced today a new service that transports plastic pellets from the Gulf region to Dallas.

The Dallas-to-Dock Service will transport the pellets in hopper cars to Dallas, where they will be packaged and transferred to intermodal containers. From there, the containers will travel to ocean ports via the railroad's intermodal service, according to a UP press release.

Union Pacific Railroad announced this week that it would spend more than $228 million this year to improve railroad infrastructure in Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois.

The projects are part of UP's plans to spend a total $3.7 billion across its network this year, the Class I said in a press release.

Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp. has selected CN as its 2015 "Railroad Company of the Year" in recognition of the Class I's consistent level of high performance to customers.

Evergreen selected CN because of its "excellent professional service to our shared customers … and consistent level of performance as a transportation provider," said Evergreen Shipping Agency President Roy Amalfitano in a press release.

Kansas City Southern yesterday announced Patrick Ottensmeyer will succeed David Starling as chief executive officer effective July 1. Starling will serve as senior adviser to Ottensmeyer until Starling retires on Dec. 31.

Ottensmeyer will retain the position of president, a title he's held since March 1, 2015. Starling will remain a member of KCS' board until May 2017. Ottensmeyer will join the board when he becomes CEO.

CN and city of Montreal officials yesterday announced a plan to strengthen railroad safety efforts.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and CN Executive Vice­ President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer Sean Finn met at the Class I's Montreal headquarters to discuss strengthening their "partnership" on safety matters, according to a CN press release.

At nearly 37 mph, BNSF's intermodal train velocity of late is about 17 percent higher than the U.S. Class I average.

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

Union Pacific Railroad will spend $83 million this year to improve railroad infrastructure in Arkansas, the Class I announced late last week in the latest of its state-by-state capital expenditure reports.

The investment will cover a range of projects, including $73 million to maintain track and $9 million to maintain bridges, according to a UP press release.

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.