Railway Age magazine

The directive, issued by the NTSB on Sept. 3, 2025, calls for railroads to equip maintenance vehicles with collision avoidance technology that can detect people or objects before a crash. The recommendations were delivered to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), all Class 1 railroads, and other associations, including the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA).

Piper’s flagship Limits Compliance and Collision Avoidance System (LCCAS) is currently installed on more than 800 maintenance vehicles in the U.S., most operating in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC), the company noted. The system integrates GPS with Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), advanced LiDAR, and Ultra-Wideband sensors to provide precise positioning of rail bound vehicles. This technology, Piper says, “helps ensure that vehicles remain within their designated work limits, protects workers operating in close proximity to those vehicles, and prevents collisions with obstacles or other vehicles in the vicinity.” LCCAS is integrated with back-office dispatch systems for the delivery of work orders to both vehicle operators and employees-in-charge (EIC), and monitors vehicle telemetry in real time to report any rule violations or incidents.

Piper’s new offering leverages the comprehensive safety functionality of the LCCAS in the form of a “lightweight, easy-to-deploy kit” that addresses the specific recommendations issued by the NTSB, according to the company. It includes Piper’s advanced solid-state LiDAR devices to provide 360-degree visibility for vehicles to detect the presence of obstacles or workers and provide immediate alerts and braking if required. This safety overlay, Piper says, “ensures that all maintenance vehicles, including those with swinging or articulating booms can operate safely alongside track workers.” The kits include quick mounting in-cab vehicle displays to provide audible and visual alerts for operators. It also includes ruggedized tablets for foremen and workers in charge to monitor operations in real-time to ensure compliance with safety regulations.

“This new kit is the product of many years of experience with our broadly deployed Limits Compliance and Collision Avoidance System,” said Piper Networks CEO Robert Hanczor. “Our ability to package this technology in a way that meets the very specific recommendations of the NTSB demonstrates our commitment to railroad maintenance safety and gives our customers a robust solution that’s ready to deploy with minimal configuration.”

Piper’s LiDAR technology plays a critical role in the safe operation of railroads and transit agencies, the company noted. Designed for use in rugged terrain and urban areas, including tunnels, it offers many advantages over traditional camera-based perception systems, including the ability to detect obstacles and workers in total darkness while also remaining resilient to bright lights from other vehicles operating in the area. Its IP-67 housing, Piper says, ensures that it meets the environmental standards set by the industry. Additionally, when used in conjunction with Piper’s digital twin rail mapping software, it identifies the dynamic clearance envelope of the track to ensure that fixed infrastructure, such as signal or catenary poles, doesn’t create false alerts for the operator.

The ready-safe kit can be expanded to include additional functionality, including integration into braking for full-service braking and the real-time data management provides control centers with comprehensive awareness of operational safety across entire fleets of maintenance vehicles.

Piper will introduce the kit to the industry at the 2025 AREMA Annual Conference and Expo, Booth 823 in Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 14-17, and the 2025 APTA TRANSform Conference and Expo in Boston, Mass., Sept. 14-17.

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As Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena makes the rounds in Washington, including a visit to the Oval Office, to lobby for support of UP’s acquisition of Norfolk Southern, the intended merger partners continue their media blitz with announcement of a new domestic intermodal service they say will “increase supply chain options for customers between Louisville and key Western and Southern markets.”

Described as an “intermodal gateway” with a scheduled mid-October launch (prior to their merger application’s STB filing), the bidirectional service will originate and terminate in the Louisville market, interchanging between NS and UP at the latter’s new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal (KCIT). Railcars will be routed to and from Los Angeles and Lathrop, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Houston, Tex. It will provide automotive, consumer goods, food and beverage, healthcare and manufacturing customers “truck-competitive transit times and expanded market reach.”

At its Louisville terminal, which NS said has been “historically focused on international intermodal,” the railroad is “modifying its terminal footprint to expand parking and track capacity, enabling service tailored to the domestic market’s growing needs. Norfolk Southern continues to modernize its intermodal franchise through strategic investments in terminal infrastructure, advanced technologies, and customer-focused tools and processes.” NS noted that it operates “the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S., with 54 terminals and connections to every major container port on the Atlantic Coast, as well as major ports along the Gulf Coast and Great Lakes.”

UP said KCIT “provides a critical interchange point, connecting domestic and international shipments of grains, consumer goods, refrigerated products and auto parts in the growing Midwest region to major markets across the U.S.,” adding that recent changes to its network operations allow domestic containers to move 25% faster, saving up to 25 hours of transit time to and from Southern California to KCIT. Union Pacific has invested $1.4 billion in its intermodal products, opening four new terminals and modernizing 12 others since 2021 to proactively support market demand and compete with trucks.”

“Our customers want easier, more reliable freight solutions that they can depend on, and our robust service delivers that,” said Kenny Rocker, Executive Vice President – Marketing and Sales at Union Pacific. “Enhancements to the newly expanded KCIT and Norfolk Southern investments in Louisville allow us to compete with trucks, removing thousands from the nation’s congested highways.”

“Our enhancements in the Louisville market reflect how intently we listen to our customers and translate their feedback into thoughtful planning and strategic infrastructure investments,” said Ed Elkins, Chief Commercial Officer at Norfolk Southern. “This is a growth area for our customers, so we are stepping up with service to help them reach untapped markets with a more reliable, sustainable alternative to trucking.”

The post NS, UP Leveraging Louisville appeared first on Railway Age.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Sept. 8 granted an Association of American Railroads (AAR) petition to open a proceeding to consider revisions to the Board’s regulations governing ex parte communications. Ex parte is a Latin term meaning “from one side only” or “for one party.” In legal matters, it refers to actions or communications that happen without the involvement or knowledge of all parties.

In Docket No. EP 782, PETITION FOR RULEMAKING—AMENDMENTS TO REGULATIONS GOVERNING EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS (download below), STB concluded that “a proceeding should be opened to consider changes to the rules governing ex parte communications,” granting AAR’s petition “to the extent that it requests that the Board open a proceeding.” STB noted that it “makes no determination regarding the merits of the petition.”

AAR filed its petition May 16, 2025, contendingthat revisions to the Board’s regulations “will improve stakeholder engagement and make it easier for the agency to process matters efficiently while maintaining transparency and fairness.” The AAR asserted that each of its petition proposals “is consistent with practices at other federal agencies.” STB received replies to AAR’s petition June 5, 2025, from the Private Railcar Food and Beverage Association (PRFBA) and the Freight Rail Customer Alliance (FRCA) opposing the petition, arguing that “AAR’s proposal is unnecessary and likely to reduce transparency in Board proceedings.”

Prior to granting AAR’s petition, STB T conducted several listening sessions with practitioners, led by Vice Chairman Michelle Schultz, that generated recommendations for streamlining the Board’s processes and procedures for ex parte communications. “AAR’s proposal thus raises issues that the agency has already begun to explore and the Board concludes that it is appropriate to open a rulemaking proceeding to consider the petition and the responses,” STB said. “Accordingly, to the extent that it requests that the Board open a proceeding, the Board will grant AAR’s petition to institute a rulemaking proceeding… In view of the feedback received during the practitioner listening sessions, the Board also anticipates inviting the public to comment on other ways the Board’s rules on ex parte communications could be modified. The Board will establish procedures for public comment in a subsequent decision.”

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The DART Board on Sept. 9 approved service cuts that will start January 2026, according to WFAA-TV, an ABC affiliate in Dallas. In addition to seven bus routes that will be discontinued, other bus and light rail routes, it said, will have reduced weekday peak service frequencies.

“A Title VI equity assessment found the $24 million service change proposal would ‘disparately affect minority communities,’ but DART staff also proposed a mitigation plan that includes making replacement services available for discontinued ones and restoring peak frequency to previous levels for certain routes as part of future service changes,” the media outlet reported.

According to DART Chief Communications officer Jeamy Molina, the approved service changes “reflect the least possible impact to our riders, ensuring that essential connections remain intact while allowing us to address the operational realities of a growing transit system,” WFAA-TC reported.

