Railway Age magazine

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), and Partnership Fund for New York City on Jan. 8 launched the annual Transit Tech Lab (TTL) competition, “which seeks to harness expertise from local and global tech companies to improve public transit.”

This year’s challenges, TTL says, “aim to find companies that can improve infrastructure management, modernize data, and update workflow for regional public transit agencies.”

This is the eighth year of the TTL, a process that it says “has advanced technological innovation at New York-New Jersey regional transportation agencies.” Companies that are selected will conduct a proof-of-concept over an eight-week period of collaboration with agency partners. Participating agencies may then opt to further test promising technology through a longer-term pilot.

According to the Lab, since 2018, the TTL has fielded more than 1,000 applicants, tested 81 technologies and facilitated 16 commercial procurements. Nearly 60 companies have been selected to participate in year-long pilots with these public sector agencies through the TTL, “conducting deeper tests to demonstrate the real-world value and scalability of their technology to agency partners.”

This year’s competition is composed of two challenges. Summaries of each appear below. Interested companies can submit their proposals here until Feb. 27.

Advanced Infrastructure Challenge: How can public agencies better monitor and manage infrastructure to improve asset performance, resilience, and lifecycle cost?

Technologies may include:

• Technologies to monitor infrastructure conditions in real time.
• Tools to detect leaks, corrosion, voltage instability, and utility disruptions.
• Systems to inventory, map and monitor fiber and copper cable infrastructure.
• Tools to digitally track construction progress in real time.
• Tools to detect and analyze safety, compliance, and behavioral risks, including speeding and obstructions.
• Technologies to manage bridge strikes in real time.

Data and Workflow Modernization Challenge: How can public agencies consolidate data and apply analytics to improve service or workforce productivity?

Technologies may include:

• Workforce scheduling tools to optimize maintenance staffing while balancing labor costs, overtime, and operational needs.
• Predictive tools to optimize bus service by analyzing real-time operations and recommending interventions to reduce bunching and service gaps.
• Tools to integrate large volumes of video, sensor, operational, financial, and mobility data into a unified analytics platform.
• Tools to detect and prevent media manipulation and identity fraud.

“Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City, and innovation is essential for building a system that works better for all. We’re excited to continue bringing transit agencies and technologists together to create a smarter, more efficient network that can evolve alongside the city it serves,” said Partnership for New York City Senior Vice President of Innovation Stacey Matlen.

“This NYC DOT is going to be aggressively delivering on our Vision Zero goals, with ambitious, bold projects to make our streets safer. Doubling down on this work will require looking at every opportunity to become a more efficient and organized agency. We look forward to working with the Transit Tech Lab to explore ways to use new tech to improve our data collection and workflow management,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn.

“While MTA customers enjoy record or near record levels of service and on-time performance, the MTA is always looking for ways to become more efficient. The development of behind-the-scenes tech solutions to problems, even small ones, is a key tool to pursue the dual goals of improved customer experience and increased productivity. Our collaboration with the Transit Tech Lab helps us bring in new, cutting-edge technological solutions and we’re thrilled to see the creativity that folks inside and outside the agency will bring to bear,” said MTA Chief of Strategic Initiatives Jon Kaufman.

“Our work with the Transit Tech Lab underscores our commitment to modernizing how this agency operates. By thoughtfully integrating emerging technologies into our daily operations, we strengthen our ability to deliver reliable, resilient, and efficient services. Partnering with early-stage companies through the Transit Tech Lab allows us to help shape solutions that are practical, scalable and offer real public value,” said PANYNJ Chief Technology Officer Robert Galvin.

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WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE JANUARY 2026 ISSUE: It’s called “unitary executive theory.” It asserts the Constitution’s Article II provides for one executive, the President, and others may not wield substantial executive power outside the elected President’s authority. It assigns to the POTUS the same broad Executive power over members of supposed independent agencies—such as the National Mediation Board (NMB), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Surface Transportation Board (STB)—as the POTUS has over Executive Branch Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officers. 

If the theory is correct, the POTUS may lawfully fire members of multi-member, bi-partisan and supposed independent agencies whom the Senate confirmed for fixed terms, notwithstanding law limiting termination to inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office (cause). Critics of unitary executive theory say it conflicts with 90 years of Supreme Court (SCOTUS) precedent and undermines the Constitution’s inherent checks and balances. 

On Dec. 8, the SCOTUS heard arguments on whether the theory correctly interprets Article II. A decision is expected by summer. Railroads are invested in the outcome. If the SCOTUS recognizes the constitutionality of unitary executive theory, it recognizes a POTUS’s free rein to intimidate or fire NMB, NTSB and STB members not in policy lock-step. Supposed independent agencies could be stocked with stooges. 

The case—relevant to the NMB, NTSB and STB—is Slaughter v. Trump. Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, was fired by POTUS 47 despite being Senate-confirmed for a term ending in 2029. Lower courts cried foul and ordered her reinstated, but the SCOTUS granted a stay pending its decision.

Slaughter’s fate likely will decide that of a dozen other POTUS 47-fired Senate-confirmed agency members, among them NTSB’s Alvin Brown, NMB’s Deirdre E. Hamilton and STB’s Robert E. Primus. Primus has agreed to hold his case in abeyance until the federal District Court for the District of Columbia rules in the Brown case. 

These firings of Democrats by Republican POTUS 47 are the stuff of unitary executive theory. Slaughter’s termination notice said tersely, “Your continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my Administration’s priorities.” 

Theory advocates say independent agencies are “a headless fourth branch of government” not provided for by the Constitution. Yet the Legislative Branch created them as expert guardians of legislative intent, with those guardians themselves guarded though legislative and judicial oversight.

Unaffected by this dispute are the Secretary of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administrator, as they are Article II Executive Branch officers reporting to, and serving at, the pleasure of the POTUS. 

Separately, the SCOTUS will hear oral argument on the legality of POTUS 47’s firing of independent agency Federal Reserve Board member and Democrat Lisa Cook, whom—unlike Brown, Hamilton and Primus—the Court has allowed, pending decision, to remain in place, ruling “Fed” governors have greater job protection as the Fed is a quasi-private entity. 

Unitary executive theory proponents targeting supposed independent agencies want the SCOTUS to reverse a 1935 decision, Humphrey’s Executor, named for a by-then-deceased FTC member, William E. Humphrey, ruled unlawfully fired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the same reason POTUS 47 fired Slaughter, Cook, Brown, Hamilton and Primus—for not being fellow travelers with Presidential priorities. 

Republican Humphrey, said Democrat Roosevelt, was an impediment to New Deal policies. But the SCOTUS said permitting the removal from an agency with decision-making independence would subvert “congressional intent to create a body independent of executive authority [that] cannot in any proper sense be characterized as an arm or an eye of the Executive.” 

Defenders of Humphrey’s Executor argue that certain agencies were created by Congress to be expert, bipartisan and largely independent of political authority. “Largely” is a crucial adjective beyond agency majorities matching the POTUS’s political party. 

Although the NMB chair, by law, rotates annually among three Senate-confirmed members, statute permits the President to designate the STB and NTSB chairpersons (who control dockets) from among Senate-confirmed agency members. The President thus may demote a chairperson and designate another, while the Legislative Branch exerts political influence through budgets and amended law. 

In official Washington, notions of independence can be fluid, with logic a mere suggestion.

National MedRailway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner is author of “Railroads & Economic Regulation,” available from Simmons-Boardman Books, 800-228-9670.  

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The funding is from the Kentucky Rail Crossing Improvement (KRCI) program “to improve safety and traffic flow at public rail crossings by adding or upgrading warning devices,” and from the Kentucky Industrial Access and Safety Improvements (KIASI) program to “strengthen rail connectivity, improve service to existing industries, enhance on-time performance, and support economic development and new investment,” grant administrator Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reported Jan. 8.

The KRCI grants, totaling $1.6 million, were awarded for projects in Central and Western Kentucky, ranging from signal and light improvements at crossings to the addition of raised curb medians with delineators to improve traffic flow. Paducah & Louisville Railway (P&L) received $776,831 for three projects at crossings in Hardin and Grayson counties; Norfolk Southern received $20,162 for one project in Jefferson County; R.J. Corman received $455,554 for two projects in Franklin and Logan counties; and the Bourbon County fiscal court received $347,454 for one project.

The KRCI program covers up to 80% of eligible project costs.

The two KIASI projects, totaling nearly $1.4 million, will rehabilitate and reactivate 6,400 feet of track in Jefferson County for Louisville 2900 LLC; and will pave 26,500 square feet of asphalt for an access road, and pour 41,700 square feet of concrete for an area designated for storage and for loading and unloading railcars in Daviess County for the Owensboro Riverport Authority.

The KIASI program, operated in collaboration with Kentucky’s Cabinet for Economic Development, provides 50% matching funds for projects.

“Reliable rail infrastructure keeps people moving and commerce flowing,” Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said. “These investments provide peace of mind, enhance economic activity and improve safety for all Kentuckians.”

“These upgrades will not only help protect motorists and rail crews but also strengthen the infrastructure that supports Kentucky’s economy—improving efficiency for freight movement, reducing delays, and strengthening Kentucky’s connection to national and global markets,” said Tom Greene, President and CEO of P&L. “By investing in modern technology and contributing our own matching funds, P&L remains committed to ensuring safe, efficient rail service that helps drive growth, attract industry, and keep Kentucky competitive. P&L is grateful to Gov. [Andy] Beshear and the General Assembly for their continued support of the KRCI program.”

“Through the leadership of our Governor and legislators, this KIASI Grant program is helping ports and industries statewide expand rail capacity for current and future growth,” commented Brian Wright, President and CEO of the Owensboro Riverport Authority. “The Owensboro Riverport Authority is honored to receive this grant and looks forward to continuing to support industrial growth and job creation in western Kentucky.”

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 competition. The deadline is Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET.

