Railroad News

Canadian Pacific will pay a $1.2 million fine to resolve an investigation of the Class I's operation of more than 100 wireless radio facilities in the United States without the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) approval.

CP also failed to obtain FCC authorizations for the transfer of control of 30 wireless radio licenses, FCC officials said Monday in a press release.

Kansas City Southern announced Wednesday that it will spend $13 million this year on construction and improvement projects on its Greenville subdivision in Texas and Louisiana.

KCS has slated rail, crosstie and crossing improvements between Leesburg, Texas, and Blanchard, La., starting Aug. 23 through September, according to a company press release.

CSX announced yesterday that part of the Lebanon Business Park in Indiana has been designated a CSX "Select Site," a development-ready property along the Class I's network.

In 2010, CSX partnered with the city of Lebanon on a $4 million project to construct a spur that brings rail service directly into the park.

Norfolk Southern Railway rolled out new low-emission locomotives, reduced unnecessary locomotive idling and set a five-year goal to improve fuel efficiency as part of its sustainability program in 2015, the Class I announced today.

In its new online sustainability report, "What Efficiency Looks Like," NS details its efforts to achieve a "healthy balance between its business imperatives as a publicly traded company and its environmental and social commitments," NS officials said in a press release.

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

The Crescent. The Heartland. The MidAmerica. The Patriot. Norfolk Southern Corp. has developed a number of corridors over the past few decades, either on its own or with other railroads. But the aptly named and recently introduced Premier Corridor might be its pre-eminent one.

BNSF Railway Co.'s net income fell 20 percent to $772 million and total revenue declined 15 percent to $4.6 billion in the second quarter compared with year-ago results, according to Berkshire Hathaway, the Class I's parent company.

BNSF's operating income in the quarter dropped 16 percent to nearly $1.5 billion, while operating expenses declined 14 percent to about $3 billion compared with second-quarter 2015 results.

Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. on Wednesday announced the sale of its interest in Canadian Pacific Railway.

The capital management firm sold its 9.8 million shares in CP with JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch acting as underwriters for the offering, according to a CP press release.

Union Pacific Railroad this week began construction on a new bridge over Bayou Lafourche in Donaldsonville, La.

The new bridge is an important part of Louisiana's effort to reintroduce freshwater from the Mississippi River into Bayou Lafourche, UP and state officials said in a press release.

BNSF Railway Co. is appealing a judge's ruling against the Class I's proposal to build the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) rail yard near the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

In March, a California judge determined that an environmental review of the SCIG was insufficient, and ordered the city of Los Angeles and the Board of Harbor Commissioners to set aside their approvals of the project.

Union Pacific Railroad yesterday announced four appointments to leadership roles in marketing and sales.

The personnel changes, which take effect Sept. 1, involve John Kaiser, Jason Hess, Brad Thrasher and Kenny Rocker, according to a UP press release.

Union Pacific Railroad achieved an employee reportable injury rate of 0.70 from January through June, marking the lowest rate in the railroad's 154-year history, the Class I announced yesterday.

Reportable employee injury rates are measured by employee injuries reported to the Federal Railroad Administration for every 200,000 employee-hours worked. UP became the safest U.S. Class I railroad based on its 2015 employee reportable injury rate of 0.87, UP officials said in a press release.

Watco Transloading LLC has obtained a definitive licensed agreement with Norfolk Southern Corp. to operate a new NS Thoroughbred Bulk Terminal (TBT) in Sandusky, Ohio.

NS is leveraging existing infrastructure of the former Triple Crown Services facility to enable Watco and NS to drive new incremental transload business, Watco officials said in a press release issued yesterday.

Norfolk Southern Corp.'s second-quarter 2016 net income declined to $405 million, or $1.36 diluted earnings per share, from $433 million, or $1.41 earnings per share, a year ago, the Class I announced this morning.

Railway operating revenue fell 10 percent to $2.5 billion compared with Q2 2015's revenue as a result of reduced volumes and lower fuel surcharge revenue. Overall, volume dropped 7 percent to 1.8 million units for the quarter, NS officials said in a press release.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) is seeking public comments to help determine whether a federal environmental assessment is required for Pembina NGL Corp.'s proposed rail yard project near Redwater, Alberta.

The company proposes to construct and operate about 22 miles of track and realign 5.5 miles of track at its fractionation and storage facility near Redwater. Pembina NGL would use the yard to accept empty rail cars and organize filled cars onto trains operated by CN, which would deliver the cars to their respective destinations. The project would increase the facility's daily loading capacity from 184 cars to 260 cars.

Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern, has experienced service interruptions due to civil protests near its rail network in Mexico, railroad officials announced yesterday.

Led by teachers, the civil disobedience protests that have blocked freight trains are directed at the Mexican government over education reforms, according to news reports.

CN's second-quarter 2016 net income declined slightly to $858 million, or $1.10 in diluted earnings per share, from $886 million, or $1.10, a year ago due to lower traffic volumes, the Class I announced yesterday. (All monetary figures are reported in Canadian dollars.)

Operating income fell 5 percent to $1.3 billion and revenue slipped 9 percent to $2.8 billion, as carloads plunged 12 percent during the quarter compared with Q2 in 2015.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory last week announced CSX plans build the Carolina Connector (CCX) intermodal terminal in Rocky Mount. The Class I previously had planned to construct a terminal in another part of the state.
 
Initially, the CCX is expected to process more than 260,000 containers per year. CSX plans to provide $160 million for the more than $200 million terminal. The North Carolina Department of Transportation will contribute $100 million for track improvements and terminal infrastructure through the state’s new transportation funding formula.
 
The CCX is expected to open in 2020, with related track improvements projected to take two years to complete after all necessary environmental permits are obtained. Carolinas Gateway Partnership, a local economic development organization, controls nearly all of the land needed for the facility, which is located along CSX’s mainline in a primarily industrial area.

The CCX will provide cheaper, faster and more environmentally friendly connections for North Carolina’s businesses and ports to domestic and international markets, said CSX Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward in a press release.