Railway Age magazine

On Nov. 14, the Rail Users’ Network (RUN) held its fall online conference. Its theme was “An Update—Keeping You Informed in the World of Passenger Rail & Rail Transit.” The organization also observed 25 years of advocating for more passenger trains and better rail transit in the United States and Canada, and the conference heard from 12 speakers: five about new starts (two of which are already in service), four on a panel about the merger of the Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) railroads that is now under consideration, and a presentation from an Amtrak official about plans for purchasing new equipment. I delivered the closing remarks. The other speaker was Dr. Richard Rudolph, Founder and Chair of RUN since it was established.

As part of the ongoing discussions about the proposed merger, the conference heard from three presenters: a rider-advocate with an economics background and experience as a planner, a renowned transportation economist, and a representative from rail labor. RUN Vice Chair Andrew Albert, who is also Chair of the Transit Riders’ Council in New York City and a rider-representative at New York’s MTA Board, moderated the panel. He opened the discussion by noting that a decision from the STB is expected during the middle or end of 2027.

The first presenter was Steve Roberts, President of the Rail Passengers’ Association of California and Nevada (RailPAC), and an economist and former planner at Amtrak and the Southern Pacific (SP). He pointed out that a merger of this sort is supposed to enhance competition and generate public benefits. He noted that shippers want reciprocal switching (using someone other than the local carrier for switching), fewer paper barriers at interchanges (which can inhibit innovative routing), no bottleneck rates (high rates where one carrier has a monopoly), as well as trackage rights on Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) where they interchange with the merged railroad. He distinguished between “hard costs” (infrastructure improvements) and “soft costs” (operational improvements), which are less expensive to deliver. He said that he expects UP to claim that it can handle any changes post-merger, despite difficult transitions after other mergers, such as when UP absorbed SP thirty years ago. He concluded by saying that hoped-for public benefits could come to Amtrak’s on-time-performance (OTP), Metra in Chicago, the tri-weekly Sunset Limited between New Orleans and Los Angeles, and the proposed new Amtrak route between Fort Worth and Meridian, Mississippi, mainly on CPKC, which resulted from the recent merger of CP and KCS.

The second presenter was longtime railroad economist and Railway Age Contributing Editor Jim Blaze. He began by saying: “This is not my first railroad M&A rodeo,” that he placed the likelihood of the STB approving the deal at 70% to 80%, but there could be some market complications. He addressed the question of whether such mergers are effective, would results be better and cheaper for shippers? On that subject, Blaze said that administrative costs would be lower and that there would probably be significantly less mode-shifting, but not massive layoffs. He acknowledged that there are unknown factors and that any predictions can be speculative but did not see “game-changing” results. He did not expect a major market change as happened when double-stacked containers became commonplace, railroads offering more “retail” transportation, or much diversion of freight from trucks. He cautioned that the railroads would continue to retain free cash flow, rather than rather than reinvesting any resulting savings. He concluded by mentioning how decision-makers discount expectations to present them in their filings and suggested that attendees also “look at the facts and conclude your own discounting factor.” He concluded by saying that, even if much of the shipping went away from the railroads and onto the highways, a market share as low as 20 to 25% would still be profitable for the rail carriers.

The third and final presentation on the panel came from Ron Kaminkow, Trustee for Rail Workers United, a rail labor organization that has members from several crafts (but is not a union). He recently retired from Amtrak, where he worked as an engineer. He began by saying that he started in Chicago and worked for all the Class I railroads, that they are adversaries to railroad workers, and that he helped fight a plan that BNSF proposed in 2014 to run with single-person crews. He is now fighting against the UP-NS merger and questioned why it’s on the table. He said that Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) rewards stockholders, but “it’s not good railroading” because it has resulted in the decline of freight service and additional delays to passenger trains. He said that lowering operating ratios and maintaining share prices is good for Wall Street, but that the savings could be spent better on double-tracking than on stock buybacks. He also questioned whether viable freight and passenger service is feasible with the Class I roads calling the shots and called for public ownership of railroads, as with other transportation. Regarding passenger trains, he expressed concern about a short-term meltdown, which would worsen delays, while consolidation of facilities would alienate workers and degrade service. Long-term, he predicted that having two monopolistic railroads would be worse than the situation in the 1890s. He called on advocates to build an alliance to fight the merger, especially in trackside communities. 

In my concluding remarks, I commented on the effects that I expected that the merger would have on passenger trains and on the likelihood that the STB would approve the deal. Before the conference, I had believed that it would not have much of an effect on the passenger side of railroading, because Amtrak does not run many trains on NS, and there is not much “transit railroad” activity on it, either. I had thought that the main issue was whether UP hosting the Amtrak trains now operating on NS track would change those operations. I was concerned that they would change for the worse. After listening to the panel, though, I became more concerned that congestion and delays resulting from the merger could harm passenger trains indirectly, even if there is not a lot of direct harm that could result from downgraded service. The schedule of the Crescent between Atlanta and New Orleans was lengthened not long ago, because NS could not keep the prior schedule, and the train now arrives in New Orleans after dinnertime and in New York early in the evening instead of early in the afternoon.

Today the railroads in the U.S. form two duopolies: one in the East (NS and CSX), one in the West (UP and BNSF), plus two (CPKC and CN) in the middle of the country on roughly north-south alignments. The merger will break that pattern by combining one of the Eastern roads and a Western road that has already absorbed many other railroads. It seems difficult to believe that the proposed arrangement could increase competition, give shippers better service, or facilitate the movement of passenger trains. Yet, it seems inevitable that the STB will approve it. While Jim Blaze sees a 70% to 80% likelihood, I see 98%, on account of politics.

Because of the party affiliations of the Board members, I expect that the merger plan will be approved. I have met Karen Hedlund and Robert Primus. They are Democrats, they could reasonably be expected to express concerns about the merger, and I have expressed my respect for them for considering what shippers and passengers want and need. Primus is contesting POTUS 47’s act of terminating his STB membership before the end of his term, which is scheduled to end in 2027. He received his notice of termination on August 27 of this year. He told PBS reporter Geoff Bennett that he still considers himself a member, and that the action “challenges the integrity of the Board” as reported on PBS News Hour on August 29. On October 1, Primus (in his official capacity) sued POTUS 47 and STB Chair Patrick J. Fuchs (in their official capacities) and the Board itself, in federal court for the District of D.C. Whether or not Primus succeeds in challenging his dismissal from the Board, I do not see his fate as affecting the merger.

It goes without saying that Railway Age will continue to follow this story as it develops but, at this writing, RUN is considering whether to take an official position and comment to the STB about the proposed deal. The RUN Board meets on Dec. 6 and is likely to discuss the matter at that time.

There has been a great deal of concern expressed about Amtrak’s equipment situation lately, especially by advocates. We have been reporting on it here at Railway Age, and the conference included a presentation on the subject by Michelle Tortolani, Amtrak’s Vice-President for Project Delivery – Fleet and Facilities. She started by saying that Amtrak’s ridership is growing and breaking records, so “We need more trains.” She described three equipment procurements: the Next Gen Acela fleet, the Airo sets for other trains on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and other corridors, and the long-distance fleet replacement. Amtrak has ordered 28 of the new Acela sets, and some are now in service. The trains are longer than the original sets that will soon be retired, and Tortolani said that they have 27% more seats. Amtrak has also ordered 83 Airo sets and expects to place them in service next year, starting on the Cascades trains in the Northwest. In addition, Amtrak is getting 50 Chargerlocomotives and is refreshing the Superlinercars that run on long-distance trains west of Chicago and New Orleans, and on the Auto Train.

Although efforts are being made to refresh the Superliner equipment, much of it is more than 40 years old, and advocates (including at RUN) have expressed concern that Amtrak is already running short consists on at least some of its long-distance trains. Tortolani noted that a Request for Proposals (RFP) for cars to replace the Superliners was issued in 2023, and that one for replacing the single-level Amfleet II cars that are roughly the same age came out recently. However, the target date for new bilevel cars is not until “the 2030s” and she did not say exactly when. She also described infrastructure upgrades “to maximize Amtrak’s fleet initiatives.” They include upgrading six Level I (full maintenance) and seven Level II (lighter maintenance) facilities. Ground has already been broken for two major ones: Ivy City (Northeast Washington, D.C.) and Southampton (Boston). She also described infrastructure projects on the NEC and its branches, like the East River Tunnel Project in New York City, the Connecticut River Bridge, and Portal North Bridge in New Jersey, projects funded through the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), but she added that construction on those projects requires that funding come through first, and that some additional money is also needed for maintenance.

The Amtrak equipment situation is highly problematic. The corridors will have trains, although they will be less pleasant in some ways than the trains they will replace, with their cushioned seats, most of which face forward. For Amtrak to use the name Airo to describe its new trainsets for its corridors appears to reveal Amtrak’s true intention to imitate the airlines as much as possible, even though airline travel no longer gets the high marks from passengers that it once received. Frankly, I would strongly prefer a name that recalls the great railroad tradition like Libertyliner 250, which Scott Spencer of AmeriStarRail suggests. It has a patriotic feel and recalls the greatness that was part of the American railroad tradition for generations, but Amtrak seems to be heading in another direction.

Amtrak’s efforts toward replacing the current long-distance fleet appears to be a case in point. We have reported on the upcoming LD-fleet procurement. We obtained the Request For Proposals (RFP) for a new long-distance fleet to replace the bilevel Superliner cars, and it is 1,379 pages long. To make matters worse, the soonest the new equipment can be placed into service will be sometime in the 2030s. The middle of that decade is ten years from now, which is when VIA Rail needs to replace its tiny LD fleet of heritage cars built by the Budd Company for Canadian Pacific in 1954, and its procurement has advanced further than Amtrak’s.

It will probably be too late by then. Eight years from now, in 2033, 52% of the equipment on Amtrak’s long-distance trains today, comprising Superliner and Amfleet II cars, will be at least 50 years old, the same age as Amfleet I cars that now run on Amtrak’s corridors and which Amtrak recently released a proposal to scrap, rather than keeping the shells and rebuilding the cars, so they can continue to run. It will probably take longer to purchase new cars and get them into service than the existing fleet can last. Amtrak is already running shorter consists on the trains that use Superliner equipment than they had carried in the past, a practice that allows fewer passengers to ride and charges them higher fares, too. I stand by my assessment from early in the year. Unless Amtrak comes up with a means for expediting the procurement and getting new equipment into service sooner than planned, the long-distance network will die by attrition, one train at a time. My advice remains the same as it was then: Ride as much as you can, while you know you still can. That’s what I plan to do.

Phoenix, Arizona’s Valley Metro Rail has been growing incrementally for several years. On June 7, 2025, it officially became a two-line light rail system, when the South Central Extension opened (along with the Tempe Streetcar as a third line, although that was mentioned only briefly in the presentation). Luis Mota, Project Manager for the South Central Extension, gave the conference a detailed description of the steps that his agency took to bring the project to fruition, including outreach to local communities and other stakeholders. Mota said that light rail in Phoenix expanded twice recently: the 1.6-mile Northwest Extension Phase II on Jan. 27, 2024, and the South Central Extension. The latter segment is 6.5 miles long, has eight stations, uses 14 new vehicles, and cost $1.35 billion. As part of the project, Valley Metro created a new Downtown Hub for transfers between the two lines, which included building some new stations and moving part of the existing line onto a different street. Valley Metro Rail consisted of a single line until the project was completed and that line was split. Today’s A Line originates at the Downtown Hub and runs eastward to Mesa through Tempe, where it connects with the Tempe streetcar. Today’s B Line runs mostly on a north-south alignment, with a northwesterly component at the north end of the line.