The service changes, the media outlet said, are due “in part from a new General Mobility Program approved earlier this year to return 5% of the sales tax revenue to the cities that contributed more to the [DART] agency than they received in transit services. Plano was among cities eligible for the program.”

DART Board Member Anthony Ricciardelli, who represents Plano, cited a 2023 Ernst & Young report at the Board meeting “that he said found a $65 million disparity between what Plano contributes to DART and expenditures DART makes in Plano.” 

“I find that $65 million disparity between what Plano contributes to DART and what DART reinvests in Plano through services to be unsustainable,” WFAA-TV reported Ricciardelli as saying.

According to WFAA-TV, “Plano, Highland Park, Irving, Carrollton and Farmers Branch were among DART member cities last year that officially said they wanted to reduce their sales tax allocations to DART, and Plano officials had pushed for legislation to reduce DART funding.”

LACMTA on Sept. 11 released the FEIR for the C Line Extension to Torrance, which would expand light rail service deeper into the South Bay, from the Metro K Line’s Redondo Beach (Marine) station to the planned Torrance Transit Center station (see map above). The project is slated to provide faster and more reliable connections while giving riders a 19-minute trip from Torrance to LAX. The project is funded in part by the voter-approved Measures R and M.

Construction could start as early as 2027, and the extension is estimated to open in 2036, LACMTA reported. 

The FEIR reflects input from more than 2,000 public comments and includes design refinements, clarifications, and corrections. LACMTA also released updated cost estimates and a report about the real estate acquisitions that would be required to complete the project.

All these materials are available on a website designed to make the FEIR easier to navigate, according to LACMTA. It includes frequently asked questions and a short video to help the public review the report and understand the next steps.

In May 2024, the LACMTA Board approved the proposed route, the Hybrid Alternative, also known as the Locally Preferred Alternative, to follow its existing Harbor Subdivision right-of-way. It combines elevated, at-grade (street level) and trench (below street level) sections. At key crossings, such as 170th Street and 182nd Street, the tracks will be placed below roadways in trenches to improve safety, reduce noise and avoid traffic delays for pedestrians and motorists.

LACMTA also has proposed improvements to an existing freight line, which it said would “create a safer, quieter rail corridor.” By making use of LACMTA-owned right-of-way, the route is said to minimize the impact to local property while balancing cost efficiency and community concerns.

The extension will allow riders to travel to Inglewood entertainment venues, including SoFi Stadium, the YouTube Theater, the Kia Forum, Intuit Dome, LAX and downtown Los Angeles with convenient transfers to Metro’s growing rail system serving Santa Monica, East Los Angeles and beyond. The alignment would extend the line approximately 4.5 miles from Redondo Beach (Marine) Station to the Torrance Transit Center and includes two new stations serving Redondo Beach and Torrance. Once in operation, the extension would support more than 11,500 daily trips, attract up to 1.49 million new riders annually and reduce vehicle miles traveled on local roads by nearly 19.5 million miles each year.

By 2045, jobs in the South Bay are projected to grow nearly twice as fast as the population, while congestion could increase by almost 30%, according to LACMTA. The C Line Extension to Torrance, it said, “offers a cost-effective way to add capacity, ease traffic, and strengthen the region’s economy.”

The Metro Board of Directors is expected to consider certification of the FEIR and project approval this fall. If approved, LACMTA said it will move forward with design and engineering, First/Last Mile planning with cities and preparations for construction.

The post Transit Briefs: DART, LACMTA appeared first on Railway Age.

The government of Canada on Sept. 11 reported that the Contrecoeur Container Terminal project in Montréal, Quebec, is part of the first series of projects being referred to the new Major Projects Office (MPO) for consideration, and that several strategies, including for the Port of Churchill and Alto High-Speed Rail projects, “could be truly transformative for this country.”

According to the government, the Contrecoeur Container Terminal project at the Port of Montreal in Central and Eastern Canada would expand the current port infrastructure, adding port terminals and additional wharves, as well as other infrastructure that would increase the port’s handling capacity by about 60% along the St. Lawrence River, one of Canada’s trade arteries. The project would include the construction of a 675-meter wharf with two berths to accommodate vessels from 39,000 to 75,400 deadweight tons, as well as the development of a seven-track rail yard, a container storage and handling area, an intermodal rail yard, support buildings, rail and road access, and a truck control area.

Minister @DLeBlancNB announced that the #PortMTL Contrecœur expansion project is included on the preliminary list of major national projects under Bill C-5 https://t.co/eePB3D3qqO#MajorProject #ContrecoeurTerminal pic.twitter.com/lHqffZsi0j

“Investing in critical port infrastructure now will prevent significant congestion and capacity issues, which could lead to higher transportation costs for businesses and consumers,” the government of Canada said. “Greater port capacity builds resilience in Canada’s supply chain and empowers Canadian exporters to sell their products on international markets.”

The Contrecoeur Container Terminal project is part of the first series of projects being advanced to the MPO for consideration. The other projects are: LNG Canada Phase 2, Kitimat, British Columbia; Darlington New Nuclear Project, Bowmanville, Ontario; McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project, East-Central Saskatchewan; and Red Chris Mine expansion, Northwest British Columbia. Together, these projects are said to represent investments of more than C$60 billion.

“The first projects have achieved many regulatory milestones and have undertaken extensive engagement with Indigenous Peoples, provincial governments, local authorities, proponents, and other stakeholders,” the government of Canada reported. “For these first projects, the work of the MPO will be to close final regulatory and permitting gaps, coordinate with provinces and territories, and ensure financing plans can be achieved. As well, it will recommend to the federal government to ensure proponents can make final investment decisions in the right timeframe.”

In addition to these projects, the government of Canada said it “believes that there are several strategies for projects that could be truly transformative for this country, which are at an earlier stage and require further development.” Those related to rail include:

• “Port of Churchill Plus: Rooted in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, including in co-operation with Manitoba’s Crown-Indigenous Corporation, this project will upgrade the Port of Churchill and expand trade corridors with an all-weather road, an upgraded rail line, a new energy corridor, and marine ice-breaking capacity. The approach will prioritize Indigenous equity ownership in developing the projects needed to turn the Port of Churchill into a major four‑season and dual-use gateway for the region. Expanded export capacity in the North through Hudson Bay will contribute to increased and diversified trade with Europe and other partners, while more strongly linking Churchill to the rest of Canada.”
• “Alto High-Speed Rail: Canada’s first high-speed railway, spanning approximately 1,000 km from Toronto to Québec City and reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour to cut travel times in half and connect close to half of Canada’s population. This is a project that could create 51,000 jobs during construction and inject up to $35 billion into our GDP—with a target of 25 million tonnes in emissions savings. The MPO will work to accelerate engineering, regulatory, and permitting work to enable construction of the project to start in four years, cutting the original eight-year timeline in half.”

The government of Canada said the MPO will create business development teams that will work with private-sector proponents, provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to advance these two concepts plus four others—Critical Minerals Strategy, Wind West Atlantic Energy, Pathways Plus, and Arctic Economic and Security Corridor—so that projects “have certainty in regulatory process and timing to accelerate Canada’s ability to attract broad sources of capital to grow, diversify, and strengthen our economy.”

• Canada Dumps VIA Rail Brand for Private ‘Alto’ HSR
• For Canada’s HBRY, Port of Churchill, another C$175MM

The post Canada’s MPO Set to Review New Projects appeared first on Railway Age.

Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc. (G&W Canada) on Sept. 11 reported that subsidiary Alberta Heartland Railway (AHR) has entered into various agreements with Gasia Energy Corp., including a long-term lease of more than 50 acres at Gasia’s planned energy complex in Strathcona County, Alberta, where the railroad intends to construct and operate a multi-service rail terminal.

Located east of the North Saskatchewan River on Highway 830 between Highway 15 and Township Road 560, the proposed terminal is near several large industrial facilities within the Alberta Industrial Heartland and contiguous to Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CN rail lines, according to G&W Canada. Once fully built, the terminal will offer multiple loop tracks, storage for up to 1,200 railcars, and railcar-to-truck transloading.