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This ratified agreement, the union says, “is the direct result of member solidarity and the successful IAM organizing effort that brought these rail production workers into the IAM Union. Together, members stood strong to secure enforceable rights, clear standards, and meaningful improvements that will raise wages and strengthen job protections for years to come.”

At Alstom‘s Plattsburgh facility, IAM members play a crucial role in manufacturing, assembling, and repairing railcars and components that support passenger rail systems nationwide. “Their skilled work is essential to keeping public transportation safe and reliable,” the union noted.

The agreement includes the following:

• Immediate 3% wage increase, on top of the 2.8% increase already received in April 2025.
• $1.50 an hour shift differential for second and third shift.
• Team leads receive their hourly rate plus 10%.
• Compensated time off counts towards hours worked for overtime.
• A new classification system with increased pay rates beginning Jan. 1, 2027, ending favoritism and clearly defining advancement.
• 2.75% wage increase effective Jan. 1, 2028.

Members also secured major gains in time off, benefits, and job security, including:

• Expanded safe and sick leave.
• Eight paid holidays plus four floating holidays.
• Defined medical, dental, and vision costs with annual increases capped.
• Life and disability insurance at no cost.
• Clear layoff and recall protections.
• Strong grievance language with enforceable timelines.
• Guaranteed union representation on every shift.
• Monthly joint labor-management committee meetings with senior management.

“This agreement replaces uncertainty with enforceable rules and real protections,” said IAM Special Assistant to the International President for the Rail Division Josh Hartford. “More importantly, it establishes a solid foundation from which IAM Union members at Alstom can continue to build power, improve working conditions, and raise standards across the rail industry. Congratulations to the members, stewards, bargaining committee, and IAM Organizing Department on this important victory.”

These newly organized members, the union says, now stand alongside their IAM represented coworkers at Alstom’s Hornell, N.Y. facility, “strengthening the IAM’s presence and collective voice across the company and the rail industry.” The new members will also be a part of IAM District 19, as well as establish their own Local.

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Railway Age’s 2026 Railroader of the Year, Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr, is an accomplished fourth-generation railroader who began his career as a craft railroader and union leader, bringing decades of hands-on experience to his leadership. He has held a range of operational and management roles throughout his career and is known across the industry as a proven transformation leader with a strong track record of implementing scheduled railroading to achieve safety and service excellence.

Since being appointed EVP and COO in 2024, Orr has led railway operations—including safety, transportation, network planning, engineering, and mechanical—with a clear focus on performance, accountability and culture. His positive impact can be seen in multiple key performance metrics. These include the lowest FRA Personal Injury ratio at NS in a decade; a double-digit improvement in FRA Reportable Train Accidents; leading the rail industry in FRA Main Line Train Accident rates for 2024; and improved car-miles per day, decreased dwell, and increased velocity across the network. Orr’s “PSR 2.0” approach has driven rapid and sustainable improvements in service reliability and operating efficiency. He is committed to building long-term leadership capability across the organization, championing the launch of the Thoroughbred Academy, which is helping embed a culture of safety, service and operational excellence across all levels of the railroad. By investing in people and process, he is developing the next generation of railroaders, benefitting employees, customers and rail-served communities.

In Atlanta, site of Norfolk Southern headquarters as well as Inman Yard, a principal intermodal hub, John Orr and Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono talked about his long career and the transformational work he’s doing at NS.

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The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. financial results for the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2025 included net earnings attributable to Greenbrier of $36 million, or $1.14 per diluted share; EBITDA of nearly $98 million, or 14% of revenue; and operating cash flow of $76 million.

In Q126, Greenbrier received railcar orders for 3,700 units valued at $550 million and delivered 4,400 units. This activity resulted in a new-railcar backlog of 16,300 units with an estimated value of $2.2 billion as of Nov. 30, 2025. The company repurchased 303,000 shares for $13 million; $65 million remains under the current share repurchase program. The Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, payable on Feb. 17, 2026 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 27, 2026, representing Greenbrier’s 47th consecutive quarterly dividend.

“Greenbrier delivered solid results in Q1,” said Lorie L. Tekorius, CEO and President. “Leasing and Fleet Management provided stability through strong execution and recurring cash flows including selectively recycling capital through fleet sales in a strong equipment market to support liquidity and balance sheet strength. Manufacturing achieved good operating performance on lower volumes. Across the business, we remain focused on operational excellence, disciplined cost management and maintaining the flexibility to respond quickly as market conditions evolve. Our strategy and priorities remain unchanged as we work to deliver improved through-cycle performance and long-term shareholder value.”

Effective Sept. 1, 2025, Greenbrier changed its methodology for allocating revenue and expenses associated with syndication activity between the Manufacturing and Leasing & Fleet Management reportable segments, “resulting in syndication activity being reflected in the Manufacturing segment,” This change, Greenbrier noted, “had no impact on the company’s consolidated results of operations or financial position,” adding that “prior period segment results have been recast to conform to the current period presentation.”

Download the Financial Statement:

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RAILWAY AGE JANUARY 2026 ISSUE: “Intentional leadership” motivates this fourth-generation railroader.  

Railway Age’s 2026 Railroader of the Year, Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr, is an accomplished fourth-generation railroader who began his career as a craft railroader and union leader, bringing decades of hands-on experience to his leadership. He has held a range of operational and management roles throughout his career and is known across the industry as a proven transformation leader with a strong track record of implementing scheduled railroading to achieve safety and service excellence.

Since being appointed EVP and COO in 2024, Orr has led railway operations—including safety, transportation, network planning, engineering, and mechanical—with a clear focus on performance, accountability and culture. His positive impact can be seen in multiple key performance metrics. These include the lowest FRA Personal Injury ratio at NS in a decade; a double-digit improvement in FRA Reportable Train Accidents; leading the rail industry in FRA Main Line Train Accident rates for 2024; and improved car-miles per day, decreased dwell, and increased velocity across the network. Orr’s “PSR 2.0” approach has driven rapid and sustainable improvements in service reliability and operating efficiency. He is committed to building long-term leadership capability across the organization, championing the launch of the Thoroughbred Academy, which is helping embed a culture of safety, service and operational excellence across all levels of the railroad. By investing in people and process, he is developing the next generation of railroaders, benefitting employees, customers and rail-served communities.

“John Orr is a true railroader,” notes industry veteran and Norfolk Southern board member Gil Lamphere. “But he was dumped into a dark cultural hole. The ops team was not his own and had churned through several heads. His CEO was a marketing person who strongly prioritized marketing and sales over operating essentials. His CEO’s predecessors weren’t rail operators. Understandably, after years of financial success, his board hadn’t spent a lot of time on operating fundamentals. But it was even worse. John was under Wall Street’s microscope and expected to run the 100 yard dash, pole vault, hammer throw, run the 5,000 meter and lead the football team to the Sugar Bowl—all at the same time.”

In Atlanta, site of Norfolk Southern headquarters as well as Inman Yard, a principal intermodal hub, John Orr and I talked about his long career and the transformational work he’s doing.

RAILWAY AGE: You come from a railroading family. You’re a fourth-generation railroader going back to your great grandfather, mostly in Canada, at Canadian National. Other family members are railroaders, like your brothers.
JOHN ORR: I’m so proud to be here and so honored for this recognition. And it’s a testament to many people before me—my family, my history, all the people at Norfolk Southern and for that matter, all the people in the sector that I’ve had the privilege to work with over the course of my career. I had the advantage of a dad who could impart that on my brothers, my cousins and me over the course of our lives. Our family has been a part of the railroading framework for more than 400 years of service. I’m proud of my family’s roots
in railroading.

RAILWAY AGE:  You started your career as a brakeman on Canadian National, spending 35 years there. And you and your brothers are the first ones to enter the management ranks. Your great grandfather, grandfather, and father spent their careers in the field as union employees. You were also a union leader at some point.
JOHN ORR:  I was a brakeman in the early days of my career and advanced through the transportation department and eventually drove trains and managed yard terminals as a yardmaster. I was a local chairman for the United Transportation Union. Those were foundational experiences I’ve been able to tap into through the course of my career. My brothers Pat and Tim and I are first generation in our family to be managers. All the experiences, good or bad, have shaped me in how I see the railroad, how I can engage, and my commitment to intentional leadership at Norfolk Southern.

RAILWAY AGE: Intentional leadership. How do you define it?
JOHN ORR: It’s purpose- and value-driven. I draw from my experiences the work that needs to be done and understand it. One of the things that I took away from my early career is the respect for how tough this business is, and how tough you need to be in the rail business, whether it’s a cold day in northern Canada or a stormy day on the U.S. Gulf Coast. You have to withstand a lot, and you must respect both the operation and the environment you’re working in. Intentionality takes the purpose of what we do and how we’re driving business performance and business outcomes and puts a plan around it. It gives people the opportunity to be successful. It creates the skill that need to be aligned and then creates accountability and visibility across the entire business scheme. To be intentional is to understand what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and give people the space to be successful.

RAILWAY AGE:  You’re Canadian, of course. But you recently became a U.S. citizen.
JOHN ORR:  My family is from northern Ontario, where there are small railroad towns. My formative years were in the southern Ontario area, and most recently, for the past decade, I’ve called Chicago home. I like to say I’ve traveled across Canada and the United States as a citizen of the railway, ended up in the U.S., and made a commitment to this country and citizenship. I have the privilege of being both a Canadian and U.S. citizen.