Rail transit is now running in Hawai’i’s capital, Honolulu. Skyline, an elevated and automated rail line, operated by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportaiton (HART), is now operating west of the city center, and as close to downtown as the airport. Project Manager Lori Kahikina, HART Executive Director and CEO, gave the conference an overview of the troubled project which, after years of delay and financial difficulties, is finally running. She described the current line, which runs 16.1 miles with 13 stations. It consists of Segment 1 (west of the city) which opened on June 30, 2023, and Segment 2 (closer to downtown), which opened on October 16, 2025. Six more stations downtown on 3.3 miles of additional line are expected to open in 2031. Equipment consists of 20 four-car trains built by Hitachi and powered by third rail. The line is expected to alleviate traffic congestion when it is completed, and Kahikina noted that the start of service on Segment 2 was accelerated so it could happen this year. She acknowledged the difficulties that the project has faced in the past, noted that it is entirely tax-supported (83% local and 17% federal), and said: “They need to prove that they can pay off the bonds.” The line is entirely elevated, mostly at the third-story level, and sometimes 70 feet above ground. The route to downtown is being served by express buses until Segment 3 is completed and service begins.

Front Range Rail is a project that proposes new trains to Fort Collins (north of Denver) and Colorado Springs and Pueblo (south of Denver). Chris Nevitt, Board Chair of the Front Range Passenger Rail District, described the current project. It is now expected that service to Fort Collins will start in 2029 with three round trips per day, although one planned alternative calls for ten round trips between Fort Collins and Pueblo through Denver eventually, with trains running every 90 minutes. A Special Taxing District has been established to help pay for the service, while Nevitt stressed that the new trains would be “intercity” and not local, and that they would connect with Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD). He touted “innovative state funding,” said that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and RTD are partners on the project, and he also said: “It’s time to invest in a comprehensive transportation plan for Colorado.” He expressed the hope that, with participation by neighboring states, trains would someday go to places like Cheyenne, Wyoming and Raton, New Mexico (on the route of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief). He described Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and the other stakeholders involved in the project but did not say that rider-advocacy organizations like the Colorado Rail Passenger Association (ColoRail) are among them.

The RUN conference held last fall heard a presentation about a proposal to restore passenger trains between Salisbury (on Amtrak’s Crescent route) and Asheville, North Carolina. This conference featured a talk on another project in the Tar Heel State: the effort to bring trains back to the route between Raleigh and Wilmington, a port in the southeastern part of the state, through Goldsboro and other towns. While Wilmington was once the headquarters for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and contains many tourist attractions today, no passenger trains have called there since 1968. Steve Unger, Co-Chair of Eastern Carolina Rail, described the campaign to restore service. He said that Eastern Carolina Rail was founded last year and works with North Carolinians for Passenger Rail and the Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains (CAPT). The proposal is in the planning stage, one of seven applications from North Carolina in the FRA’s Corridor ID Program. He described other potential stops, said there is a gap in the route where new track must be built, listed the usual benefits that go beyond added mobility for potential riders, and said that service now appears to be seven to twelve years off. His advice: “Volunteer and advocate.”

The other new start presented to the conference would serve New York City: specifically, the “outer boroughs” of Brooklyn and Queens. It would not be another line on the city’s famous subway (and elevated rail) system, but the mode would be light rail, which is something new for the city. The project is the Interborough Express (IBX) and Jordan Smith, IBX Project Manager for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) described it. It would run for 14 miles on the historic New York and Manhattan Beach Railroad (1876-1924), now the Long Island Rail Road’s Bay Ridge Branch, and the IBX would be coordinated with today’s freight operations there. CSX owns the northernmost three miles, the Fremont Secondary. Plans call for 19 stations and connections with 17 existing subway or elevated lines, along with the LIRR at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn and Woodside in Queens. Most of the line will run in a trench, and Jordan said that the embankments on its sides will be removed and replaced by walls, to increase its capacity from two to four tracks. The anticipated running time is 32 minutes end to end, trains will have a 600-passenger capacity, and the MTA expects 160,000 daily riders. Jordan said that the line will be funded with $2.75 billion from the MTA’s capital plan, but not with money from the Congestion Pricing toll. He also described the due diligence part of the planning process and how the light rail mode was selected. The IBX section found on the MTA website calls the project “a transformative rapid transit project that will connect currently underserved areas of Brooklyn and Queens” but does not say when service is expected to begin. The MTA is now conducting the Environmental Review for the project.

Phoenix has a tiny downtown area, surrounded by sprawl. Amtrak does not go there. It’s not a place where rail transit could reasonably be expected to flourish, but Valley Metro Rail is doing well. It has expanded several times, accelerated openings of new segments, survived a 2019 referendum to stop the expansion, and is now a two-line system, plus the Tempe Streetcar. They’re doing something right!

Skyline in Honolulu has been a troubled project for years, but the people behind it persevere. It will still be years before it serves the downtown area, but it could improve mobility in a city with congested roads. I have been waiting for the line to progress as far as it has before planning a visit to the Islands, or at least Oahu. I am now planning to go there, and when I do, I’ll ride Skyline and file a trip report.

Front Range Rail has big plans, and it could improve mobility along its corridor, which now has only limited bus service provided by Bustang (affiliated with CDOT) outside RTD’s service area, which includes Denver and some of its suburbs. Three round trips between Denver and Fort Collins would be a minor improvement over today’s bus service, but the proposed schedule of ten daily round trips running every 90 minutes could entice some motorists to join Denver’s non-motorists on the train. We don’t know if the line will offer such robust service, but even three daily round trips to downtown Fort Collins will make that beautiful town more accessible than it is today.

North Carolina has ambitious plans but, whether they come to fruition depends on the state’s politics, which appear to remain in a state of flux. It is difficult to get to Wilmington without a private vehicle today, and even three daily trains to and from Raleigh would change that to a significant extent. It would connect Front Street, Wilmington’s museums, and other attractions to trains within the state and elsewhere on Amtrak, but that will not happen anytime soon. At least the people in the region are getting together to advocate for more trains. It remains to be seen how successful they will be.

The IBX in Brooklyn and Queens could be an interesting model for a circumferential route that would link many existing subway and elevated lines in New York City, allowing residents of two of the city’s “outer boroughs” to get around those areas without the need to make the time-consuming trip through Manhattan. New York City has never had a light rail line before, so this will be an interesting experiment. So will the construction, which includes widening an existing trench to allow the transit line and freight tracks to coexist side by side. The line could become a model for developing rail transit elsewhere, or maybe even expanding the IBX to the Bronx, as was previously proposed and dropped.

As with proposed new starts everywhere, though, proposals do not mean much until a project is completed and service starts running. There are plenty of studies on projects that have been proposed and never built, and no passenger will ever ride a study. Phoenix has a history of extending its rail transit “system” and Honolulu has a line going, with the expection of serving the downtown core about six years from now. The IBX in New York would add to the variety of transit available in the city, as well as connectivity without having to go through Manhattan to travel between Brooklyn and Queens. The prospect of taking a train to Fort Collins, Colorado or Wilmington, North Carolina sounds great. I have visited both of those towns, as well as Goldsboro, on the way to Wilmington. I had to do it the hard way, on buses that run infrequently, and including a long ride on a local bus in Wilmington between the bus hub where Greyhound buses stop and the other bus hub near downtown. As with all proposed new routes, though, whether those trains run remains to be seen.

Dr. Richard Rudolph, founder and Chair of RUN since it began, opened the conference with a brief talk that mentioned some of the highlights in the organization’s history, and he started by saying that there were more than 80 persons who had registered for the conference. He then noted that he and other founding members of RUN were on the Amtrak Customer Advisory Committee (ACAC) in the late 1990s and wanted to continue advocating for improvements in Amtrak and and connecting rail transit after their terms at ACAC expired. He also described RUN’s other activities, especially the conferences and the RUN Newsletter, and announced the next online Board meeting on Dec.r 6. The featured guest at that event will be Andy Byford, who was New York’s popular “Train Daddy” when he ran New York City Transit, and who is now supervising Penn Station redevelopment for Amtrak.

Rudolph recalled some of RUN’s campaigns, including calling for enhanced rail safety in the wake of the Lac Megantic disaster in Quebec in 2014, fighting for Amtrak’s national network including helping save the Southwest Chief in 2018, when there was a proposal under consideration to eliminate the segment between Newton, Kansas and Albuquerque and replacing it with a long bus ride, and voting “no confidence” in the leadership of Richard Anderson, who was then Amtrak’s CEO. He also said that, since then, RUN has been involved in campaigns to preserve service or bring it to Maine, Montana, and Mobile, and expressed concern about Amtrak’s equipment situation, particularly the long-distance fleet. He concluded by calling on conference attendees to keep advocating and become active with RUN.

I expressed agreement with what Rudolph had said about the organization. It is the only national advocacy organization that is concerned with all rail modes in the United States and Canada, from the long-distance trains on Amtrak and VIA Rail to local light rail and streetcar lines, as well as corridors and regional rail lines with magnitudes in-between. It is also concerned with connectivity between modes, including better transit at train stations, an important part of almost every rider’s experience.

I joined RUN in 2003 and was voted onto its Board of Directors in 2005. With only one exception, I have participated in every Conference Committee since that time. RUN conferences provide “continuing education” for advocates and encourage other rail communities, like managers, planners and others on the political scene, to participate at an affordable price. Before the COVID-19 virus hit, RUN held two-day conferences in various cities. When the virus came, it was time to move the conferences to an online format, which has been successful. Since then, RUN has held two such conferences every year, in the spring and fall.

Today, like many longtime RUN members, I am an “elder statesman” who is no longer as active as an advocate as I was in the past. I now concentrate on my reporting for Railway Age, although I will also report on the conference for the RUN Newsletter. RUN still provides a valuable service for me because it helps keep me up to date with developments on the advocacy scene. I know of no other reporters on the passenger rail and transit beat who report regularly on activities in the advocacy movement, even though the advocates are the only people on the scene who represent the interests of train riders and transit riders, people who are often ignored by decision makers, although they should be considered as the primary intended beneficiaries of the trains and transit offered to them.

These are hard times for Amtrak, rail transit, and the people who ride them. The POTUS 47 Administration appears hostile to any mobility that is available to non-motorists, as well as motorists. All transit is under intense pressure and fights to survive, as states and their political subdivisions that support it face increasing financial demands from all sides, while POTUS 47 and Congress reduce their support. The losses are real. Northstar trains in and near Minneapolis will be discontinued at the start of next year, only a few weeks from now. The streetcars on F Street in Washington, D.C. will roll for the last time on March 31, 2026. We will report their obituaries, but that will not help the riders get around.

RUN cannot solve those problems alone, but it is in a position to help advocates and others who care about our trains and rail transit make a best effort in the struggle to keep what we have, and possibly expand our mobility network on rails in the future. One of the ways RUN does this is through its conferences, which provide useful information from knowledgeable advocates and mangers.

There will be more to report on many topics concerning passenger trains and rail transit in the future. As has been the case in the past, some of my reporting will focus on what rider-advocates are doing to help the cause, even though such advocates and their constituents are not often taken seriously as genuine stakeholders on issues pertaining to mobility on rails. Without my long experience at RUN, I would not be able to report as thoroughly on the advocacy scene as I have through the years.

Here are a few “basics” about RUN: The organization advocates for improvements on all modes of rail passenger transportation in the United States and Canada. It is a not-for-profit corporation, and its Board members are all experienced advocates, some of whom have working experience as railroaders. RUN’s activities include the online conferences and its quarterly RUN Newsletter. RUN has individual members and organizational members, which are advisory committees and advocacy organizations. Dues for individuals are $40 per year, with an “introductory” rate of $25 for a new member’s first year.

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Rob Russell, Managing Partner, Russell-Kroese Partners, joins Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono for a wide-ranging discussion on the railroad industry and its future, with particular emphasis on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. Among the topics are the health of the rail industry from 2002 to present; the service and rate environment, the outlook for intermodal business; challenges with connecting to a railroad for carload customers; when railroads say “we’re looking to grow,” what does “growth” really mean?; challenges for commercial professionals in the rail space; rail in the West vs. rail in the East; and “benefits” and “lookouts” for UP’s acquisition of NS.

Rob Russell is a seasoned transportation executive who operates fluidly from the boardroom to the shop floor. A certified six sigma black belt and a LEAN champion, Rob is a proven business leader who has a track record of strategy development, financial planning, business development, operations, and performance management to accomplish an organization’s desired goals. Pulling from more than 23 years of executive logistics experience across CWR Solutions, OmniTRAX, Progressive Rail and Union Pacific, he brings passion, expertise and dedication to his clients. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Rob is recognized to excel within complex, high pressure organizations to achieve measurable and timely results by cultivating relationships, developing high performing teams, and delivering on time.

