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by David Zeman/photos by the author

For many railfan photographers, a large part of the motivation for taking photos of trains is documenting a subject before it is gone forever and lost to history. However, when the stars align, it is possible to bring history back to reality. Bringing back to life the late 1950s and early 1960s on Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad was the main objective for myself, Ralph Durham, James Keats Jr., and the Illinois Railway Museum Diesel Department, when we hosted the “Nebraska Zephyr Night Photo Shoot” in October 2025.

For the last handful of years, Ralph and I, plus a handful of other dedicated IRM volunteers, have coordinated several special night photo shoots with a variety of equipment, having mostly focused on highlighting the museum’s steam locomotive, Frisco 2-10-0 1630. This year, as 1630 undergoes a mandatory 1472-day inspection, we shifted our focus ahead to the diesel era with the 1935-built Nebraska Zephyr for an all-CB&Q evening featuring other miscellaneous pieces of Burlington Route equipment. Our main goal for the event was to take our guest photographers back to the golden age of passenger rail travel on one of America’s most famous streamlined trains by incorporating actors and crew members in period dress plus appropriately placed memorabilia items and props into our photo setups.

Because I started visiting IRM when I was young, I have always been mesmerized by anything related to CB&Q, the railroad referred to by us diehard Burlington fans as “God’s railroad.” Seeing the Zephyr and EMD E5 9911A pull out of Barn 9 in the morning and rushing to the museum’s East Union depot for a ride in observation car Juno was always top priority on any day the train was running. SD24 504 was also a favorite locomotive in its vibrant “Chinese Red” paint scheme, and SW7 9255 is a treat to see operate as well. As I started to do my own research about the Burlington, I learned that the railroad’s employees had an unparalleled amount of pride in the company. IRM has kept this tradition alive with its group of dedicated Zephyr crew members, all sharply dressed in their blue suits and stovepipe-style hats each day the train operates. I am proud to have joined this crew in the last few years and help carry on the Burlington Route tradition for future generations to enjoy.

After leading several successful past photo shoots with the IRM Steam and Electric Car departments, fellow museum volunteers and I had high hopes of putting together an exclusive Nebraska Zephyr or all-CB&Q night shoot for a long time. In the middle of the summer, a group of us put our heads together and talked loosely about what we wanted to do and which pieces we wanted to incorporate. We concluded that the main focus of the event would be the Zephyr itself, and any other CB&Q equipment would be considered an added bonus. It was mutually agreed that we wanted to have as many era-dressed models as possible, plus plenty of appropriately placed Burlington memorabilia items for smaller setups, and a few “large” scenes featuring multiple trains and/or locomotives.

Bringing It Together
Once we had solidified our date for the event, we pursued inviting models to act as Zephyr passengers. Over the years, Ralph has built a significant network of actors who have agreed to be on our call list in case of events like this. Some of the models are regular IRM visitors, and some became acquaintances through other social avenues, but all simply enjoy dressing up and posing for photographers for special events. Luckily, I was able to twist a couple of my friends’ arms as well, and convinced them to dress for the part. We were absolutely thrilled to have recruited a total of 12 wonderful models for the event.

In addition to passengers, we needed to align a sufficient crew dressed properly for the Nebraska Zephyr. Thankfully, many of us IRM volunteers are collectors of all types of CB&Q memorabilia, and several of us have been lucky enough to acquire Zephyr uniforms, hats, badges, and appropriate jewelry. Not all the Zephyr crew members own uniforms with all the matching badges and buttons, so it was a team effort to mix and match bits of our own collections to ensure our crew of Nebraska Zephyr trainmen and conductors wore the prototypically correct paraphernalia. It would have been difficult for me to lead the event, pose for Zephyr crew photos, and take my own photos at the same time, so I lent my conductor’s outfit to one of our other IRM conductors. All in all, the train crew consisted of three conductors (identifiable with gold buttons and hat badges) plus four trainmen (silver buttons and hat badges).

In addition to all of the necessary uniform paraphernalia, we CB&Q enthusiasts dug deep through our drawers and closets to find anything relevant to the Burlington, or specifically the Nebraska Zephyr, to help add an extra layer of authenticity to the photographs. In observation car Juno, era-appropriate timetables, matchbooks, playing cards, ticket books, seat checks, ashtrays, coffee cups, and other assorted pieces were carefully distributed as both subject pieces and background items to accompany our well-dressed models. On a table in the dining car Ceres, an assortment of surplus Burlington Route artifacts was set for an additional small photo opportunity as well…

The post Camera Bag: Organizing a Night Photo Session appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

This month, Andrew Nelson leads us on a fond look back at the Lake States Division of Soo Line. Our story is set in the mid-1980s, when the Soo began preparations to “spin off” a portion of its original main line as a condition of absorbing the remnants of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road.

The names “Milwaukee Road” and “Soo Line,” though, are old ones in railroading, and crucially, both are nicknames. Like many railways founded in the 19th century, both companies went through multiple re-incorporations and mergers, their identities an unstable litany of place-names joined by an ampersand. A shorter “handle” became a favored marketing tool. The origin of the Milwaukee’s is self-evident, as “Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific” indicated the Upper Midwest cities linked with the Pacific Coast. Focusing on the largest city in Wisconsin as the epicenter, it becomes “The Milwaukee Road.” Soo Line requires a bit more explanation. Originally founded as Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic in the 1880s, the railway’s middle place-name referred to a Quebecois-founded town on Michigan’s upper peninsula, with the French word “Sault” pronounced “Soo.” While the “Soo Line” nickname came early, it wasn’t until 1961 that the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad adopted it as its legal moniker.

Beyond the nicknames, the Milwaukee and the Soo are both railways that grew up with what was called — a century ago — the “Old Northwest,” a region that stretches from the Great Lakes to the plains of the Dakotas. For much of the 19th century, numerous railways criss-crossed this space, fighting to control traffic in the region’s rich grain-growing lands. The Milwaukee traces its founding to the 1840s in an attempt to connect Great Lakes and Mississippi River shipping, cutting out business that might otherwise have gone via Chicago. The Soo, founded more than a generation later, had similar designs; its St. Paul backers planned the new line running due east toward Great Lakes ships at its namesake town on the passage between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. It was so successful that the transcontinental Canadian Pacific picked up a majority stake in the company in the 1890s.

The Old Northwest, then, is a region that is intimately tied up not merely in its grain-rich landscape, but also in its proximity to Great Lakes ships and (through them) to the Atlantic Seaboard. Today, we are apt to see the hills and dales of Wisconsin or the lake-studded woods of Minnesota and think them insulated from the wider world, but in fact the Old Northwest was, thanks to lake steamers and railways, one of the most connected parts of North America. It is little wonder that, for much of the 19th century, immigrants from Germany, Sweden, and Finland saw this region as a place to start over and make good. The fact that they, like the railways they rode, largely succeeded is part of why today the idea of this region as a northwestern edge of anything is difficult to perceive. Every railway line, every new small town, every growing downtown office tower in Chicago and Milwaukee and St. Paul made it all the harder to see this as anything other than a contiguous part of the wider Midwest.