RAILWAY AGE: You and I have spent time in the field together, most recently on the executive train, during one of your regular tours to engage with the employees. You love being in the field. You’re in your element out in the field. You love it. The employees get that. They feel your energy, your passion.
JOHN ORR: If you’re going to do something, do it well. And in our business, to do it well, you must show up. I want to show up. So, it makes it even easier. And I think that authenticity allows me to connect. I believe this allows a speak-up culture that allows people to talk about what’s on their mind. You don’t necessarily get a veneer of what’s happening. You really get into the richness of the situations and helps me give answers faster, and it helps get awareness quicker. In that way, I can build the environment for people to have confidence and capabilities aligned. I spent a lot of time in the field. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I also have an obligation on the other side of it, within 650, Norfolk Southern headquarters. I love that there are great people in the field and in the network environment. Tapping into both and being that bridge to bringing people from the field into the network center or from the center into the field is success.

RAILWAY AGE: l sense that people are comfortable with you, regardless of whether it’s in the field or in the office. They feel they can speak their minds. I don’t think everybody possesses those qualities. That obviously works for you.
JOHN ORR: Thank you! Speaking up is the most important thing you can ask a person to do. People rely on me and my team to make good decisions on policy, on practices, so that it supports their abilities in the field. People’s lives depend on it. If you close that off, you’re not serving the entirety of the organization the way you should. But I have very high standards. I’m not an easy person to get along with in a lot of respects. But I think you can have high standards and a high degree of respect for people. It starts with how you create the ability to have tough conversations and deal with tough issues in a respectful way and applaud people for bringing those issues to you, no matter how difficult they may be to overcome. We have a saying here: Deeds matter. Judge me on the speed at which I engage on an issue builds trust, which creates the ability for people to take the right risks and to really drive outside of their comfort zone, to get stronger and get better. And that’s a big part of our transformation. That whole ecosystem of engagement starts with showing up and creating that bond.

RAILWAY AGE: Precision Scheduled Railroading 2.0. Many people in our industry don’t quite understand it yet. What is PSR 2.0? There’s a perception that PSR is only about operations, cost control, longer trains. But at its core, it really isn’t. PSR 2.0 is the next step? 
JOHN ORR: We’ve talked about this and you recognized right away it was different back in 2019. It was very clear to me it was an evolution of what started the rail renaissance in the early 2000s in Canada. PSR in the simplest form is aligning resources to workload and making sure that your variable and fixed costs have the right balance against what you’re trying to accomplish moving freight and constraining those resources so that they can be optimized. PSR 2.0 is the next step. It is taking that same discipline on managing resources and your fixed and variable costs against your workload. But now it’s intentionally engaging other groups that can have a say in how you can optimize. Bringing stakeholders to the table both upstream and downstream, so that you can get to solutions faster and more broadly to help growth. PSR, left on its own, would be about managing finite productivity. Eventually you run out of runway. PSR 2.0 takes it beyond that and creates wins across an array of stakeholders, whether it’s a safety or commercial regulator, government, customers, labor groups—all of that coming together to create comprehensive solutions for business and business acumen and eventually growth. It looks beyond the immediate and takes an ecosystem approach intentionally to build that capability. It starts to build trust with the people entrusting you with their goods to get delivered as quickly and safely as possible. People who are trusting us to run through their communities safely. For the workforce to understand that as we learn and find better ways to do things, include it in the conversations, the training and the outputs. When you bring it all together, you can call it several things, but I coined the phrase PSR 2.0, which to me means the evolution of what was working in the first place, but that’s got a lot more business relevance today. There’s a lot of runway.

RAILWAY AGE: Working in Canada and the United States and in Mexico and even overseas, you have engaged with governmental leadership at various levels. They are as big a stakeholder. And you’ve also had responsibility for passenger services, with VIA Rail and Amtrak. From the freight rail standpoint, that could be a sensitive subject.
JOHN ORR: They’re all essential stakeholders within the ecosystem of railroading. Mexico was a key piece to grow more effectively. There were certain things the government had to do, and we needed to do as a rail company. Together we could energize the economic investments that were being contemplated. The timing was all around nearshoring and reshoring. Conversations about how we were bringing U.S. standards and regulations into the application of the of rules and policies in Mexico meant that international investors could rely on heavy-haul solutions and have relative certainty, helping the lawmakers in any country understand what’s needed. I’ll paraphrase an inscription on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington: “It’s up to industry to lead the evolution of industry. It’s up to industry to lead transformation in America, and for the government to support it.” It struck home that engaging with government officials and helping them stay informed with what our businesses are doing and where the business is evolving, will help them make better decisions, whether it’s a regulatory framework or a budgetary investment, or even just understanding what’s going on to support the economy of whatever country we’re in, whether it’s Canada, the United States or Mexico. And what was really, really interesting is one night, I was in our business cars with the Canadian ambassador, with business leaders from Canada, the United States, talking about the importance of those engagements and creating seamless capability between Canada and Mexico, and how important that was to all three economies and people within the economies. Those engagements can’t be overlooked. Now, we have professionals who do that very well. But when an operating person can have that discussion from time to time with lawmakers, it really allows them to understand what’s going on, how things are moving, and how things can move better when we work together.

RAILWAY AGE: Railroading is a complicated business. A tough business. And to try to get people who don’t work for the railroad or a supplier or a consultant or are in some way connected to the industry to help them understand what it is we do is a heavy lift. It requires a lot of persistence.
JOHN ORR: I stay in the sector because I believe in the space. I believe in the sector. I really believe that railroading is critical to the economies of our countries. I really believe that to maintain that relevance, we always have to be driving and changing and performing. And it is a non-linear, very complex ecosystem we are part of. And as we educate and invest in those relationships, we get better and stronger ourselves. We understand what we need to do to support a broader landscape of laws and regulations and connect faster upstream and downstream with the supply chains coming into the country, where the competitive threats may be, or the competitive advantages that we have to leverage. Helping whoever the stakeholder is to be a part of that starts to lend itself to a better solution, faster and more accurately. When you can do that, you’ve got good use of your capital, whether it’s dollars in your ROIC or political capital. We’ve got community people running the railway every single day, every hour. I’m proud to be a part of this team in the context of where we are today. We’ve transformed this company over the past two years. We’ve focused on safety and have delivered. We’ve focused on service, and our customers are feeling it. We’ve put a lot of effort, not just in operations, but across the entire company to be relevant and very purposeful on how we have evolved, the company and our financial contributions, our market value and the overall value that we bring, especially in this part of the country. 

RAILWAY AGE: We spent the morning in the field at Inman Yard, and we talked about how you engage with people in the field and your background. At headquarters in Atlanta, I had an opportunity to see one of your war rooms. It was the mechanical war room and the technology being developed for safety purposes. Then I saw an application of that war room technology in the Network Operations Center where mechanical defects are identified, flagged and taken care of. There are several of these war rooms.
JOHN ORR: I believe safety is the foundation for everything we do, the value through which every decision must be made. The beauty of the war rooms is that they bring that principle to life. Our war rooms were born from a desire to have continuous improvement. The highest standard and highest capability is safety. And from that come reliability and service, all the guiding principles we need to drive our business. The war rooms are pretty cool because they’re not only protecting the infrastructure and protecting the service at Norfolk Southern, but they’re also leading our cutting edge of technological investment and the marriage between technology and skills and people. The war rooms were started to make sure that we had every opportunity to take a train from one point to another point in the network, per plan, not interrupted by unintended, unscheduled stops along the way. As we develop more insights into the reasons why trains were stopping, we’re handling them properly. We are engaging when we have disruption. But getting to the root cause and the desire for continuous improvement, was what really drove the war rooms. I’m proud to say we’ve invested in technology. We applied the insights that we’ve gleaned from the technology, like our portals, and have taught our employees differently. We’ve invested in the field to engineer out problems, and in some cases, we had to change our policies, to make ourselves safer and more reliable. The war rooms are one example of that. I believe that if you create the environment, give people the opportunity and measure vigorously on continuous improvement, you’re going to find that next level of capability. Our people are benefiting in all layers of the company—craft employees, management, senior executives, all working arm in arm to really understand how to improve safety and performance at Norfolk Southern. It’s about the principle of common purpose, extreme clarity. Our mission is very clear: Improve safety, improve capability. The support, the energy of the war rooms bring, in the headquarters environment and in the field, is really felt. People are responsive to that. The connotation here at Norfolk Southern is that a continuous improvement environment is separating us from the competition. It’s really a positive driver of our current state of transformation.

RAILWAY AGE: A lot of the work developing the technology, the algorithms, everything that goes into that, is done in-house. So in a way, you have better control over that. 
JOHN ORR: We’re at a point where we can do things better, faster and more effectively. There are cases where we use off-the-shelf technology from our suppliers, especially when it comes to technology. But by being self-directed, aligning all of our resources appropriately and being as responsive as possible to emerging conditions, that self-determination really pays dividends. Let me just share something: Around this time last year, I happened to be in Chicago. We had a derailment just outside of Chicago. The train had been on Norfolk Southern for one mile. It had come hundreds of miles to us, and we had a derailment that I was responsible for—that’s the rules of the network. I challenged my team to find a better way to insulate Norfolk Southern from such a short-haul significant issue, and they got to work. Within seven months, we had a wheel integrity system built and deployed. And just this week, while actively scouring the network at Burns Harbor, it found a broken wheel—the same situation I had to deal with last year. In less than a year, we were able to design, engineer, test and deploy the technology that’s now protecting the network, and we’re able to go to scale at a much faster rate because it’s an economic solution as much as it is a safety solution.

RAILWAY AGE: A defect like a broken wheel, for example, can result in a catastrophic derailment.
JOHN ORR: Yes, and this is one example of how we’re bringing technology to complement our skills, capabilities and safety management systems. Obviously, we’re in an era of technological advancement at a pace an unseen before, so we must take a very holistic view of what we want to accomplish from the investments we’re making in technology, linking them to a business need. That common purpose and
extreme clarity provide our people the environment, opportunity and skills to be successful. When you do that intentionally, it aligns with our business purpose and our business mission. And that clarity helps people rally around things like the war room or other investments that help them do their job more reliably every day.