The post Rob Russell: ‘Rail is a Precious Commodity’ – RAIL GROUP ON AIR appeared first on Railway Age.

TNW Corporation has named Phil Logan as Director of Operations, overseeing all railroad transportation and locomotive functions; Michael Payne as Director of Safety, Environmental, and Training; and Levi Gracy as Senior Sales Manager.

With more than 30 years of experience in short line and Class I railroad operations, Logan has led large teams and implemented improvements in safety, service delivery, and operational efficiency, according to TNW Corporation. Payne, a veteran of the United States Air Force, brings three decades of railroad industry experience spanning safety management, operations, and workforce development across short line, Class I, and contractor construction environments. Gracy has progressed through positions of increasing responsibility in the railroad industry since 2007.

“A team-focused approach to culture, safety, customer service, and capital investment is essential to our success,” TNW Corporation CEO Paul Treangen said. “These industry veterans bring the experience and leadership we need as we continue to grow and serve our customers.”

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As the new Chief Commercial Officer, Kristi App is leading commercial operations across Port NOLA’s cargo, cruise, and industrial real estate portfolios.

She brings two decades of experience in international trade, transportation, and global logistics. App served previously at J.W. Allen & Company, Inc., a freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and global logistics provider. Most recently, she was Chief Operating Officer and also held such roles as Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of Exports.

“Kristi App’s extensive background in logistics, international trade, and commercial strategy make her an exceptional addition to our executive team,” said Beth Branch, President and CEO of the Port of New Orleans and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB). “Her vision and leadership will be key to advancing our growth initiatives, including the Louisiana International Terminal, and driving sustainable cargo development that benefits our region and our partners across the supply chain.”

“I’m honored to join Port NOLA at such an exciting time in its growth trajectory,” Kristi App, said. “The Port plays a vital role in connecting Louisiana to the global economy, and I look forward to working with our partners to expand our reach, strengthen our customer relationships, and position the Louisiana International Terminal as a world-class gateway for future generations.”

• Port NOLA Highlights Growth, Resilience During 2025 State of the Port Address
• Port NOLA Appoints Morten Møller Jensen as COO
• Adam Laurie Joins Port NOLA as CFO
• Port NOLA Advances Planning, Development of St. Bernard Transportation Corridor

The post People News: TNW Corporation, Port NOLA appeared first on Railway Age.

The New York MTA Construction & Development (C&D) on Dec. 1 announced that it has launched a beta version of the redesigned Capital Program Dashboard, offering the public an “easier and clearer” way to track construction projects across the entire transit system: New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and Bridges and Tunnels. The dashboard allows users to monitor progress and see what is being built or replaced, where it is happening, what the budget is, how much has been spent, and when it will be completed. 

First introduced in 2010, the Dashboard has been redeveloped with modern web technology “to better reflect how the MTA is rebuilding and modernizing the transit system—and how the Authority is using smart, innovative construction methods.” With improved navigation, search fields, and filtering tools, the new dashboard, MTA says, “empowers the public to better understand and engage with information surrounding the hundreds of transit construction projects throughout the New York region, including whether they are funded by the Congestion Relief Zone tolling program.”

The dashboard currently includes all accessibility projects active in construction, projects in the procurement pipeline, and candidate locations for projects in the 2025-2029 Capital Plan. Additional projects and information will be added as C&D continues to refine features and functionality. 

Key upgrades to the dashboard include:

• “A new ‘Transit Service’ view. This simplifies finding a project by grouping infrastructure projects by the transit routes they affect and a redesigned map that clearly shows where work is happening across the system. Users can click on a specific line to see the multiple projects that have been completed, underway, and planned across the entire route—ranging from accessibility upgrades, Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) installation, state-of-good-repair work and other station upgrades.
• “A new ‘Initiatives’ view. This allows users to see projects categorized by major priorities such as ‘Accessibility’ or ‘Resilience’. This also includes an initiative around Congestion Relief to allow users to see which projects have been enabled by the Central Business District Tolling Program.
• “Real-world projects focused. The updated dashboard shifts the focus from using internal budget codes as the primary reporting structure to a way that makes more sense to the public—by project bundles that better reflect how we actually coordinate construction tasks, and contract and execute projects.”

“We are showing our work like no other government agency out there—a testament to the new MTA’s commitment to transparency,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “With a Capital Plan that prioritizes critical but sometimes hard-to-see infrastructure repairs, it is important that this dashboard highlight the massive number and scale of projects underway across the system.” 

For detailed information about the Capital Program Dashboard including how it was developed, how to navigate all its features and more about the history of capital data reporting, see this three-part blog series, Behind the Capital Program. The MTA is also inviting users to provide feedback while the dashboard continues to be refined and uploaded with more projects.

PANYNJ’s PATH commuter rail recorded its second-busiest month since the pandemic, reaching 75% of pre-pandemic ridership, the agency recently reported.

According to PANYNJ, October 2025 was PATH’s second-busiest month since the pandemic. The month’s passenger total of 5.7 million was only 0.1% below October 2024 (October 2024 was PATH’s busiest month since the pandemic). October 2025 ridership was 75.2% of pre-pandemic October 2019 ridership.

Average weekday ridership in October 2025 was 216,640 passengers. This was the second-highest average weekday figure since the pandemic, 0.5% behind September 2025. It was 2.4% above October 2024.

PATH welcomed 50.7 million riders over the first 10 months of the year. The total surpassed the same period of 2024 by 6.4%.

October weekend ridership on all five of LA Metro’s rail lines is up year over year, the agency recently reported.

Gains on the Metro A, B, C, D and K Lines ranged from 5.9% to 12.8% over 2024 levels in October, and boardings at the three Metro K Line stations that served the Taste of Soul Family Festival surged up to 224.5% compared to a typical non-event day.

Overall, Metro Rail saw modest gains in ridership over 2024 levels, while federal law enforcement activity continues to affect ridership on Metro Bus, which is down slightly year over year. The results of the October quarterly customer experience survey, the agency says, “shows that more than half of all Metro riders believe that the customer experience has improved over last year, particularly as related to service, safety and security, and that satisfaction with Metro Rail rose for the third consecutive quarterly survey.”

More information is available here.

Building on the success of One Fare, which is saving transit users in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) up to $1,600 per year, the Ontario government is extending the program for an additional two years to continue keeping transit costs down for riders. Since launching in 2024, One Fare has saved Ontarians nearly $200 million and enabled nearly 62 million free transfers across participating transit agencies.

The One Fare program lets transit riders pay only once when transferring between the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and GO Transit, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay, Peel TransHelp and York Region Transit. Since inception, Ontario says, the program has made travel across the GTHA “more affordable and convenient, protecting Ontarians’ pocketbooks and helping build a more integrated transit network.”

“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is delivering on our promise to protect the hardworking people of Ontario in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty,” said Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria. “We’re extending the elimination of double fares through One Fare to make transit more affordable and convenient, saving commuters up to $1,600 each year.”

The Ontario government is investing $70 billion in the largest transit expansion in North America, including the largest subway expansion in Canadian history. Through the GO Expansion program, the province is also delivering two-way, all-day service on GO Transit’s busiest rail routes. “Building a more integrated and regional transit system is a key action in the province’s Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe,” Ontario said.

SJJPA recently announced at its Nov. 21 Board Meeting that the seventh daily round trip of the Gold Runner will return on Dec. 8, marking the first time since early 2020 that the corridor will run its full pre-pandemic schedule. The restored trip expands travel options for riders moving between Bakersfield, the San Joaquin Valley, and Sacramento.

In March 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp 70% drop in ridership, leading to significant schedule reductions, SJJPA noted. Service was cut from seven to four daily round trips as travel across the state declined. As conditions improved and demand began to return, SJJPA gradually added back the fifth and sixth round trips.

With stronger equipment availability, Amtrak staffing in place, and final approvals from host railroads secured, SJJPA says it is now able to restore the seventh round trip. This return gives riders more ways to visit family, reach major destinations, and plan trips around the existing late-night 11:35 p.m. Sacramento arrival and early-morning 6:26 a.m. Sacramento departure.

“Bringing back the seventh daily round-trip marks an important milestone by restoring Gold Runner to full service,” said SJJPA Interim Executive Director David Lipari. “Thank you to the support of our passengers and the hard work of our staff, we’re excited to reintroduce this trip and bring the Sacramento train service back. This addition gives travelers greater flexibility and more convenient choices when planning their trips.”

The seventh round trip will operate as in 701 northbound and Train 704 southbound, terminating in Sacramento in the north and Bakersfield in the south.

In November, SJJPA introduced the new Gold Runner brand for the rail service and Thruway Bus network. Adopted after focused outreach and input from riders, the brand, the agency says, “supports a unified identity and highlights the broad reach of the Thruway Bus system, which plays a major part in connecting communities across the corridor.”

As SJJPA closes out the year, the return of the seventh daily round trip “reflects a steady rebuild of the service and strengthens access for communities from Bakersfield to Sacramento,” the agency noted.

The full schedule will be available prior to the launch of the seventh daily round-trip.

In an annual funding recommendation report from the FTA, the Austin Light Rail project received an overall rating and local financial commitment summary rating of “medium-high,” according to a Spectrum News report. The project also received “medium” ratings for mobility improvement, land use and project justification summary.

According to the report, the line received a cost-effectiveness rating of “low,” which, Spectrum News says, “may reflect the problems the Austin Light Rail has faced since its 2020 voter approval as part of Project Connect.” The project included “a generational $7 billion transit overhaul and an ongoing 20% property tax increase,” the Austin American-Statesman reported, but the cost of the light rail has since increased.

The funding recommendation ratings, Spectrum News reports, “are set to allow the Austin Transit Partnership to compete for federal funding through the Capital Investment Grant.” The line’s overall rating also “signals that federal staff view the project as financially and technically viable,” according to the Statesman.

Austin Light Rail was 27 miles long at the time of Project Connect’s passing but has since been reduced to under 10 miles, according to the report. It would run north to south between 38th and Oltorf streets and include an eastern spur stretching from Lady Bird Lake area to near the inside of State Highway 71.

The post Transit Briefs: NYMTA, PANYNJ, LA Metro, Ontario Government, SJJPA, Austin Light Rail appeared first on Railway Age.

After nearly 30 years, a fertilizer vessel has returned to the rail-served Port of Johnstown in Eastern Ontario, reopening one of Canada’s most strategic ag gateways, V6 Agronomy reported Dec. 1.

The recent arrival of the Federal Montreal to the new V6 Odyssey Terminal “marks the start of a modern Prairie–Seaway corridor led by V6 Agronomy and the Port of Johnstown, linking Western Canadian producers with Eastern and global markets,” according to V6 Agronomy, which is described as a “Canadian agricultural solutions” company. “This is a major step toward a stronger, Canadian-controlled nutrient and grain supply chain.”

The Port of Johnstown is on the St. Lawrence Seaway (see map above). Its spur line connects shippers to CN’s double-tracked main line along the Windsor–Quebec City corridor, and through interchange agreements provides service to Canadian Pacific Kansas City. The Port is also near the junction of several major roadways, including the 401 linking to Montreal and Toronto and the 416 linking to Ottawa; these arteries intersect within 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) of the Port and connect to the Prescott-Ogdensburg bridge to the United States. Country Road No. 2 provides access to neighboring Seaway towns, such as Prescott, Cardinal and Brockville.

According to V6 Agronomy, the Federal Montreal reactivated “a long‑dormant section of the St. Lawrence Seaway.” The renewed Prairie–Seaway trade corridor, it reported, links inbound fertilizers with outbound grain, pulses, and agri‑products through an integrated marine‑rail pathway: the Port of Johnstown.

Reestablishing direct marine fertilizer imports into Eastern Ontario is said to deliver:

• “Reliable, domestically controlled access to essential crop nutrients.
• “Expanded eastbound marine capacity for Prairie growers.
• “Efficient match-back flows for outbound grain, pulses, and agri‑products.
• “Reduced transportation emissions through improved marine and rail efficiencies.
• “New global diversification opportunities, including access to European and emerging markets.”