Likewise went the Milwaukee and the Soo. The former suffered bankruptcy after bankruptcy in the latter half of last century. It was not, perhaps, so much a marker of failure as it was a symptom of having grown too far, too fast, connecting too much of the Northwest — both “old” and “new” — at the expense of making a sustainable profit. The Soo acquired it in 1986, but just four years later, Canadian Pacific bought out the remainder and converted it into a subsidiary that exists only on paper. Just as the Old Northwest had grown into the larger Midwest, the region’s flag carriers disappeared into the larger railway network.

—Alexander Benjamin Craghead is a transportation historian, photographer, artist, and author.

The post Railways and the Growth of the ‘Old’ Northwest appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

A Northern Pacific 4-6-0 was fired up on New Year’s Day for the first time in over 70 years, following an extensive restoration. NP 1364 has been the marquee restoration project of the Northern Pacific Railway Museum in Toppenish, Wash., for over a decade. 

In spring 2025, volunteers installed a new steam dome, laying the groundwork for a hydrostatic test in September. Afterward, volunteers kept reassembling the locomotive for a successful steam-up on January 1. 

“The recent steam-up test was an important step, not the finish line,” the group wrote on social media. “It allowed us to see how systems performed under steam and helped identify what adjustments and fine-tuning are still needed.”

Locomotive 1364 was one of 40 S-4 class 4-6-0s that the NP purchased in 1902 from Baldwin. NP 1364 was assigned to the Tacoma Division and spent most of its operating life in Washington State. It was retired in 1954 but was set aside for preservation and donated to the City of Tacoma. It was on display for several years before being moved to Nallys Valley for an ultimately unsuccessful restoration. Later, it was relocated to the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. In 1994, it was moved to the Northern Pacific Railway Museum in Toppenish, and volunteers have been gradually working on it ever since. For more information, visit nprymuseum.org.

—Justin Franz 

The post Northern Pacific 4-6-0 Fired up in Washington appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

LACMTA will receive Proposals for AE136840EN090 – Environmental Waste Handling and Construction Services RFPat the 9th Floor Receptionist Desk, Vendor/Contract Management Department, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

A Pre-Proposal conference will be held on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m., virtually by visiting: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/29386520537194?p=mkyHfKup0JuFrR69XU. Microsoft Teams is required. All Proposals must be submitted to LACMTA, and be filed at the reception desk, 9th floor, V/CM Department, on or before 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, March 16, 2026. Proposals received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each proposal must be sealed and marked Proposal No. AE136840EN090.

For a copy of the Proposal/Bid specification visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https://business.metro.net or for further information email John Tor at torj@metro.net.

1/21/26

CNS-4004000#

RAILWAY AGE

The post LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL appeared first on Railway Age.

Eastern railroad volumes finished 2025 weaker than expected, and we have lowered 4Q25 estimates. We remain below consensus on Union Pacific, and lower 2026 EPS estimates below consensus for all U.S. rails, given tepid growth expectations. Our recentl railroad roundtable pointed to weak demand trends in 2026. The UP-NS STB merger application will remain the focus for investors, particularly with CGP (Committed Gateway Pricing). We remain cautious on the near-term industry outlook. Our 4Q25 Rail Shipper Survey indicate that pricing and growth expectations recovered off troughs but are still at low levels as demand expectations are soft to start the year. M&A remains the focal point for the rail group during 4Q earnings, and shares should continue to trade on the STB review outlook and truck-conversion narrative. Our rail panel unanimously sees the merger application passing despite concerns and desire for more operational details.

U.S. carriers saw carloadings decline 3.5% in 4Q25, led by Forest Products (–8.5%). We lower 4Q25 estimates for both Eastern carriers, cutting carloadings expectations as a seasonal slowdown was evident. We lower our 2026 estimates below consensus expectations, primarily driven by our lowered volume assumptions.

CSX had the best volume performance in the quarter (roughly flat), helped by merchandise. 4Q25 EBIT was negatively impacted by $40MM from a coal derailment and auto supply chain impacts; most of this should be a one-time cost and some volumes are expected to be recovered in ’26. Howard Street Tunnel is on track for completion by end of 1Q26, unlocking new lanes, and CSX is positioned to win back some business it had previously lost. CSX is relatively bullish on ’26 volumes after having to deal with a lot of closures last year that should be in the rearview mirror. Recent headlines of workforce reductions suggest CEO Steve Angel is looking to drive cost/ productivity initiatives into ‘26.

NSC saw carloads decline 4.5% in4Q25, an impact from softening international demand (intermodal –8%), and ag products declining 9%. Mix should be ~neutral for the company in 4Q25. NSC’s quarter is the least important in our view given the stock is trading on deal probability; we expect management to be transparent about the 2026 outlook given their 3Q25 commentary about a deteriorating industrial pipeline.

UNP volumes are holding up marginally better than we had modeled (recall we were the low on the Street given Consensus was not capturing the difficult December comps). UNP expects earnings to decline in 4Q25 (in line with our previous estimates) and called out a $30-$40MM charge on merger-related expenses that will likely be GAAPed out. UNP’s call will likely focus on its application to the STB, particularly surrounding CGP.

We recently hosted a railroad roundtable. Our panelists unanimously expect weak core demand trends in 2026. Tariff clarity will be necessary for underlying volume trends. Chemical and building materials shippers on the call attested to a weak demand environment. The intermodal outlook was subdued as well. On a positive note, all panelists said rail service is expected to hold up well.

The STB filing will likely be the topic du jour during rail earnings. We hosted a call with a former Class I CEO to review the recent merger application. He believes UNP/NSC have put forward a very strong application that is likely to be accepted, though the final word is likely in 2027. Review could likely take longer than planned, and a 1Q27 timeframe for a final decision is reasonable with little possibility that the process can be expedited. CGP effectively does the job of enhancing competition by offering shippers more choices. Traditional gateway pricing has been limited to some lanes in the I-5 corridor and allows a captive shipper to gain access to a competing railroad at pre-determined prices. We believe, and as discussed on railroad panel, that more details may be expected by the STB as it related to CGP. This catch-all approach by UNP has had very little uptake from shippers generally.

JBHT saw a peak season that met expectations in 4Q25, with no major surprises. Despite market weakness, JBHT has idiosyncratic operational initiatives that should drive the stock in 2026, with $100MM targeted, 80% of which was achieved by 3Q25. We believe there will be more wood to chop in 2026, largely within their intermodal business. We continue to see HUBG as the best positioned to capture growth from a UNP/NSC merger.

Panelists on our railroad outlook call offered subdued outlook for 2026. International intermodal will likely continue to rationalize into 1Q (pull forward ahead of tariffs last year) and trade deficit data pointing to a declining number of U.S. goods imports. Domestic intermodal hinges on the truckload market inflection that is gaining steam but has not impacted contract rates to date and is unlikely to materially impact bid season this year (we hosted a truck panel that pointed to LSD rate increase expectations in 2026, with more carriers already looking toward 2027 as the rapid-growth year). We lower 2026 estimates for both JBHT and HUBG below consensus given our view of more tepid growth expectations. Another year of anemic contract rates on the TL side should limit pricing upside for intermodal carriers come Spring.