RAILWAY AGE: You’ve often said that people are at the center of every investment Norfolk Southern makes. You do a lot investing in training and mentoring, like the Thoroughbred Academy.
JOHN ORR: I’ve always believed that people will make the difference in any business and especially in the rail business. Perhaps that comes from my experience across all the jobs I’ve done in the rail space. But I have a great appreciation for enhancing people’s capabilities, giving the opportunity for them to invest their time in efforts to making the rail sector stronger and more effective. Our people are truly at the center of our transformation here at Norfolk Southern. We’ve invested in safety camps and safety training. And it’s not only a leader-led engagement. It has become broader, taking on a life of its own and becoming transformational. Our managers are able to make better, faster decisions in the field, particularly around the value of safety, and then transitioning through to the business acumen they need to keep us competitive. The Thoroughbred Academy was the first intentional investment in our transformation. As 2026 evolves, we’ll expand that to business acumen and capability. And as we advance through the curriculum of the Thoroughbred Academy over the next three and four years, our employees will benefit from that investment to help them not only deal with the issues and challenges of today, but even on the growing landscape of what competition looks like in two years or three years, so that we’re always pro-competitive, where we’re able to fight for business, and create and articulate a safe platform for people to want to be an employee, a part of the Norfolk Southern family.

RAILWAY AGE: This is my first time in the relatively new headquarters in Atlanta. In my career, which is going on 34 years, I’ve been in a lot of Class I corporate headquarters. The employee diversity here really stands out, as well as the technology.
JOHN ORR: We value contributions across the board. I’ve always believed that if you give people the opportunity, they’ll shine. When you do that, you can attract new talent. And you can attract new skills from experienced talent. And that’s what we’re doing here. We’re creating a system where people are really valued for their contributions. And when you attract talent from the outside and from within, you have a nice balance of experience, curiosity and confidence. That’s what we’re incubating here. Some of the things like you have seen, in the Network Operations Center or a war room, were almost like a think tank. I really believe that when you create a speak-up environment, people know that what they’ve got to say matters, and that they could be wrong is okay. It helps us get to good solutions quickly. That’s the environment you see amplified across this entire campus here at 650. People are motivated, people are engaged. And without that, our transformation wouldn’t be possible. And when you can ignite 19,000 thinkers and doers and engage, you’re creating this upward mobility of capability like you’ve never seen. And that’s one of the reasons why our transformation has been defined by service, safety, financial acumen. All of that in the past 20 months or so have been the body of work of 19,000 people. What you see here in Atlanta is just a slice of what’s going on across our entire network. It’s empowering.

RAILWAY AGE: Which brings us to the reason why the railroad exists—and that’s to serve the customer, move freight from point A to point B. Now, I’m sure you’re familiar with the old expression, I don’t know who said it or how long ago it was, but it was eons ago: “We could run a damn good railroad if it weren’t for the damn customers.” That’s not the case anymore. How have your customers reacted to what everybody is doing here and the transformation?
JOHN ORR: We value our customers. And if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have the lights on here. In fact, we want more, and that’s what we’re doing. Let me just take you back a bit in PSR 1.0. It was really about making sure the resources were aligned to the volume, and the cost structure was more balanced and reliable. In that way, the offering could be aligned to what a customer is expecting in 2.0. The customer must drive what good service looks like, and we’re competing on a different scale right now. Things that existed or didn’t exist in the early 2000s. Things we’re dealing with now, customer expectations, weren’t even thought of in the early 2000s, like same day delivery of a parcel to your door. This has set a benchmark on customer service. Yes, rail is heavy haul, bigger boxes of products. But we still have to take a different view. And when you can align an effort to continuously improve service, it creates a reliability standard a customer can measure and have visibility and influence over. That allows us then to improve our overall customer needs and deliverables. I’ve gone from the philosophy of moving a train within a prescribed time to moving a car in a prescribed time, especially with our rich network of intermodal and other kind of merchandise products. I really look at it from a product view. How do I get that product from its source to
its destination?

RAILWAY AGE: So you drill right down to the product?
JOHN ORR: Yes, in a lot of cases. We understand our customers’ downstream needs. We work hard to create a reliable supply chain, to participate actively in that overall end-to end-solution for that product. 

John Orr will be presented with the Railroader of the Year Award at the traditional dinner hosted by the Western Railway Club at the Union League Club of Chicago on March 10, 2026. He’s also a featured speaker at Railway Age’s Next-Generation Freight Rail Conference, held the same day in the same location.

The post 2026 Railroader of the Year: Norfolk Southern’s John Orr appeared first on Railway Age.

Hitachi Rail on Jan. 7 celebrated the official start of revenue service for its new cutting-edge metro cars produced for the MTA’s Baltimore Metro Subway Link.

Originally contracted in 2017, this milestone marks a significant development for Maryland’s only heavy rail subway system, replacing and upgrading existing rolling stock and rail control systems last updated in 1983. As the first project to be completed in Hitachi Rail’s new factory located in Hagerstown, Md., the new system “will also enhance comfort and reliability for thousands of daily commuters while providing a modern ridership experience,” according to the agency.

Fleet Highlights & Technological Innovation

• 78 state-of-the-art railcars (12 cars delivered to date) to be delivered under a $400.5 million contract awarded in 2017—featuring Hitachi Rail’s advanced SelTrac Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) technology.
• Upgraded SelTrac technology will provide higher system capacity with improved performance with state-of-the art data analytics, lower capital investment and lifecycle costs, and flexible and scalable architecture.
• New metro cars are designed to be highly innovative, with passenger comfort and design at the forefront. Updated driver cab also includes state-of-the-art integrated diagnostic system.
• Each bi-directional married pair consists of two stainless steel cars, equipped with 76 seats on board and a capacity of 196 passengers per rail car.
• Built with advanced passenger information systems, LED lighting, ADA-compliant interiors, and fiberglass car heads– with a 30-year-life-cycle capable of providing an average journey of 80,000 miles per year.

“The beginning of revenue service marks a historic moment in transit for both Baltimore and the state of Maryland—upgrading the city’s 40-year-old fleet and rail control systems with Hitachi Rail’s advanced SelTrac ​ technology, which will help to deliver modern and sustainable railcars that will meet passenger needs for decades to come,” said Joseph Pozza President of Hitachi Rail in the United States. “Our partnership with MTA and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) demonstrates Hitachi’s long-term dedication to transforming urban mobility in the U.S.”

“Our riders and our region deserve a strong, modern transit system,” said MTA Administrator, Holly Arnold. “By investing in new, state-of-the-art railcars, we are connecting communities and delivering on our promise to provide fast, reliable, and safe transit service.”

A significant portion of the new fleet was assembled and completed at Hitachi Rail’s $100M state-of-the-art, carbon-neutral factory in Hagerstown, Md. Officially opened in September 2025, the 307,000-square-foot facility is capable of building up to 20 railcars per month—employing 460 onsite staff once meeting project operational capacity.

With digital at its core, more than $30 million has been invested in digital enhancements including a focus on high quality production and customer value creation, according to Hitachi Rail. The smart factory harnesses real-time supply chain and manufacturing monitoring, local component manufacturing using 3D printing and on-site additive manufacturing for spares and tooling, and full transparency on product quality. ​“Both the Hagerstown factory and the Baltimore metro cars reaffirm the expansion of Hitachi Rail’s business in North America, mirroring the priorities of the Hitachi Group as a whole,” the company noted.

The full rollout for the remaining Baltimore metro cars remains on track for completion, “ensuring seamless service integration with the existing fleet debuted during this afternoon’s ceremony,” said Hitachi Rail.

The New York MTA on Jan. 5 announced that on its one-year anniversary, New York City’s first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program has been “a transformational success, reducing traffic, improving quality of life and supporting. Billions in transit upgrades.”

In its first year, congestion pricing resulted in 27 million fewer vehicles entering the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) of Manhattan south of 60th Street, an 11% reduction in traffic, according to the MTA. Reduced gridlock has improved commute times across the region, especially at crossings into the CRZ, with some drivers saving as much as 15 minutes each way. Congestion pricing, the agency says, has reduced emissions, made streets safer, improved quality of life, and has generated more than $550 million in net revenue in its first year, allowing the MTA to proceed with $15 billion in transit improvement projects.

According to the MTA, congestion pricing has consistently met monthly revenue targets needed to generate the projected $500 million in annual net revenue. As of November 2025, $518 million in net tolling revenue has been collected and allocated to support transit improvements and mitigation initiatives, with preliminary projections for year-end exceeding $550 million in net revenues.

Overall, the program allows the MTA to proceed with $15 billion in funding for the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, “advancing projects to rebuild, improve and expand the transit system.” A third of that funding is dedicated towards performing critical state of good repair work to ensure the continued reliability of the transit system.

Projects funded by congestion pricing include:

• Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 ($3B)
• Signal upgrades along the AC and BDFM lines ($3B)
• Accessibility improvements to 23+ subway stations ($2B)
• New railcars and buses ($2B)
• State of Good Repair projects ($5B)

As of Jan. 1, 2026, more than $6 billion in projects unlocked by Congestion Relief are in construction, including Second Avenue Subway Phase 2, ADA upgrades at nine stations, new signals serving more than 600,000 A/C riders in Brooklyn and Queens, and systemwide state of good repair work.

More information on the one-year anniversary of the MTA’s congestion pricing is available here.

WMATA on Jan. 6 announced that A|P has been selected as the developer for a joint development project at Capitol Heights station in Prince George’s County. The project, the agency says, “will deliver new affordable housing and neighborhood-serving retail space, advancing the county’s broader Blue Line Corridor vision.”

The project builds on a $17 million commitment from the state of Maryland toward transit and site infrastructure improvements at Capitol Heights station, announced in 2024. Metro, Prince George’s County, and the town of Capitol Heights have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing a partnership to advance the development.