All discharge, handling, and loading operations occur entirely within the marine and rail footprint, which ensures that there is no impact on municipal roads or surrounding communities, according to V6 Agronomy.

Additionally, it said, Eastern Ontario provides “year‑round scalability with no competing vessel queues, positioning the Port of Johnstown as a critical alternative pathway in Canada’s agricultural export architecture.”

The renewed Prairie–Seaway trade corridor, V6 Agronomy continued, aligns with commitments outlined in Budget 2025, including:

• “Strengthening Canada’s supply chain sovereignty.
• “Expanding the Trade Diversification Corridors Fund (TDCF).
• “Scaling inland logistics capacity via the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF).
• “Advancing fertilizer emissions‑reduction through enhanced nutrient pathways.
• “Supporting rural economic development and regional infrastructure renewal.”

“By reactivating this gateway, we are creating a reliable, efficient, and globally competitive route that benefits farmers from the Prairies to the Great Lakes,” V6 Agronomy CEO Ryan Brophy said. “It’s a major step forward for Canada’s agricultural sector.”

“Through our strong partnership with V6 Agronomy, the Port of Johnstown is activating a modern marine‑rail corridor that strengthens national supply chains, supports Prairie growers, and creates new opportunities for Canadian agriculture,” Port of Johnstown General Manager Leslie Drynan noted.

“V6’s investment into this corridor represents a very meaningful milestone in establishing a resilient Canada‑wide fertilizer supply chain that strengthens crop nutrition security for growers across the country,” reported Fertinagro Biotech International, a Spanish fertilizer producer. “We see this as a strategically significant advancement—one that enhances national supply resilience, expands access to next‑generation fertilizer technologies, and creates new collaboration opportunities in sustainable nutrient innovation.”

• Canada’s First Fertilizer Terminal Launches at Port of Johnstown
• For Port of Johnstown, a New Terminal Facility

The post Federal Montreal Reopens Canadian Ag Gateway appeared first on Railway Age.

Funding is available through a variety of state and federal sources to support:

• Public transit services.
• Human service transportation.
• Transportation demand management (TDM).
• Rail initiatives.
• Planning efforts across the Commonwealth.

Applicants can find the current Application Guidance, including eligible project categories, on DRPT’s website. All applications must be submitted electronically via WebGrants, DRPT’s online grant management system.

After the application period closes, DRPT will evaluate all submissions and present funding recommendations to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) for inclusion in the Draft FY2027 Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). A series of public hearings will be held statewide before the CTB considers final adoption of the SYIP in June 2026.

The post Virginia DRPT Now Accepting Grant Applications appeared first on Railway Age.

A seven-person crew led by UP Bridge Foreperson Keegan Smutz and Manager-Bridge Maintenance Travis Cook safely removed and hauled a nearly 40-foot, 5,500-pound blue spruce donated by Stephen and CJ Carr of La Vista, Neb., to downtown Omaha, UP reported Dec. 1. The city’s “official Christmas Tree,” they positioned it earlier this month inside the Durham Museum for the 50th annual “Christmas at Union Station” celebration.

“Union Pacific crews have been delivering holiday magic to the Durham Museum for decades,” according to UP. “The railroad gifted the former Union Station to the city of Omaha in 1973, after Amtrak was created by an act of Congress and the site’s passenger operations ended.”

Housed in the station, the Durham Museum opened its doors in 1975 and revived a 1930s city tradition—raising a live Christmas tree in the great hall to celebrate the holiday season. The museum’s 2025 “Christmas at Union Station” event is presented by FNBO and sponsored by UP, Conagra Brands Foundation, OPPD, Mangelsen’s, and Douglas County, Neb.

“This is my 11th tree,” Keegan Smutz said. “I’m proud that we get to be a part of something that honors Omaha’s history.”

“We take pride in making it a safe, successful day at the Durham,” Travis Cook added. “It’s a long-standing tradition. Our crews look forward to it every year.”

NS, Amtrak, and the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation will run their 26th Holiday Train on Dec. 13 in New York State. With stops in Binghamton, Bainbridge, Oneonta, Cobleskill, and Delanson, the event will again deliver toys and bring holiday cheer to local communities, according to the Class I railroad, which since 2022 has donated nearly $500,000 to the Foundation, supporting its mission to provide “joy, comfort, and hope to children in need across the nation through the gift of a new toy or book at Christmastime.”

The event starts at 9 a.m. at East Binghamton Yard (5 Holmes Place, Binghamton) with free donuts, hot chocolate, kids’ activities, music, and giveaways before the train departs for Bainbridge, its second stop (see full schedule above).

“For over 75 years, Toys for Tots has worked to ensure every child experiences the magic of the holidays,” Marine Corps Coordinator Patrick M. Lurenz said. “Our collaboration with Norfolk Southern and Amtrak brings that mission to life on the rails, reaching families in ways that truly make a difference.”

“Railroads have always been part of holiday traditions, and this train is a symbol of community and generosity,” noted Kristin Wong, Director of the NS Foundation & Community Impact, NS. “We’re honored to continue this journey with Toys for Tots and Amtrak to spread joy across our network.”

“We are proud to continue our annual tradition of celebrating the holidays with Toys for Tots, the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and Norfolk Southern in the Capital Region with Operation Toy Train,” added Bruno Maestri, Amtrak Special Assistant to the President. “Combining the magic of trains, the festivities of the winter holidays, and the joy we can bring to children is one of the highlights of our year.”

Separately, NS recently rolled out a new collection of holiday merchandise.

“The magic of Christmas came to life in downtown Trois-Rivières, Quebec, with the return of the illuminated Holiday Train, presented by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.‘s Quebec-Gatineau Railway,” according to a recent LinkedIn post by commercial photographer and licensed drone pilot Kevin Burkholder, which G&W reposted. “A true highlight of the season, the train’s arrival at the Trois-Rivières Port Park officially launches the holidays in a warm, festive, and welcoming atmosphere where young and old alike can experience a moment of wonder. The holiday train consists of QGRY GP38-2 3537 and caboose 434524.”

QGRY celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023. The railroad operates along 358 track miles that it either owns, leases, or has tracks rights over, and interchanges with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (at Montreal, Quebec) and CN (at Joliette, Shawinigan, and Quebec City in Quebec).

Meanwhile, the CPKC Holiday Train is touring Canada and the U.S. through Dec. 21, presenting musical performances and raising money, food, and awareness to support food banks across its network, and CSX hosted the 83rd running of its Santa Train on Nov. 22, delivering toys, gifts, and winter essentials to 13 communities in Appalachia.

The post ‘Holiday Briefs’: UP, NS, G&W appeared first on Railway Age.

Their achievements, RAC says, “reflect the industry’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and the continued pursuit of safer, more sustainable rail operations across the country.”

The RAC Safety and Environment Awards “shine a spotlight on the innovative programs, cutting-edge technologies, and proactive practices that strengthen safety culture, protect communities, and enhance environmental performance,” the association noted. “These awards highlight the industry’s unwavering commitment to safety as job #1 and to leading Canada’s transition toward a more sustainable future.”

“Canada’s railways are built on a foundation of innovation, discipline, and pride in the work we do every day,” said RAC President and CEO Eric Harvey. “This year’s Safety and Environment award recipients demonstrate what is possible when we challenge ourselves to think differently and to lead with purpose. Their initiatives strengthen our industry, protect our communities, and pave the way for a stronger future. I’m proud to congratulate each of them on their outstanding contributions.”

And the 2025 winners are:

• Safety Award, Cando Rail & Terminals – Passing Knowledge Initiative: “Cando Rail & Terminals launched Passing Knowledge, a virtual, podcast-style safety education program driven by employee surveys, field observations, and audit insights. Designed to strengthen safety culture and engagement, the initiative delivers accessible, story-driven content that reinforces best practices and connects frontline employees through shared learning.”
• Safety Award, Metrolinx – Red Zone Green Zone (RZ/GZ) Program: “Metrolinx is transforming how it plans and delivers work protection through its Red Zone Green Zone Program. The RZ/GZ Program improves control, planning, and communication for construction and maintenance activities within the rail corridor, reducing major risk factors associated with train-to-worker and train-to-equipment interactions.”
• Environment Award, CN – B.C. Spill Drill and Exercise Program: Strengthening Communities: “Recognizing that community response teams are often first on site during an incident, CN redesigned its annual spill drills to foreground meaningful engagement with local stakeholders and rightsholders. Piloted in August 2023, the Prince Rupert Spill Drill brought together 75 participants—including local First Nations and six Tsimshian Nations, Transport Canada, provincial ministries, municipal governments, and CN operations and emergency response partners.”
• Environment Award, Cando Rail & Terminals – Li-Ion 2025: Advancing the Zero-Emission Fleet of the Future: “Cando Rail & Terminals is redefining what is possible in Canadian rail operations with its Li-Ion 2025 project—an ambitious initiative to electrify industrial switching using lithium-ion battery technology. By retrofitting a legacy, non-tier-compliant diesel locomotive into a fully electric, zero-emission unit, Cando has engineered a scalable and high-performance solution suited for closed-loop rail systems nationwide.”
• Environment Award, Metrolinx – Environmental Management System (EMS): “The overhaul of the EMS focused on ensuring alignment to the ISO14001 Standard including a rewrite of the EMS Manual, re-development of the EMS Aspects & Impacts Registry, third party review of the Environmental Legal Registry and development of 11 Environmental Performance Standards.”
• New Associate Member Award, DecisionWorks: “While drone-based data collection is no longer novel on its own, TrackSense is redefining what is possible in railway safety through an entirely new, unprecedented, and innovative approach that fully supports the entire lifecycle of a railway incident detection, engineering crew management and track inspection reporting. TrackSense is a data integration platform. It provides a single dashboard view of an entire railway that consumes data from multiple sources such as track geometry, flood prediction, forest fire fuel detection, remediation and water body analysis, digital twins to structural steel analysis, and concrete integrity analysis.”

The post RAC Members Earn Safety, Environment Awards appeared first on Railway Age.

The move, Wabtec said, will strengthen its Digital Intelligence business by adding complementary railway signaling technologies. It follows Wabtec’s $1.78 billion acquisition of Evident’s Inspection Technologies division (Inspection Technologies).

Founded in 1987, Frauscher has grown to more than 700 employees located in 15 countries, and has installations in more than 100 countries, according to Wabtec. The company also has a “significant presence in Europe and India,” which will enable Wabtec to “advance its international growth strategy in these key markets.”

The acquisition of Frauscher “is anticipated to provide immediate shareholder value with an accretive growth profile, accretive Adjusted EBIT margins, accretive Adjusted EPS in the first year of ownership, and accretive return on invested capital (ROIC) over time,” according to Wabtec. “The purchase price reflects an estimated multiple of 12.4x projected 2025 EBITDA adjusted for projected run-rate cost synergies, which Wabtec expects to be realized over a three-year period. Frauscher is expected to generate approximately €145 million of revenue in 2025.”

“This strategic acquisition is another step in executing Wabtec’s long-term growth strategy, which will provide enhanced value for our customers, shareholders, and employees,” Wabtec President and CEO Rafael Santana said Dec. 1. “The rare combination of our Digital Intelligence portfolio and Frauscher’s industry leading suite of products opens opportunities in a high-potential market for sustained growth, and strong and resilient profitability.”

“As the world’s rail network looks to meet the ever-growing transportation demands, the combination of our digital portfolio with Frauscher’s technology will provide operators innovative solutions to optimize their operations,” added Nalin Jain, President of Wabtec’s Digital Intelligence Group. “By combining our businesses, we will further strengthen Wabtec as an innovator in the rail industry’s digital transformation driving improved efficiency, reliability, and safety.”

Frauscher is the fifth Wabtec acquisition since November 2024. The company has also added Inspection Technologies, Fanox, Kompozitum, and Bloom Engineering to its portfolio.