“After launching Red Deer Railway, our first short line in western Canada, late last year and securing a rail switching contract at the Heartland Petrochemical Complex earlier this year, shippers in the Alberta Industrial Heartland are recognizing G&W Canada’s broad logistics expertise and our commitment to safe, reliable, and efficient rail service,” said Michael Miller, CEO of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., parent company of G&W Canada. “As the global energy market remains critical for economic growth, Gasia and other shippers can reach customers overseas and throughout Canada and the rest of North America with AHR’s connection to the full North American freight-rail network.”

“Gasia is pleased to be partnering with AHR and to be its anchor tenant for loading bitumen and other products from the Gasia Homestead Diluent Recovery Unit (DRU) Project,” Gasia CEO Samer Salameh said. “The Homestead DRU will allow Canadian producers to deliver heavy crude throughout North America safely and efficiently using rail, and the AHR loading facility will provide an exceptional opportunity to transload and transport undiluted bitumen (Neatbit) with access to both CPKC and CN Class I rail systems.”

According to G&W Canada, construction of both AHR’s terminal and Gasia’s DRU is expected to be carried out in multiple phases, contingent upon the receipt of various approvals.

G&W Canada reported that the proposed terminal and related freight operation would expand its footprint to include 11 short lines spanning more than 1,000 miles across five provinces, independent railcar and locomotive repair operations, and a contract rail services business.

Separately, Cando Rail & Terminals will use a recently closed C$100 million loan from Canada Infrastructure Bank to double the capacity of its CN-served Sturgeon Terminal in Alberta.

The post AHR to Launch Alberta Rail Terminal appeared first on Railway Age.

This just in, from Union Pacific: “CEO Jim Vena was honored to meet [POTUS 47] in the Oval Office, a special place for America with a longstanding history. They discussed how creating an American transcontinental railroad is a win for U.S. competition, consumers, and the unionized workers whose jobs will be protected when the merger is approved, allowing railroads to grow and take more trucks off taxpayer funded highways. They also addressed the safety and security of all Americans, and that we regularly collaborate with communities to keep our employees and customers’ cargo safe.”

Note UP’s statement says “when,” not “if,” the merger is approved.

Vena’s hat-in-hand pilgrimage to POTUS 47, where he no doubt spent the first 10 minutes fawning over and congratulating the President—as is expected of even world leaders darkening this President’s White House doorstep—is no surprise. Vena has put UP shareholders on the hook for a $2.5 billion breakup fee should the merger with NS be disallowed by regulators. Vena’s career and reputation are on the line. Ukraine’s Volodymir Zelenskyy learned at great pain current White House protocols. 

That said, the STB is an independent (of the Executive Branch) regulatory agency, but pardon impartial observers for their skepticism, especially following POTUS 47’s firing of STB Democratic member Robert E. Primus, whose past votes suggested he would be a “no” vote on UP+NS. 

Add to this the Republican-controlled Senate’s scuttling Sept. 11 of that chamber’s precedents by lowering the 60-vote threshold for approving Presidential nominees to just a simple majority. The result effectively blocks in-the-minority Democrats from effectively challenging or delaying White House nominees. While the rules change was not directed at STB nominees to fill vacancies, surely UP’s lobbyists reported this as a means, through the White House, of packing the STB with POTUS 47 partisans. And there you have purpose in the Vena trek to Washington. 

Now, should UP and NS file a formal merger application by Oct. 29, as expected, STB members voting on the merger carry an unprecedented burden to provide detailed, fully understandable-to-the-public reasoning as to their votes. There must not be the slightest suggestion a vote was politically motivated. Their careers and reputations equally are on the line. To quote comic David Letterman, “I wouldn’t wish this on a monkey on a rock.”

From what we know of the two sitting Republican members—and we think we know them well—is that they would be livid, and justifiably so, at any suggestion a fix could be in. Vena has dumped them in a most undeserved briar patch.

The post Mr. Vena Goes to Washington appeared first on Railway Age.

We don’t know much about art, but apparently famous painters go through different periods. Picasso had three: Blue Period from 1901-1904, Rose Period from 1904-1906, and Cubism from 1907-1917.

Transposing that to the rails, and we have the Meltdown Period from 2014-2022, Recovery Period from 2023-Spring 2025, and in recent months the railroads are flirting with their BAOE Period: Beautiful Absence Of Emergencies. Even hurricane season has been canceled. It’s like watching disaster movies non-stop for 11 years and then all of a sudden there’s nothing on TV apart from nature shows with blue skies and cheeky monkeys. This routine normalcy is going to take some getting used to.

With that as a backdrop, last week’s operating data, through Sept. 5, includes Labor Day on Sept. 1; the third of the four big public holidays during the year that impact rail operations. With lower customer activity suppressing volumes by 8% compared to the week prior, the railroads did what they always do: accelerate.

In the past we’ve fixated on these big public holidays because many of them have been instrumental in turning struggling Class I networks around; Thanksgiving 2022 was the accelerant that finally pushed Union Pacific out of its meltdown state, for example. However, Labor Day is different this year because, as we say at the top: There’s nothing to fix. None of these networks need to be pulled out of the ditch, and the ability to clear yard backlogs in a soft volume week isn’t that relevant when backlogs are modest.

As a result, we’ll just see the vanilla effects this year, which is a bump in speed for a week or two, followed by a normalization that approximates pre-holiday healthy levels.

Out of interest, in the table below we’ve compared Labor Day week 2025 with the same week last year, and you can see some nice gains for three of the four U.S. networks in terms of velocity, dwell and cars online.

It was only Norfolk Southern that wasn’t able to post YoY gains. NS had the best operational improvement momentum in the industry between July 2023 and the end of 2024, but it feels like that’s come off the boil a little in recent months (metrics remain good in absolute terms). We also worry about the degree of strategic stasis and motivation of the staff at Atlanta HQ (including the Network Operations Center) over the next 18 months as they await a merger decision.

The post Labor Day Turns Good to Great, Albeit Temporarily appeared first on Railway Age.

Shannon Drown has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer – Railroad. In her new role, Drown has responsibility for steering the commercial teams for Railroads, Switching, Distribution Centers, and Industrial Development.

Chase Armstrong has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer – Contracted Services. Continuing his leadership of the commercial team for emergency response, railroad construction, signaling solutions and track material, Armstrong’s focus, R.J. Corman says, “remains on delivering consistent quality and customer satisfaction.”

Nick Edelen has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer – Contracted Services. He will continue to oversee all aspects of R. J. Corman Railroad Services Emergency and Non-Emergency operations, as well as Signaling and Material Sales. In this role, Edelen “will drive initiatives focused on safety, efficiency, and innovation, empowering teams to deliver outstanding results across the organization’s diverse rail services.”

“Shannon, Chase, and Nick have each demonstrated exceptional leadership and a deep commitment to R. J. Corman’s mission,” said R.J. Corman Railroad Group President and CEO Justin Broyles. “Their dedication to excellence and drive to find efficient and innovative solutions for our customers have been instrumental in building long-term partnerships. I look forward to seeing the impact they make in their new roles at R. J. Corman.”

These leadership appointments, the company says, “are part of R. J. Corman Railroad Group’s broader efforts to enhance its executive team and position the company for future achievements, and they reflect the ongoing commitment to providing innovative rail solutions.”

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“Import volumes dipped slightly in August, indicating the traditional surge of drayage activity spanning late Q3 to early Q4 will not materialize for the 2025 peak season,” according to ITS Logistics’ recently released September forecast for its US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index. “However, front-loaded freight is now moving inland, causing congestion in key rail lanes from the coasts and bolstering domestic truckload activity in select regions. With inventory now moving across the U.S., shippers must focus on protecting it from rising rates of cargo theft as the industry enters the hectic holiday season.”

ITS Logistics, a Nevada-based third-party logistics (3PL) firm, releases each month an index forecasting port container and dray operations for the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf regions; ocean and domestic container rail ramp operations are also highlighted for both the West and East inland regions.

