Railroad News

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.

Union Pacific Railroad has honored 65 companies with its Pinnacle Award for their commitment to safely transport chemical products, the Class I announced yesterday.

The award recognizes UP customers for implementing release prevention, corrective plans and having zero non-accident releases (NARs) of regulated hazardous materials shipments, UP officials said in a press release.

Amtrak has expanded its pets-on-board program to state-sponsored routes in Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin, the national passenger railroad announced yesterday.

Under the program, riders may bring small dogs and cats in carriers on Blue Water, Wolverine, Pere Marquette, Missouri River Runner and Hiawatha trains.

Lodestar Energy Group is developing a rail-served natural gas liquids (NGL) facility and rail-car storage yard at the Gulf Inland Logistics Park near Dayton, Texas, the company announced yesterday.

Scheduled to open in second-quarter 2018, the facility will be served by BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad, Lodestar officials said in a press release.

Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) yesterday announced a modified schedule for the Wolverine schedule through Sept. 23 as state-owned railroad infrastructure improvements are made as part of Michigan's Accelerated Rail program.

The temporary changes went into effect yesterday so that crews can perform track and signal work along the route, Amtrak and MDOT officials said in a joint press release.

CSX has been named one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "Best Corporate Citizens" for 2016, marking the Class I's fourth appearance on the list.

CSX placed No. 47 on this year's list, and was the only railroad included in the ranking, according to a company press release.

CN posted a 13 percent jump in net income in first-quarter 2016 compared with a year ago, but slumping commodity shipments led to a 4 percent decline in revenue for the period.

The Class I yesterday reported first-quarter net earnings of $792 million (in Canadian dollars), or $1 per diluted share, compared with $704 million, or 86 cents per diluted share compared with first-quarter earnings a year ago.

Norfolk Southern Railway late last week unveiled its new Safety Train and website to help educate first responders across its network on potential rail-related incidents, the Class I announced late last week.

The train and website are part of NS' Operation Awareness and Response (OAR) program, which was launched last year to improve relationships with first responders by providing classroom, web-based and field training on hazardous materials transportation.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved $22,964 in grants to make safety improvements to high-risk grade crossings along an oil train route in Skamania and Klickitat counties.

The commission approved the Grade Crossing Protective Fund grants at the request of BNSF Railway Co., which asked for the amount to upgrade crossings at Butler Road in Skamania County and Walnut Street in the city of Bingen. Each crossing has been identified by the UTC as an under-protected crossing along an oil route, commission officials said in a press release.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) on Wednesday announced plans for a second inland port facility as a result of the success of its Inland Port Greer and the demand for more efficient international container movement between the Port of Charleston and growing markets in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Port officials are in discussions with CSX to determine the viability of Dillion, S.C., as a potential location for the next inland port, said SCPA President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Newsome in a press release. The parties hope to finalize plans by year's end, he said.

Norfolk Southern Corp. posted strong first-quarter 2016 results yesterday, with profit soaring 25 percent to $387 million and diluted earnings per share up 29 percent to $1.29 year-over-year.

The results demonstrate "significant progress" in the company's five-year strategic plan, said NS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer James Squires.

Canadian Pacific yesterday announced a reshuffling of leadership roles as part of a consolidation of the railroad's operating regions from three areas to two.

The changes, which went into effect yesterday, were made to prepare the executive team for Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison's retirement next year, said Keith Creel, president and chief operating officer.

Norfolk Southern Corp. will trim 135 positions and reduce operations at its rail yard in Knoxville, Tenn., effective May 1, the Class I announced yesterday.

The action is in response to lower traffic volumes and is part of NS' ongoing five-year strategic plan to improve efficiency, lower costs and support long-term growth, according to an NS press release.

Union Pacific Railroad logged first-quarter net income of $979 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, compared with $1.15 billion, or $1.30 per diluted share, in the previous year's quarter, the Class I reported this morning.

Operating revenue of $4.8 billion was down 14 percent compared with first-quarter 2015, as the railroad faced declining carloads in many of its business lines, UP officials said in a press release.

“Thou hast seen nothing yet.” 

― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

“Railways have a bright future, just not via M&A”
— Tony Hatch

BNSF Railway Co. this week honored 109 shippers with the Class I's annual Product Stewardship Award for the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail last year.

The companies were recognized for transporting a minimum of 500 loaded tank cars of hazardous materials during 2015 with zero non-accident releases during the entire transportation cycle and for successfully implementing the ethics of Product Stewardship under the American Chemistry Council's Responsible Care® initiative, according to a BNSF press release.

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.