Both Eastern carriers are trading above their forward average, while UNP trails marginally. We continue to view NSC and UNP a special situation that will trade in line with deal probability and synergy targets. We broadly lower 2026 EPS forecasts for all U.S. rails given our view of tepid growth expectations, while rolling out 2027 estimates.

The survey results were modestly positive for the U.S. rail players, but M&A remains the focal point for the U.S. rail group during 4Q25 earnings, and shares should continue to trade on STB review outlook and the truck-conversion/merger competition narrative. Pricing and growth expectations ticked up 30bps each off troughs, but absolute levels are still quite low and track with relatively subdued sentiment expressed on our recently hosted railroad roundtable.

Rate hike expectations for the next 6-12 months came in at 3.3%, up 20bps vs. our 3Q25 survey but still below the survey’s five-year average of 3.7%. Participants on our recent railroad roundtable maintained that tightening transport capacity has been evident but not large enough to gain confidence in a stronger rail pricing cycle just yet. Trough truckload rates had seen the trucking premium dwindle through the freight recession, but the 4Q25 surge in spot rates produced some normalization. The share of participants answering that truck is a cheaper mode than rail dropped sharply for both carload and intermodal shippers (down 7 and 4 points, respectively).

Shipper estimates of business growth increased to 1.5%, a 30bps sequential increase but still close to trough levels. The results line up with commentary from our railroad panel, which suggested a sluggish 2026 demand environment. Economic confidence fared better with the share of those more confident up 10 points but off very low levels. Given relatively subdued responses on growth in our panel call as well as our Quarterly Carrier Survey, we believe survey results on the macro picture are uninspiring for the near term.

Following many quarters of shippers citing elevated tariff uncertainty, 70% of shippers surveyed responded that they expect “business as usual” in ordering practices. This is up 16 points sequentially and speaks to some normalized uncertainty, in our view, potentially reflected in the economic confidence response discussed above. This aligns with a comment made by North America’s largest short line railroad company on our panel call, but we remain cautious with a SCOTUS 1/14 ruling looming.

M&A remains the focal point for U.S. rail group, and shares should continue to trade on STB review developments and the truck-conversion narrative for the foreseeable future, in our view. Survey results are a slight positive for underlying U.S. rail industry health as pricing and growth expectations tick up off troughs, but absolute levels are still quite low and track with relatively subdued sentiment expressed on our recently hosted railroad roundtable. Stable rail service is positive but an expected outcome amid a transformational merger review.

The post TD Cowen: Lowering ’26 Expectations Amid Modest Shipper Optimism appeared first on Railway Age.

The New York MTA on Jan. 13 announced its plan to advance two significant transit projects to improve New Yorkers’ commutes as part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2026 State of the State (download below).

As part of her FY27 Executive Budget, Gov. Hochul will propose $50 million to fund the design of a reimagined Jamaica Station, better integrating Subway, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and AirTrain service for the 200,000 daily riders who pass through the transit hub every day. The MTA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) have already begun a joint effort to coordinate this project.

In addition, Gov. Hochul will propose building on her investment in the FY25 Enacted Budget funding a feasibility study for westward expansion of the Second Avenue Subway by advancing the preliminary engineering and design process to continue tunneling across 125 Street to Broadway. According to the MTA’s 20 Year Needs Assessment, this proposed expansion would have a daily ridership of nearly 240,000 and would save riders more than 30 minutes of travel time each week on average.

Jamaica Station is integral to the commutes of millions of New Yorkers, enabling workers and students in Queens to get to school and jobs, allowing travelers to get to and from Long Island, ensuring travelers from around the world can efficiently and affordably get to JFK Airport, and connecting New Yorkers to world-class sporting and entertainment events, the MTA said. More than 1,000 trains and 200,000 passengers transit Jamaica Station every weekday, making it the fourth busiest commuter rail station in North America—surpassed only by Grand Central Station, Penn Station and Toronto’s Union Station. Yet Jamaica Station has been left far behind in terms of customer experience and investment; it was last upgraded 23 years ago, when the AirTrain JFK began operation in 2003.

The reimagined Jamaica Station, the MTA says, “will help create better traffic flow, reduce crowding, and build out a world class station complex providing seamless connection between the LIRR Main Line, NYC Transit, and AirTrain JFK for the millions of commuters who depend on it.”

In her 2024 State of the State address, the Governor proposed a “bold and innovative” solution to enhance the potential of one of the most promising expansion projects in the MTA’s service area—extending the Q line west along 125th Street, with three new stops at Lenox Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue, and culminating at Broadway. Gov. Hochul funded a feasibility study which found that it is not only possible to extend the Second Avenue Subway line construction west to Broadway, serving hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, but that performing the tunneling work as a follow-on to the current East Harlem extension “would save substantial time and money.”

Gove. Hochul will support the next phase of this project with funding for design and preliminary engineering to advance tunneling across 125th Street. The extension along 125th Street, the MTA says, will improve commutes for millions of New Yorkers, save significant time for commuters benefiting from intersections with seven north-south subway lines across Manhattan, and connect underserved communities to jobs.

Yesterday’s announcement “builds on Gov. Hochul’s record of investing in New York’s infrastructure and improving its transit system over the last year,” which include:

• “Awarding major construction contracts to dig the tunnels for Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 to East Harlem.
• “Breaking ground on the New Midtown Bus Terminal Project after decades of failed attempts to advance redevelopment.
• “Beginning the engineering and design phase of the Interborough Express (IBX).
• “Fully funding the MTA’s historic 2025-2029 Capital Plan, which commits $68 billion to modernize, improve and expand transit across the New York City region.
• “Successfully launching New York City’s first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program, which in one year has reduced traffic, cut pollution, made streets safer, and generated revenues for critical transit upgrades.
• “Completing several milestones in the transformative I-81 Viaduct project in Syracuse.
• “Advanced the project to reimagine I-787 in Albany into the Environmental Review phase.”

“New Yorkers deserve a world-class transit system,” Gov. Hochul said. “By advancing projects like the Second Avenue Subway and reimagining Jamaica Station, we’re building on past investments to deliver more reliable, efficient, and modern transit options for riders today and for generations to come.”

MARTA streetcar will return to service Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, at the completion of underground utility repairs by Georgia Power.

The streetcar vehicles were suspended Sept. 8, 2025, to accommodate urgent underground utility repairs by Georgia Power and align with scheduled infrastructure upgrades along the streetcar route. MARTA shuttle vans have continued providing service along the route.

The work required a lane closure between Courtland Street and Peachtree Center Avenue, where Georgia Power has been excavating and repairing underground electrical lines. For safety reasons, streetcars cannot operate alongside open construction areas.