“For the most part, shippers have already moved inventory into North America during various frontloading surges throughout the year,” said Paul Brashier, Vice President of Global Supply Chain for ITS Logistics. “This freight is now being transported inland from coastal areas, which is reflected in high inbound ocean and domestic container volumes and higher outbound truckload rates from areas with expansive DC and warehouse footprints—including Southern California, Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta.”

U.S. container imports for August totaled 2,519,722 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 1.6% year-over-year, but down 3.9% from July’s near-record highs, according to The National Retail Federation projects that tariff policies will result in a 5.6% decrease in total inbound volume for 2025—which, given year-to-date volumes, could mean a drop as stark as 17.5% is coming in the final few months of 2025. ITS Logistics confirms that dips in demand in August will likely continue through October.

According to ITS Logistics, “declining import volumes and peak season activity are occurring within another exceptionally tumultuous regulatory period for supply chain professionals.” August 29 marked the last day of the de minimis exemption, subjecting 92% of all U.S. cargo shipments to new duties and causing nearly a dozen countries and global shipping companies to temporarily pause shipments to the U.S. That same day, a U.S. appeals court ruled most tariffs issued by POTUS 47 to be illegal. While the majority of shippers are waiting for the Supreme Court’s final decision—now expected in November—before making any changes, “the ruling compounds the uncertainty companies face as they prepare for 2026 RFP season.” A stay on the tariff ruling is in place until Oct. 14, which is also when the next phase of USTR port fees on Chinese vessel owners and operators is slated to take effect.

Freight that has already entered the domestic market faces its own challenges, according to ITS Logistics. With large volumes of front-loaded inventory now moving inland, increases in ocean containers and intermodal equipment “will likely cause congestion to key rail lanes for the next several months.” For time-sensitive shipments, ITS Logistics advises onboarding additional drayage and cross-dock capacity to add flexibility and avoid delays.

At the same time, organized cargo theft and freight fraud have reached record-high levels across both rail and trucking. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), theft on railways surged 40% in 2024, costing Class I rail operators more than $100 million. Verisk CargoNet reported a 13% increase in truck-based fraud incidents in the second quarter of 2025, citing “increases in organized crime and targeting of consumer goods.” These trends, ITS Logistics says, “underscore the need for shippers to partner with providers who leverage strong relationships and innovative strategies to keep freight secure across all modes.”

“In peak season especially, stolen inventory and fraud incidents create delays that cost shippers far more than the lost load itself,” Brashier said. “That’s why it’s essential to partner with carriers who not only provide real-time visibility but also maintain rigorous onboarding and fraud-prevention standards to protect freight from port to final destination.”

The post ITS Logistics Issues September US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index appeared first on Railway Age.

The North American rail industry has never faced more simultaneous pressures. Federal tariffs and mandates, regulators requiring training updates and technology upgrades, supply chain disruptions, labor negotiations that could shut down networks, activist investors challenging financial returns, and new environmental regulations that reshape operations overnight.

For rail executives, the question isn’t whether you’ll face your next crisis. It’s whether you’ll be ready to lead through it when it arrives.

After studying more than 100 organizational transformations, including dozens within rail operations and heavy industry, I’ve identified a pattern among leaders who don’t just survive uncertainty—they transform it into competitive advantage. They follow a four-stage cycle that turns crisis into opportunity.

When new federal safety regulations hit Louisa Martinez’s freight network (all names changed to maintain corporate privacy requirements) —requiring complete signaling system overhauls across 15,000 miles of track—her first instinct wasn’t to call an emergency planning session. Instead, she spent three days in the field, asking track supervisors, signal maintainers and yard workers one question: “What are you seeing about this challenge that I’m not?”

What she discovered changed everything. While corporate was panicking about compliance costs, frontline crews were identifying track segments where new technology could improve efficiency beyond regulatory requirements. They saw opportunities to consolidate maintenance windows and reduce delays that had plagued certain corridors for years.

The lesson: Your track-level employees see realities that boardroom discussions miss. Before you plan your response to any crisis, collect intelligence from those closest to the operations. They often hold the keys to solutions that pure compliance thinking overlooks.

Rail operations demand precision, but uncertainty demands flexibility. The challenge is creating clarity that enables both.

Louisa didn’t try to plan every detail of her massive transformation. Instead, she established three “Safety-First Decision Anchors” that every team could use:

• If it compromises safety, we don’t do it—period.
• We share knowledge across all divisions immediately.
• We test small, learn fast, and scale what works.

These anchors meant that when crews encountered unexpected conditions during installations, they could make quick decisions without waiting for corporate approval. A signal maintainer in Kansas could immediately share a solution with teams in Montana, Montreal or Monterrey. Pilot programs could prove concepts before system-wide rollouts.

Your job isn’t to eliminate uncertainty—it’s to create decision-making frameworks that work within uncertainty.

Here’s where most rail transformations fail. You have a clear plan, but you still have multiple stakeholder groups pulling in different directions.

Consider James Chen, who led the operational integration of two major rail networks after an acquisition. These systems had been competitors for decades, with different safety protocols, equipment standards and operational philosophies. The potential for safety incidents during integration was enormous.

Instead of imposing one system on the other, James brought safety teams from both networks together with a single challenge: design the safest rail operation in North America using the best practices from both systems.

Within eight weeks, crews stopped identifying as “Company A” or “Company B” and started identifying as the team setting new industry safety standards. They weren’t just merging railroads—they were building something neither could achieve alone.

The key: Give people a shared mission that’s bigger than their individual concerns. In rail, safety is that mission.

Momentum in rail operations isn’t about speed. It’s about sustained progress in the right direction. After achieving early wins, the strongest rail leaders understand a crucial insight: Success in one area reveals new challenges in others.

As Louisa’s safety transformation succeeded, she started noticing other pressures that had been masked by the original crisis. Supply chain issues affecting equipment deliveries. Labor negotiations heating up. Environmental regulations requiring new operational procedures. Each success gave her the credibility and organizational confidence to tackle the next challenge.

This is the hidden truth about leading through uncertainty: The four stages—Heighten Awareness, Increase Clarity, Build Alignment, Drive Momentum—form a continuous cycle. Your success in addressing one challenge gives you the visibility and capability to see the next one coming.

Our industry operates in an environment where a single decision can affect thousands of miles of track, hundreds of communities and millions of tons of cargo. We can’t afford to wait for perfect information or ideal conditions.

The rail leaders who thrive in this environment understand that uncertainty isn’t something to eliminate. It’s something to navigate systematically. They use these four stages not once, but continuously, as each challenge reveals new opportunities for operational excellence.

The next time you face a crisis—and in rail, there’s always a next time—remember: You don’t need all the answers. You need to know which questions to ask first, and of whom to ask them.

Your track crews are waiting to tell you what they see. Are you ready to listen?

Pauline Lipkewich has been railroading since 2011, including leading the global group sales team at Rocky Mountaineer and growing revenues more than five times in less than four years.  She has also worked alongside Class I operators at CN, Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern, specifically targeting safety performance and operational effectiveness improvements. She runs KingdomBuilding Leadership, Inc., a boutique firm committed to helping individuals and organizations go further, faster by leveraging behaviors and culture as a key competitive advantage. Pauline’s love of leadership, heavy industry and unlocking the potential in people is the genesis in bringing The Rail Way to life. Her ability to build trust and performance with the individuals and organizations she works with has been demonstrated through the awards and recognition her teams and clients have received. Pauline has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Arts (Leadership), both from the University of Guelph. If you have an idea for a future column for The Rail Way, contact Pauline directly at pauline.lipkewich@kingdombuildingleadership.com or +1.780.991.9993. The Rail Way, a division of KingdomBuilding Leadership, Inc., strives to be the preeminent voice on leadership, people, behaviors and culture for the transportation industry while transforming how the rail sector develops generational railroaders and creates value for all stakeholders. KingdomBuilding Leadership, Inc. specializes in organizational transformation by focusing on high performance leadership behaviors, people and culture. Leveraging three pillars of performance, clients witness rapid, profound and sustainable results—often taking them from industry laggard to industry leader—when implementing proven methods and strategies and utilizing tools.