The Capitol Heights station project is part of Prince George’s County’s Blue Line Corridor initiative, “a coordinated planning effort to catalyze growth and attract private investment at four Metro stations between Capitol Heights and Downtown Largo.” In support of this vision, the state of Maryland has committed $450 million to deliver a range of signature facilities along the corridor, including an amphitheater, market hall, central library, and cultural center, civic plaza, youth sports fieldhouse, complete streets infrastructure, and the Central Avenue Connector Trail.

“This project shows what’s possible when regional partners align around a shared vision for transit-oriented growth,” said WMATA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke. “By bringing new affordable housing and retail directly connected to transit, we’re strengthening ridership, supporting the community, and helping the Blue Line Corridor reach its full potential.”

As part of the development concept, approximately 3.8 acres of existing surface parking will be transformed into 320 affordable apartments priced at 60% of the area median income, along with about 10,000 square feet of retail space. In addition to A|P, the development team also includes architect Torti Gallas + Partners and general contractor Whiting Turner.

WMATA estimates the development will generate almost 100,000 annual rail trips. The development will also access key bus routes connecting Prince George’s County and the District of Columbia.

The developer was competitively selected based on experience delivering affordable housing projects, which include properties in Prince George’s County. WMATA also evaluated proposals from two other development teams as part of the selection process.

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) on Jan. 6 announced that Tri-Rail has surpassed 4.5 million rides in calendar year 2025, establishing a new all-time ridership record for the regional commuter rail system.

This milestone follows the achievement from Tri-Rail’s fiscal year (from July 2024 through June 2025) that surpassed 4.5 million rides, as well. With this performance, Tri-Rail has exceeded its previous record set in 2019, when the system surpassed 4.4 million rides in both the fiscal and calendar years.

Tri-Rail concluded calendar year 2024 with its second-highest ridership total, “underscoring the system’s continued role in accommodating a growing number of passengers who rely on the service for regional travel, whether as daily commuters or as seasonal and leisure riders,” the agency said.

Tri-Rail began the year by once again offering New Year’s Special Service, providing post-midnight train service for partygoers celebrating at Bayfront. The system, the agency says, is also well positioned in 2026 to serve spectators attending events at Miami Freedom Park, which is inaugurating this year, and is a key partner in Miami-Dade County’s transportation committee for the FIFA World Cup. Tri-Rail is actively preparing to provide transportation for World Cup matches and associated Fan Festival activities.

“Our passengers are the lifeblood of this system, and we are deeply grateful for their continued support,” said David Dech, SFRTA Executive Director. “We will repay that trust by continuing to enhance the service in every way possible and try to provide the best possible travel experience that South Florida deserves.”

Elevator and escalator manufacturing company Otis has completed a landmark installation at the REM light metro transit in Montreal, a transformative project that was designed to connect communities across Greater Montréal and offer safe, reliable and accessible transportation across the city.

Otis provided 22 escalators and 57 custom elevators, including Gen2® elevators, engineered to meet the unique requirements of each station.

The REM elevators feature glass elevator cabs framed in precision-engineered steel, delivering a sleek, modern look while offering durability and safety for high-traffic environments.

Aligned with REM’s sustainability goals, energy-saving features include Otis ReGen drives on the elevators and escalators, which feed energy back into the grid.

Otis also secured a five-year service contract for the elevators and escalators, with maintenance and testing performed outside regular business hours by resident mechanics and increased support during peak times to maximize performance and limit inconvenience to passengers.

More information is available here.

The post Transit Briefs: Hitachi Rail/MTA, NYMTA, WMATA, Tri-Rail, REM appeared first on Railway Age.

A fourth-generation railroader who began his career as a craft railroader and union leader, Orr brings decades of hands-on experience to his leadership, which he defines as “intentional” or “purpose- and value-driven,” reported Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono, who in early December interviewed Orr in Atlanta. During visits at NS headquarters as well as the Inman Yard, a principal intermodal hub, they talked about Orr’s long career and the “transformational work he’s doing,” according to Vantuono.

“Since being appointed EVP and COO in 2024, Orr has led railway operations—including safety, transportation, network planning, engineering, and mechanical—with a clear focus on performance, accountability and culture,” Vantuono wrote in his profile of Orr. “His positive impact can be seen in multiple key performance metrics. These include the lowest FRA Personal Injury ratio at NS in a decade; a double-digit improvement in FRA Reportable Train Accidents; leading the rail industry in FRA Main Line Train Accident rates for 2024; and improved car-miles per day, decreased dwell, and increased velocity across the network. Orr’s ‘PSR 2.0’ approach has driven rapid and sustainable improvements in service reliability and operating efficiency. He is committed to building long-term leadership capability across the organization, championing the launch of the Thoroughbred Academy, which is helping embed a culture of safety, service and operational excellence across all levels of the railroad. By investing in people and process, he is developing the next generation of railroaders, benefitting employees, customers and rail-served communities.”

Other January 2026 issue highlights include:

• No Clear Track Ahead: The 2026 picture for passenger trains and rail transit in the U.S. and Canada “is a bit fuzzy and rather bleak for the foreseeable future,” wrote Contributing Editor David Peter Alan in Railway Age’s annual outlook feature. For Amtrak, there could be solid red signals ahead outside of the Northeast Corridor, he reported, and U.S. rail transit is heading for red signals in many places, too.

• Effectiveness of Cold Wheel-Based Brake Tests: Yi Wang, Principal Investigator II-Vehicle Track Interaction & Instrumentation at MxV Rail, discussed a recent study that sheds light on the performance of cold wheel processes, which are automated methods for assessing brake system health using wheel temperature data from braking trains.

And don’t miss these Railway Age columnists: 

• Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner considered whether the National Mediation Board, National Transportation Safety Board, and Surface Transportation Board will stay independent. “Theory advocates say independent agencies are ‘a headless fourth branch of government’ not provided for by the Constitution,” he wrote. “Yet the legislation branch created them as expert guardians of legislative intent.”

• Financial Editor David Nahass reviewed key takeaways—“a mix of the unexpected and the routine”—from the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application to the Surface Transportation Board. Will the Board be converted to a “true believer”?

• Contributing Editor Pauline Lipkewich addressed leading through uncertainty, the third part of a series. Her recommendation: “Lead yourself first.” Find out how in her column, The Rail Way, From the Boardroom to the Ballast Line.

The post Railway Age January 2026 Digital Edition Spotlights Railroader of the Year John Orr appeared first on Railway Age.

As Director of Transit Security and Passenger Safety, Daniel Brislin will oversee 81 Code Compliance Inspectors and 232 contracted Transit Security Officers at MTS, which operates four Trolley lines and 93 bus routes in 10 cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego. He takes over for Tim Curran, who retired in December.

Brislin joined MTS in 2023 and has more than 28 combined years of public safety experience. During his previous role as Deputy Director of Transit Security and Passenger Safety, Brislin helped implement a comprehensive security initiative that reduced crime by 24% across the transit network in the first eight months of 2025, according to MTS.

He also helped implement several strategies to reduce crime on the system, including:

• “Increasing security officer ‘train’ teams on Trolley lines from five-six teams per shift to eight-ten teams per shift.
• “Doubling the number of officers patrolling buses.
• “Doubling the number of passenger safety teams.
• “Increasing the number of officers conducting homeless outreach.
• “Creating security outposts at busy transit centers to increase visibility.”

According to MTA, Brislin led efforts to consolidate the 24/7 security hotline to one number for text and calls, and implemented ongoing training for staff in deescalation, use of force, implicit bias and anti-discrimination.

Brislin is an honorably retired San Diego County Sheriff’s Commander, with experience in every bureau of the agency, including patrol, training, internal affairs, child abuse, sex crimes, juvenile crimes, narcotics and gangs. He is also the former Dean of Public Safety for San Diego Miramar College, where he oversaw the Emergency Medical Technician program, Fire Technology/Academy Program, and Administration of Justice Program, which included the San Diego Regional Law Enforcement Academy. Brislin holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees (psychology and sociology) and a master’s in public administration.

“Safety is fundamental to a reliable and welcoming transit system for all,” MTS CEO Sharon Cooney said. “Dan has been implementing successful security measures since he arrived at MTS. His leadership, commitment, and strong partnerships with law enforcement have helped deliver the results we are looking for.”

“I am honored to lead a dedicated group of inspectors and security officers to reduce crime, ensure fare compliance and keep the system safe,” Brislin said. “Our team is committed to assisting MTS passengers and surrounding communities. We have great partnerships in place with local law enforcement, and I look forward to continuing our collaboration. We have also widely expanded our outreach efforts to provide a diverse range of resources for individuals in need.”

• San Diego MTS Ridership Surges in FY25
• MTS Earns ‘Perfect Score’ in Federal Triennial Review

STV has hired Natasha Avanessians as Chief of Staff to the CEO, succeeding Kristen Van Gilst, who will transition to Deputy Operations Director at the firm. 

Avanessians will support enterprise-wide strategy, executive operations, and coordination across the firm’s operating groups, working closely with the CEO and executive leadership team to implement the new 2026-2028 Strategic Plan. She served most recently Senior Advisor to the New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations, leading City Hall’s work across major infrastructure projects, including the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Cross Bronx Expressway and transition to sustainable freight movement, among other projects. Previously, she was Chief of Staff for MTA Long Island Rail Road, overseeing daily operations and the LIRR Forward initiative, including coordinating capital construction across the network. Avanessians has also held leadership positions at the Partnership for New York City and other New York City organizations. She earned a Master of Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University.

Van Gilst will now support the Chief Project Officer at STV and help “drive the evolution of project delivery at the firm in the age of AI.” In addition to serving as STV’s Chief of Staff since 2024, she has served as the firm’s Digital Advisory Lead.