In addition to Georgia Power’s work, MARTA has taken advantage of the closure to complete:

• Catenary inspection and repair.
• Track maintenance.
• Tree trimming.
• Station refurbishment.
• Signage and vehicle update.
• Deep cleaning along the route.

NJ Transit has launched a language survey to assess the needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) customers to improve the agency’s services and programs.

The survey, NJ Transit says, is intended to gather feedback from people who do not speak or read English well, on how they navigate the agency’s programs and services. Also, the survey will ask LEP customers what they think of NJ Transit’s tools for providing language assistance, and how those tools can be improved and refined.

The survey will be offered in eight languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Gujarati, and Korean.

The survey is designed to take approximately 10 minutes to complete on a desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile phone. All participants who complete the survey will be entered in a drawing to win a free monthly pass or $100 gift card. To qualify for the gift card, survey respondents must complete the survey and provide a name, phone number and email. However, it is not necessary to provide personal information to complete the survey.

The post Transit Briefs: NYMTA, MARTA, NJ Transit appeared first on Railway Age.

The Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) Board has elevated Derrick Wright to President and CEO, effective Jan. 16. He has served since November 2022 as Vice President, Operations and Mechanical for the 500-mile railroad, a two-time Railway Age Regional of the Year honoree.

Wright has more than 20 years of leadership experience. Prior to joining INRD, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, overseeing the South Shore Line between South Bend and Chicago. He was also Vice President, Operations at Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc., where he managed operating departments for 15 short lines and regionals. Wright began his railroad career at CSX, rising through the ranks as Yardmaster, Trainmaster, Terminal Manager, and Superintendent.

“Derrick’s deep industry knowledge and leadership experience make him the ideal choice to guide INRD into its next chapter,” the INRD Board said. “We are confident that under his leadership, INRD will continue to deliver safe, efficient, and innovative transportation solutions for our customers.”

Joe Gioe was the most recent President and CEO of INRD; he signed on last year as Vice President Service Delivery for Manitoba, Canada-based Cando Rail & Terminals.

• Powering Possibilities: INRD-CN Intermodal Partnership

Separately, Railway Age is inviting all Class II and III railroads to submit entries for its annual Short Line and Regional Railroad of the Year awards program. The deadline is Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET.

The post Wright to Lead INRD appeared first on Railway Age.

PASSENGER RAIL OUTLOOK, RAILWAY AGE JANUARY 2026 ISSUE: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … in short, the period was … like the present period.” So went part of the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. It could also describe Amtrak during “the present period.”

At a Board meeting held in New Orleans and streamed Dec. 4, Amtrak President Roger Harris described 2025’s record levels of ridership, ticket revenue, customer miles traveled and capital investment by Amtrak and expressed his hope that 2026 will be another record-breaking year for “America’s Railroad.” Yet, Amtrak moves forward, in some ways at restricted speed, as there could be solid red signals ahead outside the Northeast Corridor (NEC). 

Rail transit, including “transit railroads” in the United States, is heading for red signals in many places, too. Some transit-rich places are seeing a clear indication for now, with the possibility of an “approach limited” or even a “restricted” indication some distance ahead. In this article, we will take our annual look at the passenger train and rail transit picture in the U.S. and Canada.

Amtrak management said joyfully that it set records in a number of areas in 2025. Ridership was back to pre-COVID levels, revenue was at its height, and there was plenty of capital investment. Board Chair Anthony Coscia said more people are interested in trains than had been the case ten years ago and even encouraged the prospect of new Public Private Partnerships (P3s) in terms of funding and innovation that could help Amtrak prosper. 

When Scott R. Spencer of AmeriStarRail suggested rebranding Acela trains on the NEC as Libertyliner 250 trains and offering a “Freedom Pass” that would allow seven days of unlimited travel on the NEC for $250 per person, Coscia appeared open to considering those ideas. The acid test of Amtrak’s willingness to implement suggestions by outsiders will come soon, because Spencer’s suggestions are tied in with the country’s 250th birthday, which will happen this coming summer. AmeriStarRail is prepared to license trackage rights and run enhanced service on the NEC and its branches, whether Amtrak keeps control of the lines, as it exercises today, or another entity manages them in the future. 

Rail Infrastructure Management, a different entity (through its RAILnet-21 plan) is proposing a different approach for the NEC: an Infrastructure Management Organization (IMO), using investors’ funds to make capital improvements. The plan would license trackage rights to various operating entities, including Amtrak and others, which could include AmeriStarRail. RAILnet-21’s proponents say that relieving Amtrak of the burden of having to maintain and manage the NEC’s infrastructure will enable Amtrak to spend its money on operating trains, which is its greatest strength, and acquiring rolling stock, which is its greatest need. In any event, the NEC and its branches will have to survive somehow, because it would be impossible to move all Amtrak’s riders and those on the local “transit railroads” along Amtrak’s NEC any other way.

The January 2025 Passenger Rail Outlook article was the grimmest I had written in more than 21 years reporting on the rail and transit beat. Elsewhere on Amtrak, not much has changed. Amtrak’s skeletal long-distance network is the smallest it has ever been: Only 13 trains that motorists and non-motorists alike can ride. The loss of the Silver Star and the consolidation of part of its route with the now-defunct Capitol Limited to form the new Floridian killed direct service between the NEC north of Washington D.C., and places in the Carolinas and Florida. It also resulted in disastrous on-time performance, even though it liberated some Superliner cars for service on trains further west. 

Death by attrition is the hazard the entire long-distance network faces. Amtrak keeps talking about purchasing new equipment for its few long-haul trains, but officials, both at the December Board meeting and at a conference sponsored by the Rail Users’ Network (RUN) in November, had little to say about a long-distance fleet, but plenty about new cars for the NEC and state-supported trains and corridors. They acknowledged that Amtrak needs trainsets, and a 1,379-page Request for Proposals (RFP) for long-distance equipment has been released. Still, actual procurement, construction and other activities required before new equipment can be certified and placed into service could take so long that the current fleet might not last long enough to keep the existing network of trains running every day (except for the two tri-weekly trains). While Amtrak is catching up on repairing wreck-damaged cars, the best-case scenario is that those cars can relieve the short consists that Amtrak is running on its long-distance trains only for a limited time. Another decade is a stretch.

Amtrak officials are talking about placing new equipment into service “in the 2030s,” a long time from now. By 2033, more than half of the Superliner and Amfleet II equipment in service today will be 50 years old, the same age as the Superliner I cars that now run on the NEC and state-supported corridors, and that Amtrak has announced plans to scrap. The current network might survive by running short trains and charging high fares until new equipment arrives, but every month of delay in the procurement process makes that result less likely. There is a limit to how long those cars can last.