The post How Rail Leaders Navigate Uncertainty and Come Out Stronger (Part 1 in a Series) appeared first on Railway Age.

To help ocean carriers manage their logistics and support efficiency in their supply chains, BNSF offers Intermodal service into several private Intermodal facilities through a program called Matchback. 

The strategy increases utilization out of each container by reloading those 20- and 40-foot boxes with export commodities, moving them on a train to the West Coast for transport by ship to points beyond. The program “matches back” the container with a different product, turning an otherwise empty trip into a revenue-generating one. 

“We’ve been offering this service to ocean carriers for nearly two decades,” explained Ben Murray, director of sales for BNSF’s Consumer Products team. “It offers the potential to move more than air back in those containers.” 

Under Matchback, BNSF partners with ocean carriers and logistics companies to move empty containers from our intermodal hubs to those logistic companies’ Intermodal facilities, where they are then reloaded onto a new train and sent back to West Coast ports. From there they’re loaded onto ships bound for China and other Southeast Asia countries. 

One of the companies BNSF works with is Rail Modal Group (RMG), which owns and operates inland ports at Amarillo, Texas; Fremont, Nebraska; and Minot, North Dakota. RMG, BNSF’s largest Matchback partner, averages 15-20 trains a month and recently loaded its 1,000th train for BNSF out of Minot.

 RMG supports the Matchback program by repositioning containers to underserved protein and agricultural product export markets, like Fremont. Producers at these locations need sustainable ways to move their freight other than by long-haul trucking that may require transloading, both of which add cost.  

At RMG’s facilities there’s track for up to two trains at a time, and their tracks connect with BNSF’s main line. When RMG receives empty containers, they dray (truck) them to local producers that can load bulk as well as refrigerated commodities.  

“We have storage and the ability to load many different types of commodities,” said Todd Whitmore, RMG’s chief commercial officer. “Cargo can include products like soybean meal, dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), cotton, whey powder, frozen beef and pork, animal hides and resins. We call them ‘grocery trains’ because of the diverse nature of the commodities on board.” 

Some commodities can be bagged or boxed for loading into the container. For bulk commodities like DDGs, the commodity is fed by conveyor into the back of the container, with bulkheads to keep product from flowing out.

Once the containers are filled, RMG returns them to its nearby facility, loads them onto the planned full train, all while working with BNSF on finalizing the outbound train plan. When that outbound train has been released, RMG has already secured spots for each container on the ocean carriers’ vessels and then monitors them until they get to their ports of destination. At destination, the containers are unloaded by the customer. For products like grain, they use container unloaders that lift and tip the container, allowing the grain to flow out. 

“We are an integrated supply chain company,” said Whitmore. “In addition to owning and operating the intermodal assets, we provide full, door-to-door logistics solutions for local producers — handling everything from export documentation to specialized refrigerated services for the country’s largest protein producers. In essence, we’re connecting stakeholders in a complicated logistics process and making it seamless.” 

It’s a win-win-win situation. The railroad and the ocean carrier get loaded moves going both directions, and customers have more container supply where they need it. You might say… it’s a perfect match. 

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More than one year after the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia alleging that Norfolk Southern “delays passenger trains on Amtrak’s Crescent route in violation of federal law” by failing to give Amtrak trains preference over freight trains, the Department announced it had reached a “settlement” with NS and “has moved to dismiss its lawsuit.”

According to the complaint filed on July 30, 2024, federal law requires all rail carriers that contract with Amtrak to provide Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains. The complaint alleged that NS “regularly failed to do so, leading to widespread delays to train passengers,” DOJ said. Since the complaint was filed, “passengers traveling on the Crescent route have experienced widespread improvements,” DOJ added. “From 2024 to 2025, the number of delay minutes incurred by Amtrak’s Crescent trains has declined by 53%.”

“Thanks to our collaborative relationship with Amtrak and our state partners, Norfolk Southern has taken a leading role in the industry to expand passenger rail service,” said a Norfolk Southern spokesperson to Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner for a July 31, 2024 commentary. “We are committed to complying with the law, working together, and honoring our commitments. Over the past several months with Amtrak, we have focused on the on-time performance of the Crescent passenger train. We hope to resolve these concerns and continue to make progress together.”

NS “agreed to provide all Amtrak trains the highest priority; train its employees to give priority to Amtrak trains; require supervisor approval for any dispatching decision that does not give priority to Amtrak trains in non-emergency situations; and provide records regarding delays suffered by Amtrak trains traveling on the Crescent controlled by Norfolk Southern,” DOJ said. “Norfolk Southern has also pledged to assist the Justice Department in determining the root cause of any delays to Amtrak Crescent route trains. Norfolk Southern’s Vice President of Compliance will annually certify that Norfolk Southern is in compliance with the agreement and its obligations under the law to provide Amtrak trains preference.”

Amtrak’s Crescent route traverses 1,377 route-miles and stops at 33 cities and towns connecting rural areas in Virgina, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana with each other and larger cities. NS controls 1,140 miles (82.8%) of the Crescent route including dispatching for all trains, freight and passenger. Approximately 304,000 passengers traveled on the Crescent route in 2024 and year-over-year ridership has increased so far in 2025.

“Amtrak appreciates the U.S. Department of Justice’s pursuit of this case and its efforts to reach a productive resolution with Norfolk Southern,” Amtrak said in a statement. “Since the case was filed, Amtrak’s performance on NS-hosted routes has shown measurable improvement. On the Crescent route alone, NS-related delays are down 34% year-over-year, with Freight Train Interference (FTI) reduced by 53%. Across all NS-hosted routes, delays decreased 26% and FTI dropped 42% year-over-year. Ridership on these routes also rose by 2%, reflecting growing customer confidence in service reliability. Amtrak appreciates NS’s concrete steps to improve performance under its DOJ agreement. We remain committed to working together to deliver a better experience for our passengers.”

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Since its launch in 2018, CSX’s Pride in Service is said to have engaged tens of thousands of employees and community members in service projects, donations, and volunteer opportunities that benefit military families, veterans, and first responders. “By partnering with organizations such as First Responders Children’s Foundation and Operation Gratitude, CSX ensures that its resources reach those who need them most while creating opportunities for employees to give back,” according to the Class I.

CSX reported that its Pride in Service initiatives and events from the past six months include: 

• “Battalion Buddy Brigade – CSX partnered with Operation Gratitude to assemble 3,500 stuffed ‘Battalion Buddy’ teddy bears for children of deployed U.S. service members. Employees at CSX headquarters and across the network hand-stuffed and dressed the bears, which provide comfort to military children while their parents serve. CSX has committed to assembling 13,000 Battalion Buddies this year, making it Operation Gratitude’s largest corporate partner for the initiative. 
• “Care Packages for First Responders – At CSX headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., more than 150 employees joined Operation Gratitude to prepare 2,000 care packages filled with snacks, hygiene items and handwritten notes of thanks. The packages were distributed to local law enforcement and fire departments, including the CSX railroad police, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and St. Johns County Fire Rescue. 
• “National Night Out – CSX teamed with the First Responders Children’s Foundation to donate thousands of toys that were distributed at more than 50 National Night Out events across the country. The toys brought joy to the children and families while strengthening the bonds between first responders and the communities they serve. 
• “First Responder Family Appreciation Day – CSX and First Responders Children’s Foundation honored 500 Jacksonville-area first responders and their families with a day of fun at Flight Adventure Park. Families enjoyed trampoline jumping, face painting, crafts, toy giveaways, outdoor games and food from Mission BBQ. Operation Gratitude also provided care packages to first responders, making the event a true celebration of service, sacrifice and community. 
• “Scholarships for Children of First Responders – In partnership with First Responders Children’s Foundation, CSX awarded more than $150,000 in scholarships to 211 students nationwide, including 10 recipients of the CSX Pride in Service Scholarship. Since 2018, the partnership has provided over $750,000 in scholarships to children of first responders, helping them pursue higher education and career dreams.”

