Trains

THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT filed suit against Norfolk Southern in July, alleging that its poor handling of Amtrak’s Crescent violates the federal rule that gives passenger trains the right of preference over freight traffic. The suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia — the second of its kind since Amtrak gained the right of preference in 1973 — stunned freight rail officials. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Trains that the suit was necessary because rail-roads routinely delay Amtrak by prioritizing freight trains. A similar case, which Amtrak brought against Union Pacific in December 2022 over freight train interference with the Sunset Limited, is making its way through the Surface Transportation Board. It’s the first such dispute brought to the STB since the agency gained the authority to investigate…

A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND work stoppage in Canada at both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City in August was halted relatively quickly by the country’s labor minister. However, his move to send the dispute between the railroads and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference to binding arbitration to settle the labor dispute still faces a court challenge from the union. Barely 17 hours after the two railroads locked out members of the TCRC on Aug. 22, Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon announced he was ordering the railroads to resume operation and would require them to participate in binding arbitration to settle their contract dispute. After MacKinnon invoked a rarely-used section of Canada’s labor code, a degree of confusion followed. CPKC said it would await the formal ruling from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, and the…

THE SUPER BOWL will be played in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025. Mardi Gras’ Fat Tuesday celebration, perhaps the biggest event both there and in Mobile, Ala., is March 4. The race is on to launch Amtrak Gulf Coast service between those cities by then, following Aug. 6 votes by the Mobile City Council in support of the service. “That’s the goal: get the service up and running for those big events,” says Southern Rail Commission Chairman Knox Ross. “It would be a great way to show the public that you are in the middle of the action.” Starting two daily round trips in time will be a challenge, even with the council’s approval of a three-year station property lease and Amtrak operating agreement. Site preparation for a station platform and…

The FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION issued a special directive ordering New York’s METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY to address “an escalating pattern of safety incidents” regarding track workers on the New York subway system, citing 38 near-miss incidents in 2023 — a 58% increase over 2022. The directive came after an audit triggered by the November 2023 death of a flagger hit by a train. The MTA said in a response letter that it “strongly dispute(s)” the findings and would appeal. CSX, NORFOLK SOUTHERN, and BNSF RAILWAY announced tentative five-year agreements with several unions, four months ahead of the opening of the next round of national bargaining. As of Labor Day, CSX had agreements with 11 unions covering 15 work groups; NS had deals with nine, and BNSF with six. CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs…

THE BRITISH POSTAL SERVICE, Royal Mail, announced it will stop using its dedicated fleet of mail and parcel carrying trains in October, giving three months’ notice to DB Cargo, the rail freight company that runs the trains on its behalf. Royal Mail told DB Cargo this is because of the cost of running electric trains — British electricity prices have risen considerably since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 — and because its purpose-built train fleet now needs expensive investment. Royal Mail will switch the mail and parcels to road transport. The postal company has also been investing heavily in “green” trucks using hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) instead of diesel, as well as battery delivery vans. It is using this, plus plans to reduce its use of short-haul air flights, as evidence…

@bybillstephens Analysis: Trains.com While searching the Trains archives the other day, I stumbled upon a December 1973 commentary by Editor David P. Morgan, who was pondering the future of railroading. I was struck by how many of the same concerns that he raised during one of the darkest periods in rail history still ring true today as the Class I railroads struggle to grow. “During the course of the long downhill journey of the railroads … we grooms of the iron horse seldom have lacked for either causes of the rail’s undoing or evidence of better times ahead,” Morgan wrote. Morgan’s undoing category included onerous Interstate Commerce Commission regulations that tilted the playing field in favor of trucks, barges, and airlines while saddling railroads with unprofitable routes and services. He blamed rail union featherbedding.…