In April 2021, Amtrak announced its Connects US program for developing new corridor-length routes, which the states would support. Two services running today demonstrate that, and once trains of that sort start running, they attract riders. The new Borealis train between Chicago and St. Paul is a great success, even though its schedule is only a few hours apart from that of the Empire Builder on the same route. A third frequency that would leave Chicago early in the morning, turn quickly at St. Paul in the afternoon and return to the Windy City before Metra trains and much of the CTA shut down for the evening would also perform successfully. The new Mardi Gras Service trains that run along the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile are also doing well, but it took a four-year war to get them running. I covered that war in its entirety for Railway Age and dubbed it the “Second Battle of Mobile.” 

Amtrak had hoped to see almost 40 new corridor-length routes established by the end of 2035, but in the first five years since the program was announced, there is just one new round trip on an established route and only one new route, with only ten years to go until the end of the original planning frontier. With the fight that CSX, Norfolk Southern and the Port of Mobile waged to prevent the new Gulf Coast trains from running, in addition to Amtrak’s requirement that local agencies must pay an increasing share of the costs of running new trains during the first six years and the full cost after that, it seems unlikely that many other state and/or local entities will go to the trouble and expense to start new routes. With the current decline of federal funding for many programs forcing the states to pick up the tab for them, the prospect of those states or local agencies paying to run new trains for several years appears remote. 

What I said at the beginning of 2025 still holds true at the beginning of 2026 for Amtrak. The long-term survival of the long-distance network seems questionable, and it still appears that only a few new state-supported routes will begin operation. The future of the NEC looks great in Amtrak’s view now, but, truth be told, it’s unsettled. The infrastructure needs massive state-of-good repair programs, and while Amtrak has several NEC projects planned or under way, they are expensive. New P3s with entities like AmeriStarRail or RAILnet-21 could spur investment and innovation, from which Amtrak and the region’s riders would benefit. Still, it will survive, for better or worse. If for no other reason, nothing else could serve all Amtrak riders.

Brightline, the nation’s only private-sector passenger railroad, now runs between Miami and Orlando Airport and is building Brightline West between Las Vegas and southern California, which would have a connection to Los Angeles on Metrolink. Brightline’s model appeared to serve as a viable alternative to the public-sector model of Amtrak and transit providers until recently, but now Brightline is facing severe financial problems and has cut service in Florida, while the anticipated cost of completing Brightline West is rising fast. It appears that Brightline needs to embrace the public sector similarly to how Amtrak must embrace the private sector, which leads to the inference that the P3 model is the only way to build or run a passenger railroad today. Whether the feds or Florida would go along is another question.

The Dickensian opening does not quite hold for rail transit in the U.S., because transit riders and providers everywhere face a severe challenge. It comes from the fiscal cliff that has resulted from the loss of federal money that kept many transit systems going during the COVID-19 pandemic. As things stand for transit today, agencies that can’t get a financial reprieve face drastic service reductions. 

Still, there is a bit of good news, even if it is somewhat anomalous. Before I came on board at Railway Age, there were more new transit starts and expansions than there are today, and I reported a “New Starts Roundup” every year at this time. For the first time in many years, there were several such events around the country. MBTA’s South Coast Rail between Boston and the historic cities of New Bedford and Fall River opened. DART in Dallas opened a new line on former Cotton Belt right-of-way. The South Shore Line (NICTD) is opening its Monon Corridor between Hammond and Munster, Ind., although the schedule only works well at peak commuting times. SMART in California’s North Bay is a few miles longer than it used to be. In Buffalo, the old DL&W terminal, the other end of the historic Lackawanna Railroad from Hoboken, N.J., is served by rail again, but it’s light rail. New rail transit segments are also running in Phoenix, Kansas City, Washington D.C.’s Maryland suburbs, and even Honolulu.

While the above-mentioned list should be greeted warmly as good news, it is questionable how many more years like 2025 will follow. In 2023 there were 64 grant applications before the FTA, 39 for busways and 25 for rail. That represented 40%, but they included mega-projects like the Gateway tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey. Two years later there were 58 applications; 39 for busways and only 19 for rail, which amount to less than one-third. Percentagewise, that is a precipitous drop. It could herald the gradual phaseout of new rail starts over the next several years. 

The fiscal cliff remains the biggest challenge on the transit side. Money from the one short federal infusion of operating funds during the COVID-19 pandemic has or soon will run out at essentially every U.S. transit agency. It is now up to the states and their political subdivisions to find a way to keep local transit going with service that residents of the impacted areas now have. The alternative would be service cuts so severe that their likes have not been seen since the middle of the past century. Without new funding, transit managers have threatened to eliminate 35% to 45% of existing service.

Some states have implemented solutions that are keeping local transit going, either by enacting new fees or corporate taxes to generate money for transit (New York and New Jersey for the next three years), or moved money from the capital side to the operating side (Pennsylvania for the next two years). It cannot be stated too strongly that these are not permanent solutions, but reprieves. Illinois has regionalized the governance for transit in Chicagoland and enacted new levies. It remains to be seen whether those measures will result in a permanent solution or will only manifest a reprieve.

In some other places, politicians who make decisions that affect transit and its riders have not come up with solutions. Transit managers are concerned and riders, especially those who depend on transit for all their mobility, are understandably upset. Essentially every official who has the power to help fund transit in their jurisdictions is a motorist who does not personally need transit. If they can be convinced that the local economy would be thrown into a downward spiral if they allow severe service cuts by inaction or indifference, they might be persuaded to come up with the money to keep transit going at present levels. Still, the best-case scenario will probably be a series of reprieves. In New York City, officials know that, without strong transit, the local economy would be devastated, although that city is the only place in the nation where non-motorists outnumber motorists. 

Canada had some new extensions in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, including conversion of the Deux-Montagnes line from traditional “commuter” rail to the REM mode. There is not much new on VIA Rail, although “Canada’s railroad” has strengthened its accessibility measures for persons with disabilities and has ordered new equipment for its skeletal long-distance network. It will be several years before it can be built and placed into service, so there is time to ride the transcontinental Canadian, which runs twice a week with Budd-built “Streamliner” equipment that has been in service for 70 years. Now, if Amtrak would just follow suit and order new cars for its own skeletal (but much more robust than VIA Rail’s) long-distance network, the riding public might feel more assured that the trains they enjoy will keep going for many more years. 

The post No Clear Track Ahead appeared first on Railway Age.

Editor’s Note: For rail traffic purposes, a week that bridges two different years is assigned to the year in which most of the days of that week fall. The week ending Jan. 3, 2026, had most of its days in 2025, so it is assigned to 2025. Because of the way the calendar fell in 2025, the week ending Jan. 3, 2026, was week 53 of 2025. A year having 53 weeks happens every few years. Rail traffic comparisons are always made to the corresponding period 52 weeks earlier. This means the comparison week for a week 53 is Week 1 of the same year. To ensure comparability across years, Week 53 is ignored when computing annual totals. Instead, annual totals are always weeks 1-52. The first week of 2026 ended Jan. 10.

For the week ending Jan. 10, 2026, North American rail volume on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads came in at 696,484 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers. Cumulative volume in the U.S. was 510,457 carloads and intermodal units, up 9.7% from the same point in 2025; in Mexico, 27,802 carloads and intermodal units, up 53%; and in Canada, 158,225 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8%.