Meanwhile, the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, in partnership with CSX, report that they “will bring history to life with the first ever immersive reenactment of the Great Locomotive Chase” on Sept. 30, officially kicking off the 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration in Chattanooga, Tenn. The reenactment, sponsored by the Gary W. Rollins Foundation, will have nearly 20 Medal of Honor Recipients and other invited guests travel on a special CSX train that will run on the famed Western & Atlantic Railroad line from Atlanta, Ga., to Chattanooga, where they will attend the 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration.

In partnership with the Atlanta History Center, the Southern Museum and the City of Ringgold, Ga., the 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration will host this event, retracing what is said to be “the daring path of the Andrews’ Raid,” more popularly known as the Great Locomotive Chase. On April 12, 1862, civilian scout James J. Andrews, along with one civilian accomplice and 22 Union volunteers from three Ohio infantry regiments, masqueraded in civilian attire to covertly board a train—the General—at Marietta, Ga. Their mission: seize the locomotive of the General near Big Shanty (present-day Kennesaw), then steam north toward Chattanooga, systematically sabotaging railroad tracks, bridges, and telegraph lines to disrupt Confederate supply routes.

“The Great Locomotive Chase is more than a Civil War story; it’s a defining moment in American military history and established Chattanooga as the birthplace of the Medal of Honor,” the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center reported. “The audacious raid, spanning roughly 87 miles over seven hours, evoked an epic chase. Pursued relentlessly by Confederate conductor William Fuller—who switched between several chasing locomotives including the Texas, which is now located at the Atlanta History Center. The Raiders’ plans unraveled when the General—which is now located at the Southern Museum—ran out of steam just outside of Chattanooga near Ringgold, Ga. The men scattered but were eventually captured. Eight of the captured participants—including James J. Andrews and seven others—were tried as spies and executed in Atlanta and later reinterned in Chattanooga at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. The rest endured imprisonment: some escaped, while others were later released in a prisoner exchange.

“Despite its tactical failure, the raid left an enduring legacy: six of the raiders received the very first Medals of Honor on March 25, 1863, and over time, 21 of the 24 participants would be awarded the Medal of Honor—including two (Privates Philip G. Shadrach and George D. Wilson) who were posthumously recognized on July 3, 2024, by President Joe Biden.”

“This reenactment is more than a commemoration; it’s a living tribute to the courage, and commitment of the first Medal of Honor Recipients,” said Tom Mundell, President and CEO of the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. “We are grateful to our partners and sponsors, especially CSX, for helping us preserve this historic Medal of Honor action and historical event in such a powerful and immersive way.”

Presented by Textile Rubber & Chemical Company, the 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration will take place Sept. 29-Oct. 4, featuring a variety of public and private events. The week will conclude with the Patriot Awards Gala on Oct. 4, at the Chattanooga Convention Center, where four Americans will be honored for exemplifying the Medal of Honor’s values.

The 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration is also sponsored by the Gary W. Rollins Foundation, the Gary Sinise Foundation, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, American Airlines, CSX, the Robert Irvine Foundation, the Jack and Charlotte Frost Family Foundation, the Frank P. Pierce Foundation, Unum, Texas A&M University, AM General, Decosimo Family Partners, Erlanger Hospital, Fed-Ex, Food City, Miller Industries, Realized Solutions, Tennessee Valley Authority, the Kennedy Family Foundation and PenFed Foundation For Military Heroes and The Raines Group.

“A big supply chain salute to Greenergy and the Port of/de Belledune [BPA] on the signing of your long-term lease agreement [for a tank facility at the Port’s deep-water import terminal in northern New Brunswick],” CN reported via social media on Sept. 10. “This collaboration marks an important step in strengthening Atlantic Canada’s energy supply chain, enabling reliable fuel movement while supporting regional economies and communities. With our network, CN connects dock to tracks and beyond, powering efficient logistics in support of sustainable growth.”

According to BPA, the investment expands Greenergy’s Canadian terminal network; enhances reliable fuel supply and security; creates jobs and contracting opportunities in partnership with Pabineau First Nation and Eel River Bar First Nation; and supports the growth of the BPA’s Green Energy Hub.

“We are excited about Greenergy entering the Port of Belledune,” Pabineau First Nation Chief Terry Richardson said. “It brings jobs to the region and ensures the future of the port through in-out business. We’ve talked with Greenergy and First Nations and see opportunity for our communities through contracting and jobs. If we are to bring prosperity back to the region we must do it one project at a time.”

“Our investment in Belledune strengthens our import capability and creates additional capacity where it is needed,” noted Mike Healy, Greenergy Managing Director-North America. “We utilize our global supply chains to offer our customers reliable supply of traditional and renewable fuel solutions.”

“We welcome Greenergy to the Port of Belledune,” BPA President and CEO Denis D. Caron said. “Their investment supports our ambitions for growth of our core operations with a view to green and clean development. Their expertise in ensuring reliable fuel supply, coupled with their desire to be community minded aligns perfectly with the Port’s core values.”

“CN is proud to enable this new supply of energy to Canadian markets,” CN Interim Chief Commercial Officer Janet Drysdale said. “Today’s [Sept. 10] announcement allows us to add service plans that unlock new competitive options for shippers and will ultimately help move more goods in and out of Atlantic Canada by rail.”

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

New Jersey Transit has exercised options worth $1.26 billion with Alstom Transportation Inc. for an additional 200 powered and non-powered Multilevel III (MLIII) commuter railcars and 12 ALP45-DP (dual-power, diesel/catenary-electric) locomotives.

The $1.06 billion MLIII option increases NJT’s number of these cars to 374. Approximately one-third of the fleet are MLPCs (Multilevel Power Cars) that operate off AC catenary and eliminate the need for a locomotive. For example, a 12-car MLIII trainset will typically consist of four MLPCs, six non-powered trailer cars and two non-powered cab cars (providing redundancy and improving reliability if one of the power cars malfunctions. The Multilevel design, developed originally by Bombardier Transportation (which Alstom acquired in 2021) are part of Alstom’s Adessia commuter rail portfolio. These cars will replace NJT’s older Comet II, IV and V single-level cars. The agency’s contract has a remaining option for 50 more MLIIIs, which may be purchased at a later date. 

The additional 12 ALP45-DPs, at a cost of $203.9 million (plus 10% for contingencies) will replace some of NJT’s older diesel-electric locomotives. This option expands NJT’s fleet to 72. Like the Multilevel, Bombardier Transportation originally developed the ALP45-DP, now part of Alstom’s Traxx Passenger locomotive portfolio. 

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The company, which provides specialized rail operating services and owns a network of multi-purpose rail terminals, developed the switcher through its Li-Ion (Lithium-Ion) 2025 project. The project involved retrofitting a legacy, non-tier-compliant diesel-electric locomotive with a lithium-ion battery propulsion system.

Cando selected nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries. “Although this style of battery has a lower energy density compared to other Li-Ion batteries, they provide many advantages over more energy intense battery chemistries,” it reported. “These advantages include thermal runaway protection, packaging that prevents self-ignition, and firefighting measures that can be accomplished using standard Class ABC extinguishers. The selected batteries also mitigate the need for specialized training, equipment, or additional measures to protect operators, first responders, or the public in the event of a failure or fire.”

The new locomotive, noted Cando, was “purpose-built” for industrial and closed-loop switching operations; eliminates harmful emissions; reduces noise; and supports Canada’s net-zero climate goals. According to the company, it is expected to cut up to 470 tons of CO₂e per year and decrease energy costs by 60% and maintenance needs by 40%. CTV, which attended the unveiling event, reported that the new locomotive “was operationalized in Manitoba to withstand minus 40 C weather” and its range is load dependent. Its charging station was installed in January (pictured below).

The Government of Alberta in 2023 contributed C$2 million to the project, which was estimated to cost C$4 million, through Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Industrial Transformation Challenge.