• Wabtec 3Q25: ‘Continued Growth in Backlog, Sales, Margin and Earnings’
• Wabtec, Vale Partner to Test Ethanol Use in Locomotives
• Wabtec Lands $4.2B Kazakhstan Locomotive Contract
• Driving the Future of Rail: A Conversation With Wabtec’s Eric Gebhardt
• For Wabtec, ‘Another Strong Quarter’
• Watch: Wabtec’s Evolution Series Tier 4 Marks a Milestone
• Wabtec, IMT Enter Agreement to Distribute Railcar Telematics in European Markets
• Winter Weather Warm-Up
• Wabtec: ‘Strong’ 1Q25 Results, Full-Year EPS Guidance Increase
• Wabtec, ARTC Secure Agreement

The post Wabtec Acquires Frauscher (UPDATED 12/2) appeared first on Railway Age.

Amtrak issued a press release Nov. 18 touting the railroad’s performance in Fiscal Year 2025 entitled “Amtrak: A Year of Records.” With record ridership, record passenger miles, record capital investments and new trains, it would seem that Everything’s Coming Up Roses at today’s Amtrak. But as the late Paul Harvey might have said, there is “The Rest of the Story,” especially with Amtrak’s Long-Distance services.

Considering that they are the face of Amtrak for much of America, the meager amount of reference to Long-Distance trains in the document suggests different reality than what is intended to convey. It touts an 87% completion rate for the Superliner Refresh Program, without mentioning that “refreshing” is superficial, and far from the needed mechanical refurbishment, especially for cars 30 to nearly 50 years old, and that even with funding available since November 2021, Amtrak has yet to specifically determine a design for replacement equipment for the Superliners, much less select a manufacturer. Amtrak applauds its role in the complaint filed by the Justice Department in 2024 against Norfolk Southern for its chronic delay of the Crescent, but neglects to mention that Norfolk Southern gets to keep operating the northbound Crescent on a schedule more than three hours longer than in 2021 and includes an unsavory 11:29 PM departure from Atlanta.

And then there’s this from Amtrak: “Long-Distance routes saw increased capacity and strong ridership on iconic trains like the California Zephyr, Sunset Limited and Coast Starlight.” Such a claim is relative, depending on the points of comparison. Amtrak’s lack of serviceable aging equipment is well known, and most Western long-distance trains are operating or have operated with less than a full complement of equipment. Of the three trains mentioned by Amtrak, while their ridership is up from 2023, they all handled fewer passengers than in pre-COVID 2019. 2025 Coast Starlight ridership (sometimes operating with only two coaches) was only 88% that of 2019, and 82% that 2015. While 2025 overall long-distance ridership was indeed up 13% over 2023, it’s still down 2% from 2019 and slightly less than in 2015.

It should also be noted that in 2015, local ridership between New York and Washington wasn’t included for the Palmetto as it was in 2025, and ridership for the Winter Park Express ski train—included in California Zephyr numbers—was significantly higher in 2025 due to more frequent service.

But to really appreciate Amtrak’s apathy for its Long-Distance trains over the past 15 or so years, the Empire Builder is a case study. In 2005, buoyed by public recognition of the train’s 75th anniversary in 2004, Amtrak refurbished (not just “refreshed”) Empire Builder rolling stock. Not only did the equipment receive both mechanical and aesthetic makeovers but also got upgraded food service for both first and coach class passengers, and enhanced amenities such as a midday “Wine and Cheese Tasting” focusing on products from Washington State and Wisconsin. As a result, ridership soared and peaked at 554,266 in 2008, more than any other Amtrak Long-Distance train ever, and half again as much as the second-place Silver Star. (That year, nearly one out of every 50 Amtrak passengers rode the Empire Builder.)

Amtrak’s marketing department actively and specifically marketed its Long-Distance trains in the 1990s into the 2010s, creating robust patronage to Whitefish, Mont. during ski season, even advertising the Empire Builder as “The Perch Express” to lure people from the Midwest to Devils Lake, N.Dak. mid-winter for ice fishing! In 2014 amid the height of the Bakken Oil Boom causing a glut of freight traffic along the Empire Builder route ahead of BNSF’s investment of billions of dollars in new infrastructure, Amtrak had the resources to create a sixth set of Empire Builder equipment necessitated by a short-lived lengthening of the train’s schedule.

How things have changed. Rather than learn from the success of the Empire Builder in 2008 and apply it to other routes, Amtrak chose to phase out the added amenities. Much of the Whitefish ski business has disappeared due to an unpalatable schedule. Amtrak unstaffed stations in the larger college communities of Winona, Minn. and Grand Forks, N.Dak. and at Columbus, Wisc., the stop for Madison, the state capitol and Wisconsin’s second-largest city. Prior to 2022, the eastbound Empire Builder still had the distinction of being the only Long-Distance Amtrak train on a faster schedule than its pre-Amtrak counterpart, which also included the shortest equipment turn time of any Long-Distance train at only 6 hours, 20 minutes in Seattle.

In mid-2022, turn time was reduced to only 5 hours, 26 minutes, nearly ensuring a late eastbound departure when the corresponding westbound was tardy. (An extra set of equipment was/is out of the question.) Additionally, the westbound train had its departure from Chicago set back 50 minutes and additional dwell time added in Minot, N.Dak. to accommodate an hour-long train servicing and inspection that previously required only 20 minutes. As a result, train times are particularly unappealing at some of its busier stations, such as St. Paul (11:13 PM), Glacier Park (often after sunset), Whitefish (10:21 PM.), and Spokane (3:19 AM). Eastbound, the additional dwell time inbound and at Minot changed the arrival time in Chicago to late afternoon, severing connections with the Cardinal and Wolverine service. August is historically the busiest month for the Empire Builder, so effective Aug. 1, 2024, Amtrak eliminated one of the two coaches on the Seattle section of the train and operated as such for all of 2025.

The Empire Builder was the guinea pig as the first Long-Distance train to use the new ALC-42 Siemens locomotives in 2022. That these locomotives had teething problems is an understatement, and they didn’t fare well during the seasonal Northern Plains winter, resulting in numerous late trains and long-term cancelations of service that continued into 2025.

Not surprisingly, Empire Builder performance reflects the service deterioration. Ridership dropped significantly from its peak in 2008 as amenities were phased out, but throughout most of the 2010s, the train still handled 400,000 to 500,000 patrons—some 433,000 in the last pre-COVID year, FY2019. Since then, reduced connections, poor train times, late trains, equipment malfunctions and fewer available seats have reduced ridership by 16% over the pre-COVID level (364,495 in 2025).

So, as Amtrak pats itself on the back for all its perceived successes in 2025, remember “The Rest of the Story” with its Long-Distance trains and where they stand on the pecking order of Amtrak priorities. Amtrak proudly touted the Empire Builder (its most-ridden Long-Distance service) on its Diamond Anniversary in 2004. Today, we must ask: In light of aging equipment with replacement cars anything but certain, what is Amtrak’s plan to ensure that the Empire Builder will be a viable service to its Centennial in 2029 and beyond?

Mark Meyer is retired after spending 40 years in railroad operations at Burlington Northern and BNSF, most recently managing the locomotive fleet on North Operations, which included South Dakota and adjacent states. The opinions expressed here are his, not those of Railway Age.

The post Amtrak 2025: The Rest of the Story appeared first on Railway Age.

Alstom’s RSC sites produce and maintain high-speed, commuter rail, metro, and light rail vehicles. Manufacturing sites are located in West Mifflin, Pa.; Hornell and Plattsburgh, N.Y.; La Pocatière, Quebec; and Brampton, Kingston, and Thunder Bay, in Ontario; engineering and prototyping centers are in St-Bruno, Quebec.

The company is said to have delivered more than 15,000 new or renovated vehicles for transit agencies in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Atlanta, New Jersey, the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver. The first five of its NextGen Acela trainsets for Amtrak began operating this summer on the Washington, D.C.-New York City-Boston Northeast Corridor.

Bernier had served as Chief Financial Officer for Alstom Americas since the company’s acquisition of Bombardier Transportation in 2021. He held the same role at Bombardier Transportation in North America, which he joined in 2019 from Bombardier Inc. According to Alstom, Bernier has held leadership positions across the aerospace, consumer goods, banking, and audit industries.

“I am thrilled to welcome Marc in his new capacity as part of the Alstom Americas executive team,” Alstom Americas President and CEO Michael Keroullé said. “Marc played a pivotal role in the transformation of the company since the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation in 2021, and has been a key contributor in the successful strengthening of Alstom in our region. In this new role, he and his team will continue to deliver on our commitment, to make Alstom the best rail technology partner to our customers and the communities they serve.”

• Alstom, CTDOT Unveil Commuter Railcar Mockup
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• NJT Slates $917MM Multilevel I, II Overhaul
• Sion Tapped as New Alstom CEO
• SkyTrain Readies for Mark V Trainset Service

The post Alstom Appoints North American VP, RSC appeared first on Railway Age.

The Contrarian View: The phrase “Where’s the Beef” originated from a Wendy’s commercial in 1984 and quickly became a “cultural catchphrase” used to express skepticism or doubt about the substance of something. It is often used humorously in various settings and situations (especially political campaigns) to question the integrity of an idea or proposal.

One of the supposed justifications for the UP-NS merger is the need to more efficiently handle large volumes of so-called transcontinental rail traffic. At one time U.S. railroads moved substantial amounts of international steamship container traffic from West Coast ports to ports along the East coast as well as to inland destinations in the Midwest.

A land-bridge was a port-to-port movement of containers replacing the middle portion of an ocean voyage that began in Asia before the first U.S. port-of-call and extended beyond the second (by water to Europe). The Santa Fe Railway developed the first land-bridge container train, linking Asia with Europe, using Santa Fe and Penn Central lines in the early 1970s. This original multimodal concept produced two successful variations (or spinoffs) called mini-land bridge and micro-land bridge.

Mini-land bridge was a port-to-port movement replacing one end of an ocean voyage. It was characterized as using a land transport mode, usually rail, to serve a second port from an initial port of call. One example was a carrier calling at a southern California port offering mini-land bridge to and from Houston rather than calling at Houston direct.

Micro-land bridge service would operate between a U.S. port of call (on the West Coast) and an inland intermodal hub (which may or may not also be a port). Chicago is the single largest inland hub for micro-land bridge service, but Memphis and Atlanta also developed into a major destination in their own rights from the West Coast over the years.

But as they say, the only thing constant in the universe is change. The Chicago micro-land bridge traffic remains strong as ever. Chicago claims the title of the largest inland port in the U.S., based on the annual volume of containers in TEUs handled there. But whatever happened to the East Coast inland destination traffic? The short answer is it is going away, being replaced by a new version of the mini-land bridge using East Coast ports as the U.S. port of entry rather than West Coast ports.

In the long term, this shift can likely be explained in part by infrastructure. One example is the widening of the Panama Canal in 2016 which allowed larger vessels to transit the waterway. Another factor here is the continuing shift of production capacity from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) south into the eleven member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This shift has encouraged increased use of the Suez Canal route to connect Asia with North America. (ASEAN represents the fifth largest economy in the world based on GDP right after Japan, and one of the world’s fastest growing.)

At the same time, there has been an impressive ongoing expansion of container facilities on the East Coast including improved access such as port dredging and bridge raising. These changes have dramatically increased the ability of eastern ports to handle more cargo despite higher overall transit times from Asian ports.

We would argue it also marked the beginning of the end for the need of the kind of transcontinental rail services referred to as micro-land bridge.

By 2030, East Coast ports are expected to account for 50% of U.S. containerized imports, up from 38% in 2015 (Source: UN Trade & Development website, 2024). We calculated the current actual split based on five largest West Coast ports (based on 2024 actual teu volume) versus the eight largest East Coast ports. (Houston was specifically excluded.) The results showed almost 53 percent of total container imports via the West Coast versus 47 percent via the East Coast. This means the need for 10,000-ft Union Pacific double stack trains struggling to transit the Meridian Speedway will soon be effectively over.

In 2024 six of the top ten U.S. container ports by twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of containerized volume were all located along the east and gulf coasts. The top U.S. port by container volume was Los Angeles followed in second place by Long Beach by a respectable margin. However, literally right behind Long Beach was the Port of New York and New Jersey. Would NY/NJ have come in second in volume if it were not for October’s East Coast longshoreman’s strike in 2024?

