Railroad industry awaits new tank car regulations

BISMARCK — As oil industry representatives met here Tuesday to discuss the ever changing industry, one thing was clear, there will be new regulations over shipping crude oil by train. After the July derailment in Canada of a train carrying crude oil from North Dakota, t [...]

State judge rules right-to-work law unconstitutional

HAMMOND, Ind. – A Lake County Superior Court judge has ruled Indiana’s right-to-work law unconstitutional, but the decision doesn’t mark the end of a legal battle over the measure. Judge John Sedia ruled the law unconstitutional last week because the state c [...]

Crew member texting before Ind. derailment

A federal investigation found a freight train crew member was distracted by text messaging soon before crashing into a stopped train in northwestern Indiana, causing the derailment of more than two dozen locomotives and rail cars. The January 2012 derailment in a rural area a [...]

Passage cleared for taller trains

The first phase of CSX Transportation’s National Gateway project, which will allow trains carrying maximum-sized freight containers stacked two-high to travel between Ohio and East Coast ports, has been completed on time and within budget, the railroad said. The project [...]

TTD seeks to strengthen ‘Buy America’ policy

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) Sept. 6 endorsed certain changes by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to Buy America policy that will lead to job creation and stronger transportation and manufacturing sectors. “TTD and our affiliated u [...]

MM&A seeks financing for 2-person crews

PORTLAND, Maine – A bankrupt railroad whose runaway train sparked a fire and explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec is seeking financing to use two-person train crews in the U.S., a company trustee said. The move to beef up the crews comes after criticism of Montreal, Main [...]

‘Chaplain’ quizzes mom of boy who lost feet to train

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Marshawn Robinson is waiting for a pair of prosthetic feet after his were severed by a freight train in St. Paul just a few weeks ago, but his recovery was interrupted with what his family describes as a “strange visitor.” The 9-year-old spent ni [...]

Unsafe rail cars carry oil through U.S. towns

The number of freight trains carrying oil across America has soared in the past five years, but federal officials warn that the massive steel tank cars that carry most of that oil through towns and past schools – the same cars that exploded in Quebec this summer, killing 47 – [...]

UP unveils streamlined railroad car

Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad, which has significant operations in Roseville, is launching drag-reducing freight train technology not too far removed from the aerodynamic designs used by open-wheel race cars. It’s called Arrowedge, and it will be showing up this mo [...]

MM&A could be sold by year’s end

PORTLAND, Maine – The bankrupt railroad whose runaway train sparked a fire and explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec could be sold by year’s end, the company’s trustee said Thursday. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway has made no secret that its sale will [...]