Phase 1 of field testing was completed in Winnipeg earlier this year, according to Cando, which reported it will continue to test the switcher at Southlands Terminal “and finalize commercialization plans in early 2026.” It noted that the retrofit model “offers a viable transition path for Canada’s fleet of industrial locomotives, including more than 2,000 switchers currently in operation.”

Cando has a fleet of 110 diesel-electric locomotives, “but over the next few decades said the plan is to swap them out” with the new units, according to CTV. Additionally, Cando’s aim is “to have a manufacturing plant in Alberta to help develop a fleet of battery-operated locomotives in the next five to ten years,” CTC reported.

“This project reflects our continued commitment to safety, innovation and environmental leadership,” Cando Chief Operating Officer Paul Duncan said. “By investing in battery-powered technology, we will be reducing emissions in our operations while creating a scalable solution for cold weather climates that can transform industrial rail switching operations across our network.”

Meanwhile, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) on Sept. 10 reported reaching financial close on a C$100 million loan to Cando to double the capacity of its CN-served Sturgeon Terminal, which is an Alberta-based multi-purpose rail hub. Cando announced the expansion project in 2024.

The facility, which opened in 2020 and currently operates at capacity, provides storage and staging, haulage, and transloading services to support the transport of Canadian-made goods for export east and west and onward to global markets, according to CIB.

The new Sturgeon West Terminal will add up to 3,700 new railcar storage and staging spaces.

CIB reported that Cando anticipates the terminal will create up to 50 new full-time local jobs once operational, on top of 60 existing jobs, and contribute C$22.3 million annually to the region’s GDP. Terminal construction is under way, with operations expected to begin in late 2026.

“Expansion of the Sturgeon Terminal opens up more opportunities for Alberta businesses to connect their products to global markets,” CIB CEO Ehren Cory said. “Building this infrastructure will create local jobs, help keep the Western Canadian economy competitive, and expands supply chain capacity well into the future.”

“As Cando Rail & Terminals works to expand capacity at our rail terminal in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, support from partners such as the CIB enables us to provide access to increased transportation and logistics solutions to our customers at an accelerated pace,” added Brian Cornick, President and CEO of Cando. “The majority of the value-added products produced in the Heartland are shipped to national and global consumers by rail. Cando’s investment, combined with the financing from the CIB will increase market access and allow industrial facilities in the Heartland to concentrate on their core business. World-class rail infrastructure will further enhance the competitiveness of Sturgeon County and Alberta’s Industrial Heartland for petrochemical, downstream energy, and heavy industrial investment.”

• Cando Rail & Terminals Jump-Starts Battery Loco Project
• SNR Debuts HFC ZE Switcher
• IRT, Forsee Power Team on Switcher Retrofit
• Cummins Exhibits Switcher Power Module at Railway Interchange
• Cando Launches Alberta Rail Terminal
• Cando Adds 13th Rail Terminal
• Cando Adds 12th Rail Terminal

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This past August, Caltrain had more than one million passengers, a 67% increase over August 2024. As Caltrain approaches the first anniversary of the launch of electric service, the agency says it continues to show strong ridership growth.

Caltrain had more than 1.07 million passengers last month, a substantial increase from approximately 643,000 in August of last year. Average weekday ridership stood at just under 40,000, a 61.5% increase from last August. Weekend ridership has been up since the launch of electrification “thanks to Caltrain’s half hourly weekend service,” but reached an all-time record in August with Saturdays seeing nearly 26,000 daily riders, while Sundays saw nearly 21,000 daily riders, both having more than doubled since last August.

“Caltrain is running the best service this corridor has ever seen, and our riders are taking advantage of it,” said Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard. “Eleven months of ridership growth is proof of the many benefits of fast, frequent, and reliable service. Every day, our service is reducing traffic, improving air quality and helping people get where they need to go.”

The New York MTA on Sept. 10 announced that subway crime fell to record lows this summer. Overall transit crime from June 1 to Aug. 31 was down nearly 10% from 2024 and 16.8% from the summer of 2019.

Year-to-date, transit crime is at record lows, while subway ridership is up 9%, with more than 311 million rides taken during the summer months. Transit felony assaults have been down every month this summer when compared to 2024. Together, June, July and August have had 119 felony assaults—compared to 150 last year—a reduction of 21%. There were 0.38 assaults per one million subway riders between June 1 and Aug. 31. Accounting for increases in ridership, there were 1.59 major crimes per one million subway rides this summer, down 30% from 2022 and in line with pre-pandemic lows.

According to NYPD statistics, July and August have been especially safe months, with new data confirming both were the safest July and August in history. Overall transit crime was down 22.8% this August compared to 2024, and felony assaults were down 40.4% compared to last year. Robberies were down 34% in the subway system in August compared to 2024.

This historic reduction in crime, MTA says, follows a series of investments in subway safety led by Governor Hochul. In January, Gov. Kathy Hochul allocated $77 million in state funding to support a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the NYPD to deploy officers on board subway trains during overnight hours. This deployment, the agency says, “provides peace of mind to riders and a deterrent to those who would commit crime in the system during overnight hours.” During this deployment, two NYPD officers patrol a subway train, moving from car to car during a train’s journey.

There has also been progress made responding to mental health challenges in the subway. Subway Co-Response Outreach Teams (SCOUT) pair mental health clinicians with MTA police officers, to provide a clinician-led approach to individuals with serious mental health needs in the subway. To date, SCOUT teams have made more than 750 referrals out of the subway system, and collectively, these patients have spent more than 2,000 nights in treatment, getting the help they need, according to the agency. Directed by Gov. Hochul, the MTA has now fully operationalized 10 SCOUT teams, with services provided throughout the subway system in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.

Investments in transit safety include:

• Provided $77 million to partner with the NYPD to deploy two officers on every overnight train.
• $20 million to fully fund 10 SCOUT teams to provide a clinician-first response to mental health challenges in the subway.
• Placed 32,000 security cameras in the New York City Subway system—including more than 17,000 on all 6,000 subway cars and more than 15,000 in subway stations.
• Added new platform barriers at 74 subway stations, with the MTA on pace for 100 by the end of 2025.
• Installed brighter LED lights in more than 300 subway stations, on pace for all 472 by the end of 2025.
• Established two Transition to Home Units (THUs) at Manhattan Psychiatric Center, creating 50 beds to support homeless individuals with severe mental illness.
• Improved coordination between Law Enforcement and District Attorneys via a new MTA Criminal Justice Advocate.
• Installed cameras in the conductor cabs of subway trains to keep MTA employees safe. To date, the MTA has installed cameras in more than 1,100 conductor cabs.

“The subway is safer today than before the pandemic and we all know why: more cops, more security cameras, and more mental health outreach. These interventions and others—funded and supported by Gov. Hochul—have us on track for a third straight year of declining crime,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Sept. 10 that the state “would work with struggling Bay Area transit systems on short-term financial help to keep them afloat while talks on a $750 million loan from the state continue,” according to a CBS News report.

In a press release on Wednesday, Newsom said the transit assistance would be in the “hundreds of millions of dollars” and that the Department of Finance and the California State Transportation Agency “would work with transit agencies and regional partners to design structured loans or financing mechanisms,” according to the report.

Newsom’s statement hinted that the state is “seeking a measure of oversight on how the funds are spent and how the loans would be repaid,” saying that the financing would “align with operational needs, protect service, and support fiscal reforms, with clear and reliable repayment plans,” CBS News reported.

According to the report, earlier this week, state Senators Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley) said the Department of Finance informed them that “it would not finalize the details of the previously announced $750 million bridge loan for transit agencies before the end of the legislative session on Friday.” Without the funding, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), AC Transit and Caltrain were each looking at massive cuts in service, CBS News reported.

On Tuesday, officials said the talks on the state’s financial assistance loan were extended until Jan. 10, 2026, according to the report.

“Transit is a lifeline to millions of Californians—and after billions in state investment, we’re continuing to back Bay Area agencies with ongoing support tailored to their needs,” said Newsom in a prepared statement. “We’ll keep partnering with them now and into next year—aligning flexible financing tools to their timelines—so we can deliver a sustainable, rider-first transit system together.”