Ranked number three is the traditional East Coast heavyweight, the Port of New York and New Jersey. But what surprises us is the rest of the top ten rankings. Ranked fourth was the Port of Savannah (with about 60% of Long Beach’s annual volume) with the Port of Virginia ranked fifth. The Houston Port Authority comes in at #6 and the Port of Charleston at #7.

In 2001 according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics the Port of Savannah was ranked eighth for total container volume among all U.S. ports.

Arguably the most impressive port “renaissance” on the East Coast has occurred at the Port of Savannah, operated by the Georgia Ports Authority. The Port of Savannah’s website now advertises the port as “The single largest container terminal in America.”

In a study released in September 2025, Georgia Tech researchers found shippers save money, boost reliability and achieve comparable average transit times when they land Atlanta-bound cargo at the gateway port of Savannah, instead of a West Coast port. The complete version of this Study is now available on the Port of Savannah’s website. It makes for very interesting reading.

Savannah (and the state of Georgia) now basically represents everything the Port of Los Angeles (and the state of California) does not.

The OOCL Iris became the largest capacity vessel to ever call at the Port of Savannah, arriving at Savannah’s Garden City Terminal on February 25 of this year. With a maximum capacity of 16,828 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) container units, the OOCL Iris is 1,204 feet long and 167 feet wide. The CMA CGM Marco Polo held the previous maximum capacity record at the Port of Savannah, at 16,022 TEUs.

Atlanta is the largest metropolitan area (and consuming market) in the southeast. It is one of the five Top 10 MSA’s located along the East Coast and is ranked by Colliers International as the fourth largest industrial market in the U.S. (just ahead of New York City metro and right behind Dallas-Ft. Worth). It is located approximately 248 highway miles from Savannah. The two cities are also connected by rail (both CSX and NS). GPA also operates a major automobile port at Brunswick, GA.

Nearby Top 25 Industrial Markets include Charlotte, N.C. (#14) and Memphis, Tenn. (#19).

Savannah Port is home to the biggest single-terminal container area, one of its kind in North America. It includes two deep-water terminals called the Garden City Terminal and the Ocean Terminal.

The Garden City Terminal is reportedly the 4th busiest container handling facility in the U.S, covering over 1200 acres and handling millions of tons of containerized cargo each year. The Port of Savannah is reportedly the closest and fastest by rail to the major population centers of Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Memphis and Orlando.

The Mason Mega Rail Terminal is the largest on-port intermodal facility in the Western Hemisphere. CSX and Norfolk Southern serve the facility. The 85-acre facility provides ample capacity for growth, with 24 miles of on-terminal track.

Georgia Ports Authority operates two new inland ports. These were developed in an attempt to avoid congested intermodal terminals in Atlanta. The Appalachian Regional Port sits is on 42 acres in Northwest Georgia’s Murray County. The port is a joint effort of the state of Georgia, Murray County, the Georgia Ports Authority and CSX Transportation. The inland rail terminal, which opened in 2018, “provides a powerful gateway to global markets.” It is located about 45 mils southeast of Chattanooga, TN home of the new VW assembly plant.

The planned 104-acre Blue Ridge Connector will be GPA’s second inland port project. It will provide a direct link to the Port of Savannah via Norfolk Southern. At full build-out, the rail terminal will feature 18,000 feet of working track. With a top capacity of 150,000 container lifts per year, the facility will offset 600 roundtrip highway miles for every container moved by rail.

Savannah has had direct rail service to Memphis, TN for some time and recently gained through service to Chicago via both CSX and NS.

The obvious supply chain advantage here for Savannah is the ability to facilitate a strategy of strategic postponement by holding inventory at or near the port in relatively close proximity to end users in major metro areas like Atlanta. The short highway distances would also facilitate more delivery by truck on a J-I-T basis with smaller economic order quantities.

The state of Georgia’s major export crops include cotton and peanuts (both of which fit nicely inside steamship containers). The South is also home to a growing number of foreign brand automotive assembly plants. Most are within a day’s drive of the Port of Savanah. These include a Kia Motors assembly plan in West Point and a Hyundai plant in Ellabell, GA. There are four assembly plants in Alabama, owned by Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai and a joint Mazda/Toyota plant. Nissan Motors operates assembly plants in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee.

The principal facilities of the fifth ranked Port of Virginia are four marine terminals, all on the harbor of Hampton Roads:

• Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) at Norfolk, Va.
• Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) at Portsmouth, Va.
• Newport News Marine Terminal (NNMT) at Newport News, Va.
• Virginia International Gateway (VIG) at Portsmouth, Va.

Seven years after the Port of Virginia launched a $450 million dredging project to become the deepest and widest harbor on the East Coast, the massive endeavor will be completed by the end of this year as the shipping channels are dredged to 55 feet deep.

The Port of Virginia’s ace-in-the-hole is the Heartland Corridor, a new high capacity inland rail route connecting the Port directly with Midwest cities of Columbus, Ohio and Chicago. The project involved raising clearances in 28 tunnels and 24 other overhead obstacles. The new routing reduced travel times from port facilities in Virginia to Chicago to three days, improving on the previous four-day travel time and reduced the distance traveled by 250 miles. The underlying rail carrier here is Norfolk Southern.

The Port of Houston is already linked with West Coast ports by direct rail on both Union Pacific and BNSF. Then there is of course the direct water option since Houston is already a deep-water port on the Gulf of Mexico with scheduled containership service.

Los Angeles to Houston was originally an integral part of Southern Pacific’s famed Sunset Route. This route later gave Union Pacific an inherent advantage in the L.A.-Houston market. But maybe not anymore. In July 2025 BNSF announced a new expedited intermodal service between Hobart Yard in Los Angeles and Houston’s Pearland Yard. BNSF is also reportedly testing a new rail shuttle service between the Port of Houston and the Inland Port at Alliance, Tex.

The template for this new shuttle service could be the inland ports operated by the Georgia Ports Authority. The BNSF’s main line running directly between Houston and Fort Worth is the former Santa Fe Galveston/Fort Worth subdivisions.

On the West Coast Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma round out the top 10 but the East Coast has an impressive collection of secondary ports including Miami, Philadelphia, Port Everglades, Baltimore and Jacksonville.

The Canadian East Coast port of Halifax, N.S. has a magnificent deep-water harbor. It is the first port of call on the North American East Coast for ships coming from Europe and using the Suez Canal. It is now home to two container ports and is connected by rail to the rest of Canada by CN.

Thanks to CN, Memphis becomes a unique logistics market with direct rail service from two Canadian West Coast ports as well as one Canadian East Coast port plus direct connections with the Port of Savannah.

Few long-distance commodity moves by rail carload approach the land bridge phenomenon. We would argue these few moves are more regional than transcontinental. Substantial amounts of Powder River Basin coal still moves for now in unit trains from the Basin to generating plants in Texas and the Southeast. However, most of this tonnage flows through the Kansas City gateway not Chicago. Kansas City is the top-rated U.S. rail gateway for tonnage due to large volumes of coal and grain moving through that location. This traffic remains at risk from competition from alterative fossil fuels like oil and natural gas, as well as a resurgence nuclear power industry.

We understand there is a substantial number of ethanol unit trains being operated on a regular basis from producing facilities (refineries) located in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, Iowa. Both locations are served by the Iowa Interstate which hauls the trains to Peoria, IL where they are interchanged to Norfolk Southern for delivery to East Coast fuel-producing refineries. Rail service here appears to be acceptable.

This is not technically a transcontinental move but could be described as a rather long distance inter-regional move. It is interesting to note that it represents a two-line haul easily moving across the heart of the infamous “watershed.”

Finished automobile transportation is a true railroad success story. It would have to be described as something of a bifurcated market. Individual carloads move from assembly plants in the Midwest to the mixing center established by the railroads at the IHB Gibson Yard in Hammond, IN. From here they are assembled into dedicated unit trains moving intact to western destinations. The incumbent carrier is currently Union Pacific making this a single line haul (no interchange required).

One smaller transcontinental move is lumber and building products flowing from the Pacific Northwest into eastern markets. BNSF appears to be doing a good job serving this market. This market is highly dependent on housing starts and home mortgage rates.

Both railroads handle large quantities of grain products from the farm belt to both Gulf Coast and West Coast ports for export.

The glory days of “The Salad Bowl Express” of National Geographic fame are long gone. However, BNSF continues to handle a substantial amount of long-haul traffic in frozen French fries out Washington State’s Columbia River Valley. Trinity Rail’s 64-foot giant-sized refrigerated boxcars are an impressive sight as they roll through Downers Grove at track speed.

Given the growing amount of internet shopping and need for subsequent packaging, brown paper should be a growth market, but the jury is still out on this one.

It is obvious that the freight rail carload franchise has become a niche business catering to a fairly limited number of customers and constituencies. It is clearly a volume driven business. Single car customers tend to suffer from lower levels of service quality regardless of what railroad they are on. How would a transcontinental merger solve this? Like we said, “Where’s the beef?”

Both BNSF and Union Pacific have so far resisted efforts to reduce rates on long-haul double stack trains carrying steamship containers cross country. If the shift from west to East Coast ports continue which western railroad stands the most to lose? I would argue both do as standalone companies. However, depending on how much of the East Coast import business moves by rail versus truck then the two eastern railroads stand to benefit somewhat. However, truck competition for the final mile of the East Coast port business will be far more intense than anything railroads have seen on the West Coast.

Finally, a request for all the pundits out there, can we please get real on all these silly projections of increased intermodal traffic. When it comes to intermodal to coin an old political phrase, “it’s the service stupid.” No service no growth! We all know that intermodal has high service requirements, much higher than the typical carload shipment. JB Hunt Transport frequently comments publicly that poor service on the eastern railroads is inhibiting intermodal growth in the region. Running one 10,000-foot train a day is not going to accomplish very much here.

Triple Crown’s Roadrailer service was an excellent example of how good service can capture high value short-haul intermodal business even within the confines of the mythological “watershed.”

The highway system was designed and constructed more recently than the rail network and serves present day markets more directly. Thus, circuity of rail routes, especially for short hauls in the East and Midwest, is a major factor here. According to the 1978 USDOT publication “A Prospectus for Change in the Freight Railroad Industry”, circuity of the rail network was 18 percent greater than the highway network.

Originally released in 1976, the National Intermodal Network Feasibility Study provided for the first time a comprehensive and detailed view of the market for which rail and trucks are competitive. In our opinion the Study’s most important finding revealed that “the flow volumes are large in the aggregate but highly dispersed.” In other words, lots of dots on the map but hard to connect them in a viable route structure.

We believe this is not good news for a rail system that requires large volumes of traffic running on a limited number of fixed routes to be successful. Recall that railroads originally tried to meet the needs of a “highly dispersed” network with their original network of a piggyback ramp in almost every town in America. (The January-February 1977 edition of The Official Railway Guide listed almost 50 piggyback ramps in the state of Iowa alone.) That concept failed miserably.

Without including a serious discussion of actual, real world service parameters, playing the game of connecting the dots by drawing lines on a map doesn’t cut it. We all understand that intermodal service is driven by volumes. If Vena is serious then show us your service parameters, i.e. how many trains per day are proposed for each route, how many daily loads are required to operate a train and the number of annual loads required to establish a new terminal or to sustain an existing one. Also, I would be curious as to what the split might be between opening new terminals versus simply increasing train volumes between existing terminals.

One more interesting random thought: The Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha Combined Statistical Area, located in southeast Wisconsin, is the largest population center in the state of Wisconsin. Colliers International ranked Milwaukee as the 23rd largest industrial market in the U.S.. It is also one of the largest metro areas in the U.S. (after San Diego) without direct rail intermodal service today. It could easily be described as an intermodal “black hole.”

This was not always the case. In 1979 CNW briefly considered operating a Milwaukee section of their Falcon intermodal service to the West Coast. In 1979 C&NW still had two circus ramps in the area, one at Butler yard and the other down at Florida Street near the Port of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Road also had an intermodal terminal in Milwaukee during the same time period that advertised a mechanical lifting device.