For the first week of 2026 (ending Jan. 10), U.S. Class I railroads carried 232,803 carloads, up 16.7% compared with the same week in 2025, and 277,654 containers and trailers, up 4.4% percent compared with 2025, according to the AAR.

Nine of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2025. They included coal, up 14,178 carloads, to 66,374; nonmetallic minerals, up 6,539 carloads, to 28,766; and grain, up 4,956 carloads, to 26,204. One commodity group posted a decline: forest products, down 748 carloads, to 7,838.

North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 10, 2026, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 333,712 carloads, up 11.1% from the same week last year, and 362,772 intermodal units, up 4.8% from last year.

Canadian railroads reported 87,561 carloads for the week ending Jan. 10, 2026, down 4.2%, and 70,664 intermodal units, down 1.0% compared with the same week in 2025.

Mexican railroads reported 13,348 carloads for the week ending Jan. 10, 2026, up 41.5% from the same week last year, and 14,454 intermodal units, up 65.5%.

• AAR: U.S. Rail Traffic Down 4% for Week Ending Jan. 3
• Flat Traffic Figures For Week 52: AAR
• AAR: U.S. Carloads, Intermodal Down for Week 51
• AAR: Downward U.S. Rail Traffic Trend Continues in Week 50
• AAR: U.S. Rail Traffic Down in Week 49

The post For North American Rail Traffic, a Positive Start to 2026 appeared first on Railway Age.

HNTB Corporation on Jan. 12 announced several key leadership changes that it says, “strengthen cross-functional collaboration and ensure clients benefit from the full strength of the firm. This enhanced structure positions HNTB to continue meeting the growing demand for innovative infrastructure solutions and supporting clients at every stage of project development and delivery.”

Mike Inabinet, PE, has been named President, Markets and Services; Chris Gale, PE, has been named Chief Operating Officer; and Michelle Dippel has been named Region President of HNTB’s newly expanded West Region.

Inabinet will lead HNTB’s market sectors and professional services, advancing integrated strategy, delivery and innovation. He will collaborate across disciplines to support clients and guide growth across a broad portfolio including aviation, transit, rail, bridges, digital infrastructure and other multidisciplinary practices.

Gale will oversee firmwide operations with an emphasis on performance, delivery and operational excellence. He will drive consistency in project execution, foster innovation and support the development of next-generation tools and processes to drive growth.

Dippel will lead HNTB’s newly expanded West Region, which now includes the firm’s West, Central and Great Lakes Divisions. This unified regional footprint, the firm says, “strengthens HNTB’s ability to serve clients across a broader geography and deliver cohesive, multi-disciplinary support for major infrastructure programs.” Dippel will focus on regional growth, client partnership and talent development to meet accelerating demand for transportation, mobility and community-shaping infrastructure.

“HNTB’s growth strategy centers on discovering what our clients value and delivering that value better than anyone else,” said Rob Slimp, PE, HNTB Chairman and CEO. “These leadership appointments strengthen our ability to collaborate across teams and deliver extraordinary value, ensuring we continue creating exceptional outcomes for our clients and the communities we serve.”

The Greenbrier Companies on Jan. 13 announced the appointment of Travis Williams as its new Head of Investor Relations, reporting to Michael Donfris, Chief Financial Officer.

In this role, Williams is responsible for managing Greenbrier’s interactions with the investment community, including institutional investors, equity research analysts, and other key stakeholders.

With more than 20 years of experience in investor relations, capital markets, and equity analysis, Williams brings extensive knowledge and a proven track record of enhancing shareholder engagement and driving long-term value creation. Williams most recently served as Senior Director of Investor Relations at Enerpac Tool Group. Before his role at Enerpac, he worked at Invesco from 2012 to 2022. Earlier in his career, he was at Stephens from 2009 to 2012 and at Wasatch Global Investors from 2004 to 2009.

“Travis comes to us with an impressive background in both investor relations and financial analysis,” said Michael Donfris, SVP and Chief Financial Officer. “His expertise in building strong shareholder relationships and his proven ability to communicate effectively will be invaluable as we continue to enhance our engagement with investors and drive our growth strategy forward.”

Williams holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Utah.

Frauscher Sensor Technology on Jan. 14 announced that Mayank Tripathi has assumed the position of Vice President & General Manager, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Michael Thiel concluded his 15-year tenure as Frauscher CEO at the end of 2025. The leadership transition, the company says, “follows Frauscher’s succession plan and marks an important milestone as the company enters its next growth phase as part of Wabtec Corporation’s Digital Intelligence division, following the successful completion of the acquisition in December 2025.”

Under Thiel’s leadership, “Frauscher achieved significant growth and strengthened its position as an industry leader—a testament to his vision and dedication.” The company evolved from its Austrian roots to become a global enterprise with more than 700 employees across 15 countries and installations in more than 100 nations.

“Leading Frauscher has been the privilege of my professional life,” said Thiel. “I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved together—not just in terms of growth and market position, but in the culture of innovation, quality, and customer partnership we’ve built. With Mayank, a leader takes over who knows the company, our customers, and our values inside and out.”

Tripathi brings more than 20 years of rail industry experience to his new role. Most recently serving as Frauscher’s Chief Sales Officer, he led global sales strategy and was instrumental in building deep customer relationships worldwide.

“I’m honored to lead Frauscher into this exciting new chapter,” said Tripathi. “Michael and the entire Frauscher team have built something truly special—a company that customers trust implicitly, that employees are proud to be part of, and that consistently pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in rail technology. My focus will be on preserving and strengthening what makes Frauscher unique while leveraging our integration with Wabtec to accelerate innovation, expand our global reach, and deliver even greater value to our customers.”

Before joining Frauscher, Tripathi held senior international roles in rail and industrial technology, driving business development and strategic growth across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Nancy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Organizational Leadership from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Tripathi will continue to be based in France.

The post People News: HNTB, Greenbrier, Frauscher appeared first on Railway Age.

177 years strong, and thanks to our incredible team, 2025 was the safest year in BNSF history. Employee injury rates hit an all-time low, and rail equipment incidents dropped by 13%. Every milestone brings us closer to our ultimate vision: a railroad free of accident and injury. pic.twitter.com/L091lDMwjK

BNSF on Jan. 13 reported that 2025 was the “best year ever” for safety in the company’s 177-year history.

With approximately 35,000 employees and a 32,500-mile network, the Class I marked its “lowest ever employee injury frequency rate,” down 10% from the previous record set in 2023. BNSF also saw a 13% decrease in rail equipment incidents, which it said surpassed its 2025 target.

“I am so proud of what our teams were able to accomplish in 2025, marking significant progress toward our ultimate safety vision of operating a railroad free of accident and injury,” BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer said. “This milestone is proof our entire team remains united and dedicated to prioritizing safety. We are deeply grateful to every person who played a role in reaching this accomplishment, especially our team who is out there every day delivering for our customers.”