Van Gilst is also President on the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Charlotte Metro Chapter’s 2024-26 Executive Board. She earned a Master of Science in construction management technology from Purdue University and an MBA with a concentration in project management from Southern New Hampshire University; she received a Bachelor of Architecture from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

“Natasha brings strategic insight and operational rigor that will strengthen how we execute at the enterprise level,” STV President and CEO Greg Kelly said. “Kristen’s unique background in project and program management combined with her knowledge of emerging technology will help further drive operational excellence at STV and deliver better service to our clients and our communities.” 

Separately, STV recently earned an American Council of Engineering Companies of Virginia Grand Award and bolstered its Florida transportation leadership with three promotions.

The post People News: San Diego MTS, STV appeared first on Railway Age.

UP reported via social media that its Livonia, La., locomotive team recently reached one-year of injury-free service, due to “a culture of mentorship, open communication and a commitment to the why behind each safety protocol.”

“Safety is what’s expected and that mindset is contagious,” UP quoted Manager-Mechanical Operations Daniel Sherlin as saying, “Our crew won’t accept anything that’s unsafe.”

Separately, the Class I’s Engineering team in Las Vegas (pictured above) has celebrated 25 years of injury-free work.

BNSF Locomotive Engineer Dane Sargent and Conductor Kolic Edwards on Dec. 31 delivered the first load to its new intermodal ramp in Oklahoma City (pictured above). Included was freight from customer Hobby Lobby.

The new 42-acre facility, announced in September, was a result of BNSF’s partnership with the retailer. Hobby Lobby, the railroad said via social media, “was looking for more efficient movement of its loaded containers from the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach to the network of Hobby Lobby distribution centers in OKC.”

Other business, such as Oklahoma farmers, will also be able to use the facility for export to the West Coast, according to BNSF.

“Expanding into this new rail market is a great example of us listening to our customers’ needs and looking for ways to provide solutions that will spur shared growth opportunities across the region,” BNSF Group Vice President of Consumer Products Jon Gabriel said in September. “We are excited to offer this unique solution to Hobby Lobby, which creates a much more effective supply chain and at full potential could eliminate up to 40,000 truck moves off the highway each year.”

“This is an exciting opportunity for Hobby Lobby to partner with the BNSF,” Hobby Lobby Chief Financial Officer Jon Cargill commented in September. “As we grow our business, more efficient movement of product will allow us to continue to offer the great value our customers have come to expect.”

BNSF also has an automotive facility in Oklahoma City.

• Hillwood, BNSF, and Fort Worth Launch Alliance Logistics District
• Cicero Intermodal Expansion Delivers Capacity, Sustainability and Customer Value
• BNSF, CSX Offering More, ‘Faster’ Coast-to-Coast Service
• BNSF Opens Logistics Center in North Houston

“For survivors of human trafficking, economic stability is a key pillar to recovery,” NS wrote Jan. 7 on the Story Yard section of its website. The railroad recently supported that pillar through a $10,000 Thriving Communities grant to Wellspring Living, an Atlanta-based nonprofit serving human trafficking survivors and those at risk. The grant benefited Wellspring Living’s 2025 Women’s Academy, which offers career readiness training, according to NS.

The funding provided six Women’s Academy participants with stipends to help cover transportation and other essential needs, which NS said were “practical barriers that often prevent consistent participation in workforce training.” Through this support, all six women completed the training, “gaining confidence, stability, and momentum as they work toward sustainable employment,” according to the railroad.

“Survivors and those at risk deserve pathways to economic stability that eliminate barriers to opportunity,” said Andrea Hipwell, Senior Director of Adult Services, Wellspring Living Women’s Academy Career Development Manager. “With Norfolk Southern’s financial support, Wellspring Living helps ensure that the people we serve can prioritize education and workforce development without the stress of unmet basic needs.”

“Wellspring Living understands that healing happens when women have practical tools and meaningful opportunity, not just short-term support,” added Kristin Wong, Director of Norfolk Southern Foundation & Community Impact. “We’re proud to walk alongside an organization that’s investing in people as they rebuild their lives.”

NS in 2023 donated $400,000 to Wellspring Living’s “Welcome Home Campaign,” which expanded residential and community care for women and children affected by or who are at risk of sexual exploitation.

Separately, NS’s SD70IAC 1230 and 1231 (the Birmingham and the Atlanta) made their official debut in November, pulling business cars for an event for Hope Atlanta, an NS-supported organization that works to serve people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

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

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on Jan. 8 reported that total originated U.S. rail traffic was 404,293 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Jan. 3, 2026, down 4.0%, from the comparable year-earlier week, which in this case is Week 1 of 2025.

Total U.S. carloads for the week ending January 3, 2026, were 192,665 carloads, down 2.8% from the comparison week, while U.S. intermodal volume for the week was 211,628 containers and trailers, down 5.1% from the comparison week.

For U.S. railroads for the week ending Jan. 3, 2026, two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the comparison week. These two were chemicals, up 734 carloads to 32,493; and grain, up 195 carloads to 21,022. Commodity groups that posted decreases from the comparison week included nonmetallic minerals, down 1,393 carloads to 21,565; miscellaneous carloads, down 1,238 carloads to 5,734; and farm products excluding grain, and food, down 769 carloads to 15,694.

For all of 2025 (defined as weeks 1-52), U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 11,508,797 carloads, up 1.5% over 2024; and 14,055,633 intermodal units, also up 1.5% over 2024. Total combined U.S. traffic for 2025 was 25,564,430 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.5% over 2024.

North American rail volume for the week ending January 3, 2026, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 279,924 carloads, down 2.9% from the comparison week, and 277,628 intermodal units, down 4.9%. Total combined rail traffic in North America for the week ending Jan. 3, 2026, was 557,552 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9%. North American rail volume for weeks 1-52 of 2025 was 35,187,052 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.4% over 2024.

Canadian railroads for the week ending Jan. 3, 2026, reported 78,588 carloads, down 2.3% from the comparison week, and 55,805 intermodal units, down 9.7%. For all of 2025, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 8,387,041 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.0% over 2024.

For the week ending Jan. 3, 2026, Mexican railroads reported 8,671 carloads, down 10.7% from the comparison week, and 10,195 intermodal units, up 43.1%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for 2025 was 1,235,581 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 5.5% from 2024.

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 post AAR: U.S. Rail Traffic Down 4% for Week Ending Jan. 3 appeared first on Railway Age.

2024 and 2023 were also record-breaking years.

RBMN—Railway Age’s four-time Regional of the Year—operates freight and steam- and diesel-powered passenger excursions over 400 miles of track, owns almost 2,000 freight cars, and employs more than 400 people. It has 80 customers in nine eastern Pennsylvania counties (Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Wyoming).

“Nationally freight traffic was basically flat [in 2025] as freight customers dealt with the twin impacts of tariffs and overseas economic slowdown,” RBMN reported. “Despite these trends, RBMN was able to achieve modest growth in freight carloads, which led RBMN to its highest revenue level in history. Anthracite coal remains a bright spot … RBMN exceeded one million tons of anthracite shipped over our lines for the third straight year.” That growth, it noted, is led by anthracite shipments to the domestic steel industry, and was supported by the purchase of additional covered hopper cars in December.

According to the railroad, Marcellus Shale drilling activity remained soft in 2025, but RBMN, in partnership with terminal operator Texas Sands, was able to increase business to 2,000 carloads. “Most of that growth was in the fourth quarter and RBMN expects 2026 to be our best year ever at our Tunhannock transload facility,” it noted.

RBMN also said it experienced “carload and revenue success” moving plastic resins, various forest products, metals, and food and ag commodities.

Based on preliminary forecasts, the railroad expects to increase both carloads and revenues “significantly” in 2026. Specifically, it projects 40,000 carloads, which it said will remove more than 220,000 trucks from the highway.

On the passenger side, RBMN eclipsed 410,000 riders in 2025—the first time ever. The department last year also celebrated its 40th anniversary.

In 2025, RBMN reported investing in equipment, track and people. It spent more than $8 million purchasing 117 freight cars, numerous vehicles and track equipment, and track and signal materials, and it continued to grow by hiring new employees.

In 2026, RBMN said it hopes to finalize its acquisition of the Luzerne County railroad operations. “Under public ownership, rail freight traffic has fallen,” the railroad reported. “RBMN has pledged to rebuild the freight franchise. And RBMN has committed to bringing its award-winning passenger service to Wilkes Barre. To that end, RBMN has already purchased centrally located property for its passenger station. And RBMN made an aggressive offer in September 2025 to purchase the properties for $10 million.” 

“Thanks to our customer-focused staff, RBMN continues to enjoy growth year after year,” said RBMN Owner and CEO Andy Muller Jr., who was selected by Railway Age readers as a 2023 Influential Leader. “We continue to invest in our railroad to make sure we bring first-class service to our freight customers and our passenger riders. RBMN will continue to thrive and work with our communities and neighbors to expand our offerings.”

• RBMN Anthracite Coal Business Surges in 2025
• RBMN Unveils ‘Semiquincentennial’ Locomotive
• Raffa Promoted to RBMN EVP Marketing & Sales
• RBMN Iron Horse Rambles Resuming in 2025

The post RBMN: Another Record-Breaking Year appeared first on Railway Age.

Effective immediately, Nolan will oversee legal, compliance, governance, and risk functions, ARH reported Jan. 7. She served most recently as General Counsel for Zoro Tools, Inc., a subsidiary of W.W. Grainger, Inc. Previously, she spent more than 25 years at W.W. Grainger, Inc., including as Vice President and Associate General Counsel, advising on tech and ecommerce matters, data protection and security, crisis management, global sourcing, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, procurement, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Nolan earned a JD from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a BA in international relations and French from Michigan State University. She also completed executive leadership training at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

With more than 30 years’ experience advising short line and regional railroads, Sidman joined ARH on Jan. 1, 2013. He “has been a trusted advisor and integral member of the corporate leadership team, helping guide the company through sustained growth and reinforcing a strong foundation of governance and integrity,” according to Chicago-based ARH, whose six railroads combined handle two million-plus carloads annually in the U.S.