According to the CBS News report, the details of the “loans or other mechanisms” announced by Newsom were not immediately available. The Governor’s Office said the administration “will continue to evaluate options to ensure assistance remains responsive to agencies’ stated needs and strengthens the long-term financial stability of Bay Area transit.”

A spokesman for the Governor’s Office told CBS News Bay Area that the “ongoing discussions would determine the specific amount and mechanism,” according to the report.

Arreguín and Wiener, CBS News reports, “have authored a ballot measure, State Senate Bill 63, that is designed to provide a long-term funding source for Bay Area transit agencies facing a ‘fiscal cliff’ following the pandemic and the end of pandemic relief funding. SB 63 would authorize a regional sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties and allow Santa Clara and San Mateo and to opt in.”

The half-cent tax increase, according to the report, “would generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually to support transit systems’ operating needs. San Francisco would have the option to seek a higher rate, up to one cent, for additional support for the Muni system.”

The post Transit Briefs: Caltrain, NYMTA, Bay Area Transit Systems appeared first on Railway Age.

For decades, rail has remained the last major mode of freight to embrace digitization, Standard Rail noted. “While trucking, ocean, and air cargo have moved into digital platforms, rail has continued to operate through phone calls, personal connections, and opaque pricing—leaving shippers waiting weeks for answers and facilities struggling to showcase their capabilities.”

“SIDINGS brings a level of radical transparency rail has never seen before,” said Standard Rail Corporation CEO Robert Skarzynski. “For rail users, it’s a dramatic improvement in experience—no more wasted weeks chasing information or guessing at capacity. For facilities and service providers, it’s a chance to be visible and win business on service. This is the clarity the industry has been missing.”

Advantages include:

• “For Facilities and Service Providers: Centralized listing management, automated inquiry handling, and tools to unlock new revenue.
• “For Shippers & Logistics Companies: Real-time visibility into services, availability, and pricing across the network.
• “For the Industry: Equal exposure, actionable market intelligence, and a transparent playing field.”

At the enterprise level, the platform’s FastTrack feature reduces booking timelines by up to 95%, turning what once took weeks into minutes for qualified facilities, according to the company.

• “Shippers finally gain clarity and speed in accessing rail services.
• “Facilities and service providers gain visibility and reach beyond existing networks.
• “The industry gains the data-driven insights and transparency it has lacked for decades.”

Beyond discovery, SIDINGS “enables direct communication between shippers, facilities and service providers—building a connected industry network that grows stronger with every new participant,” Standard Rail said.

The post Standard Rail Launches New B2B SaaS Platform appeared first on Railway Age.

Norfolk Southern’s Intermodal and Automotive business units recently announced upgrades to four terminals in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania that support “capacity, efficiency, and customer demand.” These projects are “strategic moves” designed to “bring more business to our railroad while helping to reduce highway congestion and truck carbon emissions.”

Livernois, Mich. (Detroit): NS said it has implemented layout and process changes “that streamline intermodal operations.” These include gate flow adjustments, container stacking improvements, and better integration with yard management systems resulting in “faster processing times and a more seamless experience for customers and drivers alike.”

Harrisburg, Pa.: NS’s Engineering and Transportation groups completed a track realignment project “that has significantly improved switching operations,” redesigning the layout, reducing congestion and improving train flow, allowing for faster turnarounds and better service reliability.” The collaboration “is delivering measurable improvements already being seen in dwell time and throughput.”

Toledo, Ohio: This automotive terminal has seen a doubling of throughput thanks to targeted infrastructure upgrades. These include expanded loading and unloading zones, improved lighting and signage, and better coordination with local drayage partners. “The enhancements have positioned Toledo as a more competitive option for OEMs looking to move volume through the Midwest,” NS noted.

Melvindale, Mich.: NS repurposed the terminal space to expand automotive operations. Phase One was completed in Q1 2025, adding more than 300 VIN parking spaces. The Intermodal and Commercial and Government Relations teams partnered to leverage a multi-million-dollar grant secured through Michigan groups support. A second phase is under way to add approximately 1,000 more VIN spaces. “OEMs  have a strong need to ship to this market area,” said Janea Parr, Senior Director Terminal Operations. “This expansion allows our Commercial team to pursue new business and meet growing demand.”

“Each of these efforts reflects our strong cross-functional collaboration—from Commercial identifying market needs to Operations executing solutions, to Government Relations securing funding,” NS said. “Together, we’re delivering results and positioning NS for continued growth.”

The post For NS, Four ‘Strategic Moves’ appeared first on Railway Age.

POTUS 47 has nominated Republican Richard Kloster to fill a vacant seat at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and renominated Republican Michelle A. Schultz to a second term. The Sept. 11 nominations require Senate confirmation beginning with a Senate Commerce Committee hearing and ending with a Senate floor vote.

If confirmed, Kloster would fill a seat vacant since the May 2024 retirement of Democrat Martin J. Oberman and expiring Dec. 31, 2028. Schultz’ second term would expire Nov. 30, 2030. By statute, STB members may serve only two terms for a maximum of five years each, although they may remain a maximum of 12 months beyond term expiration if a successor has not been Senate-confirmed.

As a Democratic seat on the five-person STB remains vacant following POTUS 47’s controversial firing of Robert E. Primus in August, it is likely that Senate Democrats will seek to slow the process for Republicans Schultz and Kloster. Typically, Republican and Democratic nominees are paired for Senate floor vote confirmations, and the pairings are not necessarily nominees for the same agency. This is not a typical situation, given Primus’ firing amidst near unprecedented congressional political wrangling and firings of other independent regulatory agency Democrats by the Republican President.

The STB is five-member independent regulatory agency with its chairperson (currently Republican Patrick J. Fuchs, 36) named by the President from among sitting STB members. The STB’s political majority matches that of the President’s party. That explains why Republican Kloster was nominated to fill Democrat Oberman’s vacant seat.

The STB’s fifth seat is held by Democrat Karen J. Hedlund, 76, whose first term expires Dec. 31. If not renominated to a second term, she could remain until Dec. 31, 2026. Unanswered questions are whether federal courts will find Primus’ firing unlawful and return him to a second term that expires Dec. 31, 2027 (Primus, age 55, having said he will contest the firing); and whether POTUS 47 will renominate Hedlund to a second term or choose another Democrat.

Significantly, there is no quorum requirement at the STB, meaning—and this previously occurred twice—the STB could function as a single-member agency. With a headline-grabbing merger (Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern) expected (formal applications may not be filed until Oct. 29), both the political composition of the STB and its number of filled seats is consequential.

If the STB accepts a formal merger application, it would have until February 2026 to do so, and the decision as to allowing or denying the merger would not occur until at least early 2027. Fuchs’ second term expires Jan. 14, 2029; and the currently vacant Primus seat expires Dec. 31, 2027.

Kloster, 67, is president and founder of rail equipment consultancy Integrity Rail Partners, Inc. He has an extensive career in rail fleet management as well as experience with Class I and short line railroads. He is an executive board member of the National Industrial Transportation League and sits on the board of the Railway Supply Institute. Kloster earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northern Illinois University and the University of Alabama in marketing.

Kloster told Railway Age in July—when it was learned he was being considered for nomination—that his strength is “considerable time” over his career working with railroads and shippers. Kloster began his railroad career with Chicago & North Western Railway (now part of Union Pacific) in October 1980, which he recalls was the same week President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Staggers Rail Act that delivered partial economic deregulation to railroads. His first job, he says, was a “car department apprentice.” 

Schultz, 53, nominated to her first term by POTUS 45 and sworn-in on Jan. 11, 2021, previously was general counsel to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), where she also was director of legislative affairs. She earned an undergraduate degree from Penn State, a master’s degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania and a juris doctor degree from Widener University Law School.

The POTUS 47 nomination of David A. Fink as Federal Railroad Administrator still awaits a Senate floor confirmation vote following a May 21, 2025, positive referral by the Senate Commerce Committee.

The post Kloster, Schultz Chosen for STB by POTUS 47 appeared first on Railway Age.