“This year marks an important milestone in our safety performance,” BNSF Vice President of Safety Chad Sundem commented. “It was earned through steadfast commitment, competence, and courage of our teammates throughout BNSF. I believe our results are a direct reflection of strong collaboration between labor and management, and a shared belief that safety is a value and guides every decision we make. I am proud of our teammates and grateful for the trust, discipline, and teamwork that made this historic year possible.”

Separately, BNSF in November achieved “record-breaking” terminal dwell for the 11th consecutive month.

NS in 2025 donated more than $18.2 million to 385-plus organizations across its 22-state network. The funds support its “community impact pillars: sustainability, safety, workforce development, and thriving communities,” the railroad reported Jan. 13.

Following are highlights:

• Sustainability: NS said it “advanced equitable access” to parks and trails through a $250,000 donation to Trust for Public Land, bringing total support to $950,000 since 2022.

• Safety: NS invested in public safety, providing $2 million to the Atlanta Police Foundation’s Safest City Campaign, $100,000 to the Chicago Police Foundation and $1.6 million through its Safety First grant program.

• Workforce development: NS said it “expanded opportunity” by helping to open a welding training center at the City of Refuge; providing $100,000 through its Trades on Track scholarship program; and continuing its Thoroughbred Scholars program, which has awarded $1.4 million in scholarships to children of NS team members since 2002.

• Thriving communities: NS distributed $4.5 million in grants for housing, food and job training; $1 million to the Hampton Roads Community Foundation in support of 75 Virginia-based nonprofits; and targeted disaster relief and healthcare funding throughout 22 states.

According to the railroad, its employees also volunteered more than 7,200 hours with 143 organizations in 73 cities last year. Among them: HOPE Atlanta, Habitat for Humanity and Marine Toys for Tots.

“Our railroad is deeply connected to the communities we serve,” said Kristin Wong, Director of NS Foundation and Community Impact. “These investments reflect our long-term commitment to resilience, opportunity and helping families thrive.”

Separately, NS recently supported Warrior Met Coal’s Blue Creek Mine project with a $200 million investment. Also, Railway Age named NS EVP and COO John Orr as its 2026 Railroader of the Year. In Atlanta, site of the railroad’s headquarters as well as Inman Yard, a principal intermodal hub, Orr recently met with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono to talk about his long career and the transformational work he’s doing at NS; watch the video here.

“Brothers Brian Kingman (engineer, 30 years) and Gary Kingman (conductor, 26.5 years) took their final CSX run together, honored with the ‘Spirit of Kingman’ tribute on their locomotive, CSXT 8400,” CSX reported via social media on Jan. 12. The railroad thanked both for their “decades of dedicated service” and congratulated them on their retirement.

In other news, CSX recently teamed with Genesee Valley Transportation and New York & Atlantic on a new rail move in New York State, and reported that its Columbus, Ohio, Mechanical Team achieved 1,500 days injury-free.

The post Class I Briefs: BNSF, NS, CSX appeared first on Railway Age.

USA Rail Terminals (USART) on Jan. 13 reported opening a rail terminal in Monroe, La., to support the construction activity associated with Meta’s Richland Parish Data Center in Holly Ridge. It is the company’s second rail terminal in the state and its fourth in the Gulf Coast region.

Served by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), the Monroe terminal is designed to handle high-volume movements of aggregate and other bulk construction material for large-scale infrastructure projects, from initial buildout to long-term supply needs, according to USART, an Alpenglow Rail-owned rail logistics provider offering rail-to-truck transloading, railcar storage, switching, and railcar services. The facility can handle 90-car unit trains, providing high-throughput rail-to-truck transloading, and ground-pile storage, allowing customers “to stage materials efficiently and maintain consistent delivery flows to regional construction sites,” USART noted.

“Meta has announced plans for the Richland Parish campus to span approximately 4 million square feet across more than 2,000 acres, representing a multi-billion-dollar investment in advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure,” USART reported. “Construction is expected to extend through the end of the decade, with peak activity employing thousands of skilled-trade workers. Once operational, it is expected to support hundreds of permanent jobs. Meta has also committed to matching the data center’s electricity usage with 100% clean and renewable energy, along with investments in local infrastructure such as roads, utilities, and water systems, further enhancing the project’s regional economic impact.”

“The Richland Parish Data Center is one of the most significant global infrastructure builds currently under way anywhere in the world,” said Rich Montgomery, CEO of Alpenglow Rail, which also owns terminals under the VIP Rail brand in Canada. “Our job is to ensure that the supply chain never becomes the bottleneck—and this terminal is well suited to do exactly that. This facility reflects our long-term view of rail assets as part of the critical backbone that enables next-generation infrastructure. From AI data centers to energy, manufacturing, and industrial development, rail terminals like Monroe are essential to building the economy of the future.”

“Projects of this magnitude don’t succeed without logistics partners who understand scale,” added Chad Womack, Director of Business Development at USART. “By railing aggregate materials directly into the local market and efficiently unloading 90-car unit trains, we aim to significantly reduce long-haul truck traffic while providing a reliable supply to keep construction timelines on track.”

Separately, USA Rail Terminals last spring hired James “J.J.” Lund Jr. as Director of Projects and Planning.

• Alpenglow Rail, CC&L Infrastructure Build on ‘Long-Term Investment Strategy’
• Alpenglow, CC&L Acquire Orange, TX Rail Terminal
• Alpenglow Rail Launches Texas Terminal
• CC&L Teams With Alpenglow Rail, Acquires VIP Rail

The post USART Launches Second Louisiana Terminal appeared first on Railway Age.

“Freight rail operations have become increasingly complex and unpredictable, placing new pressure on shippers to manage cost, utilization, and uptime with greater precision,” said AITX, adding that this partnership “addresses that challenge.”

The partnership brings Telegraph’s predictive products directly into AITX FleetAX, a real-time digital fleet management platform for AITX railcar customers. Together, the companies, AITX says, “deliver advanced visibility and forward-looking intelligence that enables customers to move beyond reactive fleet management and make clearer, more confident decisions—improving utilization, controlling costs, and reducing operational uncertainty across railcar operations.”

AITX FleetAX provides rail freight shippers with a centralized, end-to-end view of their AITX railcar operations, bringing together fleet status, leasing activity, repair shop movements, compliance, and day-to-day operations in one platform. AITX customers use Telegraph’s fleet management tools to turn that visibility into foresight, “allowing them to anticipate delays, manage in-shop activity more effectively, optimize fleet deployment, reduce dwell, and avoid costly demurrage,” the company noted. Telegraph’s modular products deliver predictive intelligence across carload shipment tracking, telematics, predictive ETAs, demurrage, and centralized railroad waybilling, “giving customers a clearer picture across complex rail logistics,” AITX said.

Rail shippers already using the Telegraph products are seeing measurable optimization, including 28% higher equipment utilization and a 34% reduction in unplanned demurrage costs, according to AITX. Rail operations teams have reduced manual reporting time by an average of two hours per shift, “enabling teams to focus on higher-value operational decisions.”