“Mark’s steady leadership and counsel have helped shape who we are today, and we are deeply grateful for his many contributions,” ARH CEO Peter Gilbertson said. “As we look ahead, Aimee brings the strategic mindset, operational discipline, and experience needed to help ARH scale responsibly and advance our mission in the years to come.”

ARH in 2025 appointed Mark Nuchurch as Manager of Safety and Compliance, a new role and title at the short line holding company; Michael Naatz as Chief Operating Officer; and Todd Nuelle as Chief Commercial Officer.

The post ARH Taps Aimee Nolan as CLO appeared first on Railway Age.

The order, Wabtec said, “is a major step in the Authority’s Capital Plan to revitalize the city’s transit network infrastructure and improve the capabilities and safety of its maintenance crews.”

In 2020, MTA awarded Wabtec the original $233 million contract for 25 R255s. For use on MTA New York City Transit work trains, they would replace a fleet of diesel-only locomotives built in the 1960s and 1970s. The option for 45 additional units, now exercised, had been expected to be funded through the 2020-2024 Capital Plan. They are now included in the 2025-2029 Capital Plan, in which MTA noted that approximately 44% of the NYCT work train fleet “is beyond its useful life and is due for replacement.”

MTA’s follow-on order covers the R255s, which continue to include Cummins engines (QSX15 Tier 4 Final) and Wabtec-developed battery packs, and spare parts. The locomotives (watch video below) will be built at Wabtec’s design and development center in Erie, Pa. They, too, will replace aging equipment, “offering enhanced reliability and operational efficiency while contributing to improved air quality across the network,” according to the supplier.

The R255 is said to benefit the MTA’s maintenance crews “by improving the working conditions, especially in the tunnels. It can eliminate emissions by utilizing battery power during subway construction, maintenance, and repairs, especially during extended periods at a work site.” The approximately 500-kWh locomotive can work in “battery-only” mode within confined work zones for up to eight hours and can move work trains when the third-rail power is deenergized, according to Wabtec. The locomotive also features cameras and video recorders to capture images of the track, lineside assets, and signaling equipment across the network, plus “onboard diagnostics to support smart maintenance practices.”

Wabtec delivered the initial R255s in May and June 2024; they underwent a series of comprehensive acceptance tests on NYCT that focused on safety, performance, interoperability, and reliability, including a capstone performance test of two R255s operating with a full train of m/w cars over the Manhattan Bridge. MTA certified their use in early 2025.

“The success of the R255 hybrid locomotive is a tribute to the strong working relationship between Wabtec and the MTA,” Wabtec Vice President for Engineering Alan Hamilton said. “Our collaboration positioned this locomotive as the ideal solution to maintain the subway system efficiently and reliably.”

• Wabtec Acquires Frauscher
• Wabtec 3Q25: ‘Continued Growth in Backlog, Sales, Margin and Earnings’
• Wabtec, Vale Partner to Test Ethanol Use in Locomotives
• MTA 2025–2029 Capital Plan Gets Greenlight
• NY Governor Signs FY26 State Budget Into Law
• Kawasaki to Supply 378 More ‘B’ Division Cars to NYCT

The post Watch: NY MTA Exercises Option for More Wabtec R255s appeared first on Railway Age.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced Jan. 7 a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)—Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Competition: Review of Part 1144, Docket Ex Parte No. 788—which, if finalized following public comment, will repeal a 40-year-old controversial rule imposed by STB predecessor Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) that was intended to protect captive shippers from railroad market power abuse.

The rule to be repealed has proven for captive shippers a remedy impossible to satisfy yet promised them by Congress when it partially deregulated railroads 45 years ago in 1980 (the Staggers Rail Act). In announcing the NPRM, the STB said it “has never issued a prescription under Part 1144.”

All 3 current members of the 5-member STB—Republican Chairperson Patrick J. Fuchs, Republican Michelle A. Schultz and Democrat Karen J. Hedlund—voted in favor of the NPRM. Fuchs said of the NPRM, “This proposal would embrace market forces, enable meaningful choice for American businesses as provided under the statutes, and eliminate regulatory barriers unnecessarily stifling rail competition. By proposing to remove these regulations, the Board would return to the text of statutes that advance excellence, entrepreneurship, and innovation to support economic growth and supply chain resilience.”

Presidents Barack Obama (2016), Joe Biden (2021) and POTUS 47 (2025) each have urged federal agencies to reduce competitive barriers. The STB said the Jan. 7 NPRM “follows the March 2025 launch of the Justice Department’s Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force in response to [POTUS 47’s] Executive Order 14192, which declares a policy that federal agencies “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.”

The rule to be repealed was born of honest intentions, but its implementation was flawed, which a brief history will explain.

When freight railroads were partially deregulated in 1980, they were mired in spreading bankruptcy, deferred maintenance and poor economic prospects owing to decades of biased public policy treating them as transportation monopolies while bestowing substantial rights-of-way subsidies on barge and motor carrier rivals that faced far less economic regulation. Although some railroads remained financially strong, railroading is a network industry where the strongest links are largely dependent on the weakest, of which there were many. Shippers able to shift modes did so.

What remained was a dysfunctional marriage between a financially teetering rail industry and victimized shippers unable to relocate or choose new markets.

A bargain was struck. Congress would loosen the economic regulatory reins on railroads, giving them greater freedom to right-size through mergers and line abandonments, and to adjust prices and practices based on market forces to win back customers. Shippers lacking effective transportation alternatives to rail (captives) would have a cop on the beat to ensure effective competition and, failing that, protections from unreasonable carrier actions.

All stakeholders agreed that competition ensures greater innovation, improved productivity and superior service quality.

Unquestionably, partial economic deregulation restored railroads to financial health—especially beneficial being redundancy-eliminating mergers that reduced the number of major (Class I) railroads from scores to just 6 today, causing the number of captive shippers to grow substantially. Not all shippers, however, found the cop on the beat as effective as promised even though the 1980 Staggers Act (49 USC 11102(c) and 49 USC 10705) authorized the ICC (now STB) to prescribe remedies where it finds them “practicable and in the public interest [or] necessary to provide competitive rail service.” And shippers saw little relief from a different competitive access statute (49 USC 10705).

This means that if a captive shipper can demonstrate a need for competitive access, the STB may prescribe a more competitive freight rate; or allow a second railroad to serve the shipper over the incumbent’s tracks; or order the incumbent railroad to interchange the shipper’s traffic to a second railroad at a convenient junction point.

As stakeholders struggled to implement the Staggers Rail Act, the National Industrial Transportation League (the nation’s largest shipper organization) and Association of American Railroads collaborated on recommendations adopted by the ICC to give specificity to the law, which the ICC did in 1985 (49 CFR 1144).

The implementation wasn’t as shippers expected. In one of the ICC’s most controversial decisions, known as the Midtec Paper, the ICC ruled in 1985 that to gain the promised remedy, a captive shipper must prove affirmatively that its railroad is engaged in, or is likely to engage in, market power abuse or anticompetitive conduct. Meeting the burden proved unobtainable; shippers won not a single case.

Years of shipper lobbying encouraged the STB to revisit its Part 1144 rule and relax the standard of proof. In 2016, the STB opened a new rulemaking (Ex Parte No. 711, Sub-No. 1) in which the STB proposed a rule that set two new regulatory standards, on a case-by-case approach but not having to demonstrate market power abuse or anticompetitive conduct.

In a dissent, Republican member Ann D. Begeman said, “How can the Board provide fair and consistent switching judgments on a case-by-case basis without creating complexity and cost impacts on the one hand, and not introducing more unpredictability to the rail network on the other?”

Notwithstanding that the STB already employed a case-by-case approach for other authorities, progress stalled as Begeman became chairperson in 2017. From 2023-2025, a renewed effort to craft an improved rule met railroad resistance and was remanded by a federal appellate court. Since, the effort has lain fallow.

Unlike prior efforts, today’s decision does not establish new regulatory standards but instead returns to the text of the Staggers Rail Act and continues the STB’s tradition of a case-by-case approach to often highly fact-specific situations.

The STB said its Jan. 7 NPRM would “restore the Board’s discretion to consider—on a case-by-case basis—the merits of each case brought before the agency under the statutory standards set by Congress. The statutes recognize that competitive access issues do not have a one-size-fits-all solution and allow the Board to consider these cases in the full context of a carrier’s operations, competitive situation, and other considerations.”

The late E. Hunter Harrison, who led four railroads—Illinois Central, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific and CSX—embraced increased shipper options such as through reciprocal switching (known as “interswitching” in Canada).

In an interview with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono in 2015, when Harrison was named Railway Age’s Railroader of the Year, Harrison said: “A lot of railroaders have been scared of the term ‘open access,’ and I don’t know why. [I]f an individual carrier … provides the right type of service for the customer, at an appropriate fair price, we have nothing to worry about. If we do not provide the service, we should not be resistant to someone [else] coming and providing that service.”

Robert G. Szabo, now retired and who served as executive director and legal counsel for Consumers United for Rail Equity (CURE)—a captive shipper organization that nearly succeeded in placing railroads more under the antitrust laws—told Railway Age, “If the STB abandons its unachievable competitive access test, this will be a great day for captive rail customers. A few competitive access cases may need to be brought to prove relief is achievable, but the real benefit will be more-robust negotiations as shippers and railroads strive to work out their transportation arrangements in the normal business marketplace.”

A currently practicing captive shipper attorney, asking not to be named, told Railway Age, “The NPRM places captive shippers and railroads more on a level playing field. However, captive shippers have been burned on this issue for so long that they are wary of the outcome.”

Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner is author of “Railroads & Economic Regulation,” available from Simmons-Boardman Books, 800-228-9670.

The post Midtec’s Demise; Competition’s Rise appeared first on Railway Age.