About 15 years ago while employed by a large engineering firm, we worked on a project to construct an in-house intermodal terminal on the grounds of the S.C. Johnson plant at Waxdale, WI. S.C. Johnson was and remains a company very much committed to protecting the environment. They saw a local intermodal terminal as a way to seriously reduce CO² emissions created by draying large quantities of loads down to intermodal terminals in Chicago. Unfortunately, they did not count on the usual railroad resistance to any ideas new or out of the ordinary. The project was quietly shelved.

Does Union Pacific have any plans to begin service in what is now a veritable intermodal wasteland?

James A. Giblin has more than 40 years’ experience in rail, truck and intermodal freight transportation, warehousing and logistics, much of it in the greater Chicago area. He has lived in the Chicago area most of his adult life and is intimately familiar with the region’s freight and passenger rail infrastructure. For six years he is proud to say, “He made his run and made his pay on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe.” In recent years, his professional experience has expanded and diversified to include numerous public sector clients and projects in communities and municipalities across Chicago’s south suburbs. He submitted written testimony as regional rail industry expert in favor of CN/EJ&E merger to the Surface Transportation Board and testified at the STB’s September 2008 Chicago hearing in favor of transaction. Jim is a former multi-year Chair of the Education Committee of the Traffic Club of Chicago. The opinions expressed here are his own, not those of Railway Age.

The post Where’s the Beef? appeared first on Railway Age.

UP team members helped state and local officials dedicate the recently completed hazmat derailment training site at the Roseville Fire Training Center in California, “underscoring the railroad’s commitment to rail safety and readiness,” the Class I announced.

The site, completed after years of coordination among public and private partners, features seven rail cars donated by UP to use as training props, as well as ground-level platforms that enable firefighters to gain first-hand experience maneuvering valves and hosing.

Each year, 60 California firefighters—from San Diego to Redding—travel to the center to complete six to eight weeks of immersive training courses taught by experienced first responders and railroad experts. The site’s new real-world practice scenarios include flares, water and electrical components that bring the training to life.

“Training courses like these provide more than just education and experience, they strengthen relationships between railroads and emergency responders – critical for safe and efficient responses,” said Robert Bavier, Senior Director-Hazardous Materials Operations. “Safety is Union Pacific’s No. 1 priority, and we are committed to educating first responders everywhere we operate.”

UP trains more than 6,000 first responders each year through partnerships with TRANSCAER, Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) and other outreach programs.

“This facility is a true example of a public-private partnership,” Bavier said. “We look forward to continued collaboration.”

As part of its commitment to public safety, UP partners with similar training facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and Pueblo, Colo. The railroad also hosts first responders on mobile training cars in communities across its 23-state footprint.

CN, along with Port Halifax and PSA Halifax recently welcomed the inaugural call of the CMA VGM Ambition cargo ship as part of the Amerigo service, the Class I announced on LinkedIn.

Fresh citrus has crossed the Atlantic and arrived in Halifax, “reinforcing the port’s role as a trusted gateway for temperature-sensitive cargo,” the post stated.

“With our best-in-class CargoCool service, CN moves CMA CGM’s refrigerated containers safely and efficiently while our Intelligen Powerpack gensets provide continuous power and monitoring. Producers can count on us to keep their goods orchard-fresh from ship to shelf and to deliver major Canadian markets.”

The post Class I Briefs: UP, CN appeared first on Railway Age.

According to the report, Noland, who led NICTD for 11 years, has overseen major projects, including double tracking the main line from Gary to Michigan City, construction of a branch to Dyer currently set to open in March, and planning for a shorter route to South Bend International Airport.

“It has just been absolutely the opportunity of my lifetime to run this railroad. I think it’s the best job in America,” said Noland, who also noted, according to the report, that many of the items on the strategic plan “have been accomplished.” “When I started here, our capital plan was $20 million a year. Over the last five years, it’s been $2 billion of capital investment,” said Noland.

According to the report, Noland said his plan had long been to retire at age 65 and he hopes a replacement is in place in the first quarter of 2026.

“I thought I was going to retire in May, but I wanted to make sure West Lake was in good shape,” Noland explained. “But now is the time.”

According to the WVPE 88.1 report, “Noland praised the railroad’s staff for their work ethic and passion, while board members recognized Noland for his leadership and communication skills.”

The NICTD Board also passed a resolution honoring its former attorney Michael C. Harris, who died recently. “He advised the district for more than three decades, assisting with its creation and the purchase of the railroad it operates,” according to the report.

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The Cities of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha, Wis., have executed an intergovernmental agreement to form the MARK Rail Commission, according to WDTD, an affiliate of Wisconsin Public Radio.

The Commission will be made up of nine members (each city will appoint three), the media outlet reported Nov. 30. It will guide ongoing work to establish a MARK passenger rail line, and succeed an advisory Steering Committee, initially made up of representatives from the Cities of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha; the Wisconsin Department of Transportation; and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. That committee has directed a study now under way to explore the reintroduction of passenger rail service on existing lines connecting Racine, Kenosha, and other communities along Lake Michigan to the larger Milwaukee-Chicago region.

The City of Racine received $5 million in Congressionally Directed Spending and is using part of that funding to complete the MARK Rail Study. According to the study website, Racine has contracted with a consulting team led by DB E.C.O. North America and including Kimley-Horn; the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission is assisting, and the City has hired AECOM to analyze the potential for transit‑oriented development.

Goals of the MARK Rail Study are to examine potential service options that would complement, and not compete with, Amtrak’s Hiawatha service and to pursue Federal Railroad Administration Corridor ID program funding, according to the study website. Amtrak’s Hiawatha service provides daily trips between downtown Milwaukee and downtown Chicago on tracks largely owned by Canadian Pacific Kansa City and Chicago’s Metra commuter railroad, with limited stops between the two cities. The Hiawatha route is located inland, and, as a result, the Hiawatha does not directly serve the major population centers located along Lake Michigan, including the Cities of Racine, Kenosha, and others in Southeastern Wisconsin, as well as Chicago’s North Shore communities. MARK Rail would differ from the Hiawatha by directly serving Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and communities in between on existing tracks and right-of-way owned by Union Pacific and CPKC, which are east of the tracks used by the Hiawatha. According to the study website, potential service options could include:

• “Local and/or regional service with multiple intermediate stops operating between Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha.
• “Regional and/or intercity service with fewer intermediate stops (but more than Amtrak’s Hiawatha service) operating between Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Chicago.
• “A combination of local, regional, and/or intercity service.”

According to the website, the study will evaluate the need for potential improvements, such as upgrading the track to allow for higher speeds and adding sections of double track where only a single track currently exists. The study will also evaluate and identify suitable locations for new stations and train layover/maintenance facilities.

RTD riders can now tap a contactless credit or debit card, or use a mobile wallet, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay, to pay their fare on any RTD light rail, commuter rail, or bus service with no physical ticket or reloading required, Masabi reported Nov. 25. With this launch, RTD’s complete digital fare payment ecosystem now runs on Masabi’s Justride platform, which powers “mobile ticketing, Account-Based Ticketing and Open Payments within a single, cloud-native platform,” according to the supplier, which has partnered with RTD since 2017.

“The Open Payments feature introduces fare capping and account linking across the network, ensuring passengers always get the best possible fare when tapping their contactless card,” Masabi said. “Riders and visitors alike can simply pay when boarding RTD services with the payment card they already have in their pocket, benefiting from daily and monthly fare caps that make using Denver’s transit network affordable and effortless. Regular riders can review their payments history online and associate concessions with the contactless card they tap to ride.”

The Open Payments launch is said to build on the RTD fare system that already supports MyRide smartcards and mobile ticketing via the MyRide app.

“The introduction of Tap-n-Ride provides an experience that is easy to navigate, equitable, and accessible for everyone who relies on RTD,” RTD General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson said. “This new fare payment option is focused on removing barriers and offering customers a seamless, straightforward experience where they can simply tap and ride. With fare capping available, customers can feel confident they’re always getting the best fare on each and every trip.”

“By extending the [RTD Fare Payments-as-a-Service] platform [from Masabi] to include Open Payments and account linking, we’re making transit easier and more secure for everyone, whether they’re daily commuters or visitors exploring Denver,” Masabi CEO Brian Zanghi noted.

Separately, RTD recently launched a near-term plan to enhance the customer experience and increase transit utilization and released its third-quarter financial results.

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Cautious consumers and a changing regulatory environment are bringing uncertainty into the peak holiday season, according to ITS Logistics’ November Supply Chain Report.

“This month, the report reflects a further softening of demand and declining spot rate volatility as the industry adapts to new standards for non-domiciled driver compliance,” ITS Logistics, a Nevada-based third-party logistics (3PL) firm, reported Nov. 28. “At the ports, container volumes broke from traditional month-over-month growth, signaling slowing momentum despite recent breakthroughs in U.S.-China trade negotiations. Macroeconomic conditions are somewhat clouded by delayed federal reporting, but signs of persistent inflation and continued job loss have created a cautious consumer as we enter the height of the holiday season.”

For third-quarter 2025, the U.S. Bank National Shipment Index reported a 2.9% decrease in shipping volumes, undoing the previous quarter’s gains, and an increase in shipment spend, with some regions seeing double-digit gains, according to ITS Logistics. “Analysts report shippers are paying more to move less, due largely to ongoing capacity exits driving up market pricing,” the firm noted. “While contract rates are up, spot rates have decreased slightly, following several weeks of regional volatility driven by increased scrutiny over non-domiciled licensing and English language proficiency.”

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Nov. 10 issued an administrative stay on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) “interim final rule tightening regulations on non-domiciled commercial licenses, citing failure to follow proper process and lack of evidence,” according to ITS Logistics. “With this stay in place, all states are permitted to continue issuing and renewing CDLs to non-citizens—however, it appears an industry-wide change has already been set in motion. California announced that it will be cancelling 17,000 commercial licenses for failing to comply with pre-existing regulations, while Nevada plans to permanently phase out non-domiciled and limited-term licenses. Private-sector freight technology platforms are implementing screening tools for non-domiciled license holders, emphasizing the need for more thorough verification and risk mitigation.”

“These changes in license issuance, carrier vetting, and ongoing roadside driver checks signal a major refocus on compliance,” ITS Logistics Chief Commercial Officer Josh Allen said. “The federal government has made it clear that it intends to hold carriers and shippers accountable for hiring unqualified drivers, increasing the need for more stringent review of who is moving freight.”

According to Descartes, at the ports, U.S. container imports totaled 2,306,687 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) in October, ITS Logistics reported. This volume is 0.1% below September 2025, which the 3Pl firm said is “breaking from the month-over-month gains traditionally seen at the outset of quarter four and swiftly narrowing year-to-date growth margins.” Despite this overall decline, it noted, China-origin imports grew for the first time since August, leading U.S. trading partners with 5.4% month-over-month gains. “This has followed a series of trade discussions between the countries which, while turbulent, led to a one-year suspension of port call fees, preventing further damage to secondary ports across the country,” ITS Logistics said. “Total U.S.-imposed tariffs on Beijing have also been reduced to a cumulative 47%.”

According to ITS Logistics, the “prolonged government shutdown disrupted standard data collection in the month of October, clouding the Federal Reserve’s visibility into economic health.” Still, it said, “inflation concerns and labor market troubles contributed to a decline in consumer confidence for October.” Despite this, “core retail spending is still up for the holiday, increasing 0.6% for the month of October and 4.89% year-over-year, per the National Retail Federation,” ITS Logistics reported. “Overall holiday spending is expected to top $1 trillion for the first time. However, consumer research points toward a more cautious consumer, anticipating that individual spending will decrease by 10%.”

Separately, ITS Logistics recently released its November US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index, which “confirms a continued decline of both import and export volumes, which, while hindering overall economic activity, has allowed for port and rail congestion to alleviate.”