“Our customers are operating in an environment where predictability matters more than ever,” said AITX Chief Commercial Officer Tina Beckberger. “By delivering Telegraph’s predictive intelligence directly to our customers through our platform, we are providing enhanced railcar visibility that enables better decision making and more efficient fleet management.”

“At Telegraph, our focus has always been on making rail operations easier to manage through practical, predictive technology,” said Telegraph CEO Harris Ligon. “Partnering with AITX allows us to deliver that capability at scale, directly within the workflows fleet managers rely on every day.”

AITX is the Marquee Sponsor of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) Winter 2026 Conference, taking place Jan. 13-15, 2026, in Schaumburg, Ill., where the company will debut the enhanced AITX FleetAX platform.

The post AITX, Telegraph Bring Predictive Intelligence to Railcar Shipping Operations appeared first on Railway Age.

Republican Richard Kloster, whose nomination to an open seat on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) failed to exit the Senate Commerce Committee during the first session of the 119th Congress, has been renominated by POTUS 47.

The Kloster nomination is to fill a seat left vacant by the May 2024 retirement of Democrat and former STB Chairperson Martin J. Oberman. The seat became Republican upon the inauguration of Republican POTUS 47 to succeed Democrat Joe Biden, as political majorities of independent federal agencies match the political party of the President.

There is no requirement for a second Kloster confirmation hearing, although one may be scheduled by Chairperson Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). For Kloster’s second nomination to advance to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote, he still must receive a majority of Commerce Committee member votes in an Executive session.

While the nomination of Republican Michelle A. Schultz was advanced to the Senate floor Nov. 19—where on Dec. 18 she was confirmed to a second five-year term—Cruz did not call up Kloster’s nomination for a vote on Nov. 19, even though both appeared together before the committee Nov 6 for a hearing into their qualifications. Sources say the reason Kloster’s nomination did not receive a committee vote Nov. 19 was “paperwork delay,” but that often is boilerplate explanation for other issues.

Although Kloster, at his Nov. 6 confirmation hearing, fumbled a basic question on administrative procedure—not understanding what a “record” of proceedings is—numerous nominees in the past have done worse during what is, arguably, a stressful interrogation for those not familiar with such hearings.

More likely is Democratic opposition—and no current Republican pushback—to confirming a third Republican on the five-member STB at a time that one Democratic seat is vacant owing to POTUS 47’s lawfully questioned firing of Democrat Robert E. Primus.

Notably, the President has not nominated a Democratic successor to Primus, who was fired entirely for political reasons; Primus’ court challenge to his firing could stretch at least until summer; and even if courts find Primus was unlawfully terminated, it is not established whether courts have authority to order reinstatement.

The STB’s governing statute does not provide for a quorum, and it can function with as few as just one member—a matter of significance given that the largest railroad merger in history is currently before the STB and is expected to be voted upon in early 2027.

Kloster may find himself in limbo at least until the Primus issue is settled or another Democrat is nominated and Senate-confirmed. In the meantime, Kloster is being provided staff briefings—both on and off-site—on issues before the agency so he is up-to-speed should he be Senate-confirmed.

If Kloster, 67, is confirmed, his term will expire Dec. 31, 2028, as STB terms coincide with seats rather than individuals—the expiration being that of Oberman’s first term had he not retired.

The seat held by 56-year-old Primus until his firing, and now open, expires Jan. 14, 2029.  

The lone occupied Democratic seat is held by Karen J. Hedlund, 77, whose first term expired Dec. 31. The STB’s governing statute, however, allows a maximum 12-month holdover or until a successor is Senate confirmed. POTUS 47 has not indicated whether he intends to nominate Hedlund to a second term.

Should Hedlund be nominated and confirmed to a second term, she would become the oldest of 117 current and former sitting members of the STB and its Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) predecessor. Oberman, the oldest to enter office at 73, departed at 78, tying him with ICC member J. Monroe Johnson (1940-1956) for the oldest to serve.

The second term of Republican Schultz, 53, expires Nov. 30, 2030. The other STB Republican now serving—giving the STB a 2-1 Republican majority—is Chairperson Patrick J. Fuchs, 37, whose second term expires Jan. 14, 2029. Fuchs was the second-youngest to enter office at age 30—Heather J. Gradison (1982-1990) the youngest, at 29.

The post Second Try for Kloster to STB appeared first on Railway Age.

The fate of Yakima, Washington’s famed interurban railroad will be the subject of a city council meeting on January 20. The meeting comes a month after the city council decided not to offer the non-profit that operates the city-owned electric railroad, Yakima Valley Trolleys, an operating agreement for the new year. 

During the December 9 meeting, the council considered offering the non-profit a five-year agreement starting January 1, as it has done for many years. However, the council decided to delay that discussion until this month as it evaluates its financial situation amid increasingly tight budgets. A week earlier, the council approved a 2026 budget that requires cutting $9 million from its current budget. 

The actual operation of the trolley is fairly minimal for the city. According to Community Development Director Bill Preston, the proposed agreement called for the city to cover basic costs, such as heating and maintaining the city-owned trolley barn, and to set aside about $10,000 for any maintenance issues that might arise with the track or other city-owned property. But the bigger issue — and cost — is a major road construction project along the trolley route connecting the trolley barn with the rest of the line to the town of Selah. That street needs to be rebuilt, and for a time, the city considered paying the approximately $7 million it would cost to reinstall the rails and the catenary above. But with a budget crisis looming, some on the city council are questioning if that’s a wise financial decision. Because of that, the city council decided to wait on approving or denying an operating agreement until a decision was made on the road project. The road project is also expected to be discussed during the January 20 meeting. 

Yakima Valley Transportation Company 298 made a rare appearance during what could be the railroad’s final day of operation on December 31. It was followed by line car A. Photo by David Honan. 

Yakima Valley Trolleys is encouraging the public to attend the January 20 meeting to support the continued operation of the historic railroad. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.

Yakima Valley Transportation Company was founded in 1907. Starting as a streetcar line serving downtown Yakima, the company was acquired by Union Pacific predecessor Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company in 1909 with a goal of tapping the fertile agricultural resources of the region. Eventually, the system comprised over 40 route-miles radiating into surrounding communities, providing interurban passenger service and feeding freight traffic to the national rail network.  Regular passenger service ended in 1947, and the remaining streetcars were scrapped or sold.  Freight service continued until Union Pacific filed for abandonment in 1985 due to depleted traffic. The railroad was later acquired by the city. 

With the future of the operation uncertain, on December 31, Yakima Valley Trolleys decided to roll out all the stops on the final day of its operating agreement. On New Year’s Eve, the railroad utilized all of its active equipment, including freight motor 298, which wears a UP-inspired livery as it has since the railroad’s heyday.

See more about what could have been the railroad’s final day of operation in the March 2026 edition of Railfan & Railroad.

—Justin Franz, with additional reporting by David Honan. 

The post City Council to Discuss Fate of Famed Yakima Interurban appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.