Railroad News

Amazon.com Inc. has plans to build a 800,000-square-foot fulfillment center adjacent to BNSF Railway Co.'s Logistics Park Kansas City intermodal facility in Edgerton, Kan., the online retailer and state officials announced last week.

The fulfillment center, which is expected to employ 1,000 full-time workers, will pick, pack and ship large retail items to customers, according to a press release issued by Amazon.com.

Norfolk Southern Corp. will hold its annual meeting May 12, the Class I announced today in a notice filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in a letter addressed to NS employees.

At the meeting, NS shareholders will get the opportunity to vote whether they want the company to engage in merger discussions with rival Canadian Pacific.

Union Pacific Railroad's Twin Cities Service Unit reported 21 percent fewer railroad crossing incidents in 2015 versus 2014, the Class I announced last week.

The change in incidents reflects progress in educating the driving public about rail safety, UP officials said in a press release.

Amtrak's Gateway program, which includes rebuilding the Hudson River rail tunnel system, received commitments last week for the funding of preliminary engineering work and the creation of an executive oversight committee.

The project to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River will receive $70 million in funding for critical preliminary engineering work, with $35 million in federal funding coming from Amtrak and $35 million from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), according to a PANYNJ press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp.'s board has elected Amy Miles to serve as chairwoman of the board's audit committee, effective at the corporation's 2016 annual meeting.

Miles will succeed Karen Horn, who is retiring from the board. She has served as an NS director since 2014 and will continue to serve as a member of the board’s finance and risk management committee, according to an NS press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. has named Ann Adams vice president human resources as of April 1.

Adams will succeed Juan Cunningham, who retired earlier this year, according to an NS press release.

Union Pacific Railroad has appointed Peter Decher president of subsidiary ShipCarsNow Inc.

Decher, who joined the Class I in 2005, succeeds Martin Coalson, who recently retired after a 37-year career with UP, according to a company press release.

CN has launched the third year of its Safety Innovation Program as part of the railroad's broader efforts to improve the safety of operations, the Class I announced yesterday.

For the third consecutive year, CN will step up efforts to use technology to bolster the its Safety Management System, which is designed to minimize risk and reduce accidents and injuries, CN officials said in a press release.

Starting today, Union Pacific Railroad will increase train speed on 7.5 miles of rail line in Clark County, Nev., following recent track upgrades in the Las Vegas area, the Class I announced late last week.

Track improvements that meet or exceed Federal Railroad Administration standards will enable UP to speed up trains from 40 mph to 60 mph on rail line between Bonanza Road and Maule Avenue, UP officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. will spend $8.2 million to expand its corporate headquarters in Norfolk, Va., as part of a plan to consolidate its corporate offices in Norfolk and Atlanta and close its Roanoke, Va., office building, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced late last week.

With the expansion of the NS headquarters, the Class I will add 165 employees to the Norfolk facility, according to a press release issued by McAuliffe's office.

Poor track conditions and maintenance delays led to the May 2014 derailment of a CN train near Fort Frances, Ont., the Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced earlier this week.

The train was traveling from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Chicago along the Fort Frances Subdivision when it derailed May 23, 2014, according to a TSB press release and the TSB report.

BNSF Railway Co. has rolled out more of its 2016 state-by-state capital expenditure plans, with the latest programs announced for Texas, Illinois and Kansas.

In Texas, BNSF will spend $210 million this year to replace and upgrade rail, rail ties and ballast, BNSF officials said in a press release.

CSX announced yesterday that it would lay off employees and trim costs in Russell, Ky., in response to declining coal volumes, a spokeswoman for the Class I said yesterday.

CSX will lay off 101 union and management employees in the transportation and mechanical departments at the rail yard and mechanical car shop in Russell, Ky., CSX spokeswoman Melanie Cost said in an email. About 430 employees work in Russell.

An agricultural truck hit rail track and shifted it 12 to 14 inches a day before an Amtrak train derailed Monday at the location in southeast Kansas, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a media briefing on the incident yesterday.

The Chicago-bound Amtrak Southwest Chief Train 4 derailed about 125 miles west of Wichita shortly after midnight on Monday, Amtrak officials said. There were 131 passengers and 14 crew members on board. The incident sent 32 people to the hospital.

An Amtrak Southwest Chief train derailed early this morning about 20 miles west of Dodge City, Kan., on track owned and maintained by BNSF Railway Co.

The train, which was carrying 128 passengers and 14 crew members, was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

Canadian Pacific Railway filed a preliminary proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that outlines the shareholder resolution that the railroad wants considered at Norfolk Southern Corp.'s upcoming annual meeting.

The resolution will ask shareholders to approve the resolution that would require the NS board to promptly engage in good faith discussions with CP regarding the Canadian railroad's merger proposal.

Kansas City Southern has promoted Jeffrey Songer from senior vice president engineering and chief transportation officer to executive VP and chief operating officer, the Class I announced yesterday.

In addition to his responsibilities for transportation and engineering, he is now responsible for the mechanical function. Songer reports to KCS President Patrick Ottensmeyer, according to a KCS press release.

BNSF Railway Co. yesterday unveiled a new site certification program aimed at identifying optimal rail-served sites for customer development along the Class I's network.

To develop the program, BNSF drafted a list of candidates and conducted in-depth reviews of 10 economic development criteria to determine if the industrial sites meet the railroad's readiness standards. The standards are intended to minimize development risks customers may face, BNSF officials said in a press release.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Justice recently reached an agreement with BNSF Railway Co. over oil spill incidents in three states and the railroad's response plans in Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota, the agencies have announced.

Reached late last month, the agreement resolved alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act at several locations in the four states, according to an EPA press release.

Paradigm Energy Partners LLC announced yesterday that its Paradigm Midstream Services-ND LLC has finalized an agreement with a private company to construct a new gathering system for crude oil in North Dakota.

Under the proposed agreement, which is secured through an acreage dedication, the 23-mile gathering system will deliver 17,000 acres of production from the Ross Field in northern Mountrail County to Paradigm's joint venture rail terminal in Palermo, N.D., according to a company press release.