• ITS Logistics Issues October US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index
• ITS Logistics Releases September Supply Chain Report
• ITS Logistics Publishes September US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index 
• ITS Logistics Issues August Supply Chain Report
• ITS Logistics Releases August US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index 
• ITS Logistics Publishes July Supply Chain Report
• ITS Logistics Issues July US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index

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According to the STB, P&W filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.41 to enter into a 20-year operating agreement with up to two ten-year extensions with the State. P&W will continue to run the Middletown Cluster, which comprises the Cromwell Industrial Track from its connection to the Laurel Industrial Track in Middletown (approximately milepost 22.34) north along the west side of the Connecticut River to the end of the line in Cromwell, Conn. (approximately milepost 24.35); the East Berlin Industrial Track in Middletown, Conn., from its point of connection to the Cromwell Industrial Track (approximately milepost 0.0) to the end of the line (approximately milepost 1.0); the Laurel Industrial Track from its connection to the Middletown Secondary on the west side of the Connecticut River Swing Bridge (approximately milepost 0.0) south along the west side of the Connecticut River to the end of the line in Laurel, Middletown Township, Conn. (approximately milepost 5.47); the Middletown Secondary from a point approximately 4,330 feet south of the centerline of Route 157—Overhead Bridge No. 17.71 in Reed’s Gap, Durham Township, Conn. (approximately milepost 14.99) to the west side of the Connecticut River Swing Bridge (approximately milepost 22.34); and the Portland Industrial Track from the west side of the Connecticut River Swing Bridge, its connection to the Middletown Secondary in Middletown (approximately milepost 0.0) to the easterly side of Marlboro Street in Portland, Conn. (approximately milepost 1.01). The verified notice states that the mileposts have been revised to reflect the current designation.

“According to the verified notice, the State owns the Line, and P&W currently operates the Line as a successor in interest to Connecticut Central Railroad Company, Inc. (CCR),” the STB reported. “P&W states that CCR began operating the Line in 1987. The verified notice states that P&W and the State have entered into a new operating agreement that will replace the prior operating agreement. … The verified notice notes that as the successor to CCR, P&W also currently operates the State’s approximately 11.49-mile Wethersfield Secondary rail line pursuant to a modified certificate, and further states that this arrangement will continue under the new operating agreement.”

According to the STB decision (download below), the new operating agreement does not include an interchange commitment. The government agency noted that P&W further certifies that projected annual revenues due to this transaction will not result in the creation of a Class II or Class I rail carrier.

Pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.42(e), because P&W revenues currently exceed $5 million, it must, at least 60 days before this exemption is to become effective, post a notice of its intent to undertake the proposed transaction at the workplace of the employees on the affected lines, serve a copy of the notice on the national offices of the labor unions with employees on the affected lines, and certify to the Board that it has done so. However, STB reported that P&W’s verified notice of exemption “includes a request for waiver of the 60-day advance labor notice requirement so that the exemption can become effective 30 days after the verified notice was filed.” P&W’s waiver request will be addressed in a separate decision, according to the STB. The Board said it will establish the effective date of the exemption in its separate decision on the waiver request.

Petitions for stay must be filed no later than Dec. 5, 2025.

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In advance of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) evaluating a Union Pacific (UP)-Norfolk Southern (NS) merger application (yet to be filed), rival BNSF wants a separate proceeding to examine, with remedies, its allegations that UP has a history of not honoring competition-enhancing commitments such as it agreed to in 1996 when merging with Southern Pacific (SP).

In a Nov. 28 filing with the STB, BNSF says such an investigation must come ahead of evaluating the UP-NS merger application so as “to prevent further degradation” of competitive options.

If the STB agrees, its decision on whether to allow a UP-NS merger could be delayed beyond an early 2027 date sought by the applicants. The STB’s controlling statute allows it reach a decision on a Class I railroad merger in as long as 455 days following “acceptance” of a merger application. UP and NS prefer a decision within 345 days, saying a shorter evaluation period is warranted because complex competition, operating or customer service issues do not exist.

STB merger rules require that within six months of the applicants’ late July 2025 notice of intent to merge, they must file the formal application. Once filed, STB rules allow for 30 days to accept (or not) the application as “complete.” Once accepted, STB publishes a procedural schedule for reviewing environmental, public interest, competition and service impacts.

BNSF says a longer timetable to permit a separate investigation is appropriate because STB precedent, “since time immemorial,” prevents “old harms” from being evaluated as part of merger application review. BNSF cites comments to that effect by now retired STB Chairperson Martin J. Oberman in 2022 during agency review of an approved Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger creating CPKC.

Alleged by BNSF is a UP “pattern of obstructive conduct” toward pro-competitive conditions imposed by STB in approving the 1996 UP-SP merger. That conduct, says BNSF, has systematically interfered with its ability to compete as was intended.

Among BNSF’s examples of UP “obstructive conduct” are UP giving “preference to its own trains” at the Eagle Pass, Tex., border crossing to Mexico; UP’s claim of “exclusive use of new sidings” at Baytown, Tex.(above); and UP’s “discriminatory dispatching” of trains.

Specifically, BNSF wants the STB—ahead of its review of the UP-NS merger application—to investigate “UP’s harmful conduct since the UP-SP merger; enforce the rights granted to BNSF to preserve competition; and modify the conditions of the UP-SP merger approval decision, as the Board deems necessary, to ensure customers are not further harmed by UP’s ongoing efforts to stifle, and its failure to preserve, competition.”

In its 106-page petition (STB Docket No. FD 32760 (Sub-No. 52), BNSF Railway Company—Petition for Review—UP/SP Merger Conditions, download below), BNSF reminds the STB that the 1996 UP-SP merger was “unprecedented in scope, combining two of the three largest railroads in the West and linking 35,000 miles of track in what became the nation’s biggest rail network.” It thus eliminated, said BNSF, direct and indirect competition across thousands of miles where the two carriers had previously gone head-to-head for customer business.

A UP-NS merger, creating the nation’s first U.S. transcontinental railroad, will further enlarge the UP network, which would have an enterprise value of $250 billion, with some 40% of U.S. rail traffic. This would dwarf rival CSX’s $83 billion value and make UP some 50% greater in enterprise value than BNSF (estimated, as BNSF is not publicly traded).

“The essential bargain struck [in 1996] by UP-SP to obtain Board approval for their merger,” says BNSF, “involved granting BNSF expansive rights and means to access shippers that otherwise would have suffered from a reduction in their competitive options as a result of the merger (so-called 2-to-1 shippers).”

To preserve those rights, says BNSF, “the Board imposed various conditions on UP, including, for example, requiring UP to (1) allow BNSF to have access to shippers at 2-to-1 points via extensive trackage rights over the combined UP/SP network; (2) allow shippers to elect to be served by BNSF when establishing new shipper facilities at 2-to-1 points and along BNSF’s trackage rights lines; (3) ensure that BNSF would have the benefit of access to certain infrastructure jointly funded with UP; and (4) ensure that BNSF has equal treatment with respect to dispatching and serving customers in several shared service areas.”

Significantly, says BNSF in support of its petition, the STB said it would “remain available—into the indefinite future—to consider and promptly resolve any disputes of general applicability relating to the conditions imposed.” BNSF says that since “UP has increasingly sought to frustrate the [1996] UP-SP merger conditions and, at times, simply refused to abide by the conditions,” its requested investigation, with remedies, is appropriate.

BNSF’s allegations that UP cannot be trusted to abide by its prior commitments, punctuated by a request for a separate investigation ahead of STB accepting a UP-SP merger application, appears a clear signal that BNSF intends to be pugnacious during an expected merger review process. Its aggressive involvement, says a shipper group’s attorney asking not to be identified, “could serve to embolden CN, CPKC and CSX to join with BNSF and shipper groups in pressing for enforceable, pro-competitive conditions as part of a UP-NS merger approval.”

“I expect STB to give BNSF’s petition substantial weight,” the shipper attorney told Railway Age, emphasizing that “UP said it will abide by whatever conditions the STB may impose should its merger with NS be approved.”

The post BNSF to STB: First Cure UP’s ‘Old Harms’ appeared first on Railway Age.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Nov. 26 granted authority for Fortress Investment Group LLC (Fortress) to acquire control of Class II Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company (W&LE) and terminal switching carrier Akron Barberton Cluster Railway Company (ABC), boosting Fortress’ small-road portfolio to eight.

Two-time Railway Age Regional of the Year recipient W&LE operates over approximately 982 miles of track in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. ABC, a W&LE wholly owned subsidiary, runs on roughly 84 miles of track in the vicinity of Akron, Ohio.

“The Board’s decision follows a thorough review of the petition for exemption filed by Fortress on August 28, 2025,” the STB reported (download STB decision below). “In its filings, Fortress explains that the transaction will enable W&LE and ABC to benefit from the short line railroad experience and financial strength of Fortress’s other holdings. Fortress also asserts that the transaction will not lead to higher rates or reduced service and that W&LE and ABC will continue to provide freight rail service over their respective lines.”

According to the STB, W&LE and Union Railroad Company, LLC, a carrier already controlled by Fortress through Transtar, share one common customer, and that customer filed a statement in support of the transaction. There were no filings in opposition to the transaction, the federal agency reported.

The transaction “satisfies the applicable statutory criteria and will not result in significant impacts on competition,” and “will enhance W&LE’s and ABC’s access to capital and therefore facilitate strategic investment decisions and growth opportunities,” according to the STB.

FTAI Infrastructure Inc. on Aug. 6 reported agreeing to purchase The Wheeling Corporation, owner of W&LE, for cash consideration of $1.05 billion from an entity controlled by Larry R. Parsons, CEO of The Wheeling Corporation.

FTAI Infrastructure Inc. is externally managed by an affiliate of diversified global investment firm Fortress Investment Group LLC, and includes in its portfolio: Transtar, which owns and operates six Class IIIs and a contract switching company transporting raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished products for a wide range of industries; Jefferson Energy Companies in Texas; Repauno Port & Rail Terminal in Pennsylvania; and Long Ridge Energy & Power in Ohio. Concurrently with the acquisition’s closing, FTAI Infrastructure Inc. said it planned to refinance its existing 10.50% senior notes and Series A preferred stock. According to the company, it had received commitments for $2.25 billion of total capital including $1.25 billion of new debt to be issued by FTAI Infrastructure Inc. and $1 billion of preferred stock to be purchased by Ares Management funds and issued by a newly formed holding company that will own the combined Transtar and W&LE business. 

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• Union Railroad Company Opens New Railcar Repair Facility
• Transtar Teams With RSI Logistics

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With more than 20 years of experience in Siemens, Bauer will lead a team of more than 4,500 employees “to deliver seamless, reliable and innovative transportation solutions to customers across the United States and Canada.”

Joining Siemens in 2004, Bauer has held key leadership roles across Europe, India, and North America over the past two decades, including assignments in New York, Massachusetts, and California. He has served as Acting CEO of Siemens Mobility North America since July 2025 and was appointed President of the North American Rolling Stock division in January 2025. Before that, Bauer was the Senior Vice President of Rail Infrastructure for Siemens Mobility North America, a role he held since 2021.

Bauer has played a key role in major Siemens Mobility North America projects over the course of his career, from implementing Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) to delivering the first Siemens Dual-Mode Charger Locomotives for Metro-North Railroad earlier this year, which seamlessly switches between diesel-electric and third-rail electric power, the company noted.

“We’re delighted to name Tobias Bauer as CEO of Siemens Mobility North America,” said Michael Peter, Global CEO of Siemens Mobility. “His proven track record of innovation, customer-focused growth, and experience across our business makes him uniquely suited to lead our operations in North America. Under his visionary leadership, we will strengthen our market position and transform mobility for operators and passengers across the United States and Canada.”

In addition to his CEO responsibilities, Bauer will continue as President of Rolling Stock for Siemens Mobility North America, “driving the development and delivery of advanced rail solutions—from light rail and locomotives to trainsets and high-speed rail,” the company said.

“It is an honor and true privilege to lead Siemens Mobility North America during this transformative time for the rail industry,” said Bauer. “Siemens Mobility is ready to lead the way, with our talented team that keeps communities connected and innovation moving forward. Together, we’ll set new standards for mobility across North America.”

The post Bauer Tapped as President and CEO of Siemens Mobility North America appeared first on Railway Age.