Smith, who joined the company in 2009 and took the throttle as CEO in 2018, has assumed the additional responsibilities of Executive Chairman of the Board at Watco, which provides transportation, material handling and warehousing, logistics, and railcar repair and maintenance for customers throughout North America and Australia.

Baden, who previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is now Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Watco Board. He has been with Watco since 2004.

Nielsen, formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, has transitioned to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, overseeing finance, treasury, capital allocation, and investor relations functions. He joined the company in 2015.

Rachael Peterson remains Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, leading Watco’s operations, safety, marketing and communications, and people services. Nick Coomes also continues as Executive Vice President and Chief Solutions Officer, leading sales and customer solutions, project design and engineering, real estate and industrial development, and information technology. Peterson joined Watco in 2006, and Coomes in 2014.

The changes, effective Jan. 1, were “designed to further strengthen the company’s management team and support its commitment to safe customer service and long-term growth,” according to Watco, which celebrated 40 years of service in 2023.

“I’m honored to continue to build on Watco’s strong foundation,” Smith said. “The culture here is truly special. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work alongside this team and to help position Watco for its next chapter of success.”

Rick Webb, former longtime Executive Chair of the Watco Board, noted that he was “excited about our continued success, with Dan and his leadership team at the helm.”

“Our Watco Team continues to perform at a high level, delivering historic value creation for our customers, team members, and stakeholders,” said Webb, who was selected by Railway Age readers as an Influential Leader in 2021 and by the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association as a Short Line Hall of Fame inductee in 2024. “These leadership changes confirm my belief that we have the best team we have ever had and the best team in the industry.”

• Intramotev, Watco Forge TugVolt Commercial Agreement
• Watco Logistics Acquires Colossal Transport Solutions
• Watco Adding GLC to Small-Road Portfolio
• Developing Our Leaders

The post For Watco, Changes at the Top appeared first on Railway Age.

Dear Customers: As I shared, Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) filed their merger application with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, as we headed into the holiday. We have now reviewed the details, and what we found confirms that this merger poses serious risks to competition, service and your supply chain.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Unrealistic Growth Promises: The combined volumes of UP and NS have declined by 13% over the past decade. Yet UP now promises 12% volume growth in just three years, almost entirely from converting truck shippers to rail shippers. STB statistics show that UP already gets more of its revenue from high rates than any other Class I railroad. When this truck conversion growth doesn’t materialize, you will pay their merger premiums with higher rates.
• Gateway Commitments That Don’t Deliver: UP’s proposed protections are a Trojan Horse designed to get their application approved. BNSF’s customers have learned firsthand that CPKC gateway conditions are not effective. And the Committed Gateway Pricing concept proposed by the UP excludes almost all shippers—only 0.4% of all rail freight would be eligible. Plus, it expires within a few short years, leaving you vulnerable to monopoly pricing.
• Integration Risks: Every major rail merger has caused service disruptions. UP and NS’s “trust us” approach offers no fundamental safeguards against severe supply chain disruptions on a much larger scale. The last time UP led a merger integration in 2008, the STB had to extend its oversight period twice due to the congestion issues it caused in Chicago.

The UP-NS merger application cites over 2,000 letters of support, including about 500 from shippers—but those shippers represent less than 6% of all rail traffic on the U.S. rail network. By contrast, the Rail Customer Coalition—representing shippers responsible for more than half of all rail volume—has stated that the merger would create near-monopoly power, raising costs for manufacturers, farmers, energy producers, and ultimately consumers. Similarly, the Teamsters Rail Conference and the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen, which collectively represent over half of rail workers, warn that the merger would reduce competitiveness and increase safety risks.

These numbers matter. The voices opposing the merger represent the vast majority of rail customers and workers who interact with UP and NS on a daily basis. As more stakeholders review the application, opposition is growing. The UP-NS application is so light on substance that several key stakeholders have already asked the STB to reject it as incomplete. Whenever the STB ultimately accepts the application as complete, it will release a timeline that includes a short comment period. This will be your chance to speak up and protect your interests.

Thank you for your continued collaboration as we work to preserve a competitive rail network. For further information and analysis on the UP-NS merger application, visit here, and we will continue to share key information as it becomes available.

Sincerely,
Tom G. Williams
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, BNSF

The UP-NS merger, among other key industry topics, will be discussed in detail at Railway Age’s Next-Gen Freight Rail Conference, to be held March 10, 2026, at the Union League Club of Chicago. Williams will be among the featured speakers.

• UP+NS Merger Application ‘Complete’?
• BNSF, CN, CPKC, CSX, NGFA: UP+NS Merger Application ‘Incomplete’
• BNSF to STB: First Cure UP’s ‘Old Harms’
• BNSF vs. UP, Take Three
• BNSF: UP+NS ‘Costly, Unnecessary, Anti-Competitive, Bad for the U.S. Economy’

The post UP-NS Merger Application Filed: What it Means for BNSF Customers appeared first on Railway Age.

The acquisition of Wells Fargo’s rail operating lease portfolio by a joint venture of GATX and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. and its institutional partners (collectively, Brookfield Infrastructure) closed Jan. 1, 2026, according to GATX. The portfolio comprised some 101,000 railcars, and the purchase price was approximately $4.2 billion, reflecting the fleet count at closing. GATX said it anticipates the transaction will be “modestly accretive to earnings per share in the first full year after closing, with more substantial contributions expected in subsequent years.”

In May 2025, the joint venture partners entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the portfolio, and on Dec. 23, they announced receipt of all required regulatory clearances to complete the transaction.

“This marks an important milestone for GATX,” said Robert C. Lyons, President and CEO of GATX. “With this acquisition, we not only expand our North American platform and enhance our ability to serve customers with a more diversified fleet, but we also maintain the financial flexibility to continue pursuing investment opportunities across our global businesses. I believe the acquisition positions GATX for continued growth and value creation for our shareholders. I want to thank our partner and employees for their tireless efforts and support throughout the process. We are well positioned to ensure a seamless transition while delivering the high level of service our customers expect.”

Separately, Brookfield Infrastructure completed the acquisition of Wells Fargo’s rail finance lease portfolio, which includes approximately 22,000 railcars and about 400 locomotives, according to GATX. GATX will serve as manager of the railcars in the joint venture, as well as the finance lease railcars and locomotives directly owned by Brookfield Infrastructure.

Additional transaction details and full-year 2026 guidance will be shared during GATX’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, the date for which will be announced later this month.

BofA Securities acted as the sole financial advisor to GATX and Brookfield Infrastructure. Mayer Brown is serving as legal counsel to GATX, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel to Brookfield Infrastructure.

• GATX: ‘Rail North America’s Fleet Utilization Remains Strong’
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• Rail Equipment Call: Decision Paralysis Continues

Philadelphia, Pa.-based Enviri on Jan. 5 reported the retirement of Chief Financial Officer Tom Vadaketh and the planned appointment of Pete Minan as CFO of New Enviri concurrently with New Enviri’s planned spinoff into a standalone publicly traded company. Minan will serve as a consultant to Enviri as New Enviri prepares for the spin-off.

Harsco Corporation in June 2023 reported changing its name to Enviri, which reflected its transformation into an “environmental solutions company that provides services to manage, recycle, and beneficially reduce waste and byproducts across many industries.” The company began trading under the NYSE ticker “NVRI” and has operated out of more than 150 locations in 30-plus countries.

Enviri’s three divisions—Harsco Rail, a global supplier for track maintenance and construction management; Harsco Environmental, an environmental services and solutions provider for the steel industry; and Clean Earth, an environmental and regulated waste management services provider—continued to operate under their existing names.

The spinoff of New Enviri will be effected in connection with the Enviri’s sale of Clean Earth to Veolia Environnement SA. According to Enviri, the Clean Earth sale “remains on track” for completion in mid-2026, and Tom Vadaketh will remain CFO of Enviri until the transactions are completed.

“We are grateful for Tom’s impact on the organization and the strength he has brought to our finance function, especially throughout our successful strategic alternatives initiative,” Enviri Chairman and CEO Nick Grasberger said. “Tom is guiding the company through a time of significant change, providing steady leadership, technical expertise, and disciplined financial stewardship, and leaving a legacy of financial discipline, increased engagement, and professional development for our finance team. He has positioned the company well for its next chapter, and we wish him well in his retirement.”

“I am pleased to welcome Pete back as the CFO of New Enviri as we position Harsco Environmental and Rail for success and build a company that creates value for shareholders and customers,” said Russell Hochman, Enviri President and Chief Operating Officer and CEO designate of New Enviri. “Pete’s financial acumen, deep understanding of our businesses, and strategic mindset make him the ideal financial leader for New Enviri.”

“Harsco Environmental and Rail are market-leading providers of innovative solutions for the steel and rail industries, and they have a significant opportunity to drive enhanced financial performance and sustainable growth under their new company structure,” said Pete Minan, who joined Harsco Corporation as CFO in October 2014 and served in the role for seven years until his retirement in October 2021; he returned to Enviri on an interim basis as CFO in August 2022 and served through October 2023. “I am eager to hit the ground running and look forward to partnering with Russell and the leadership team to ensure a successful and seamless separation and to create value for our New Enviri shareholders.”

Additional members of New Enviri’s leadership team, as well as its Board of Directors, will be announced at a later date, according to Enviri, which noted that it “expects to file a Form 10 registration statement for New Enviri with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the New Enviri spinoff, which remains subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.”

TX Rail Products, an Ashland, Ky.-based supplier of rail and rail products to the U.S. coal mining industry, short lines and tunneling contractors, has issued shares of its no par value common stock in a private placement transaction.

“Under the terms of the placement, the company issued 6,000,000 shares of no par value common stock at $0.30 per share to a single institutional investor for gross proceeds of $1.8 million,” TX Rail Products reported Jan. 5. “As part of the transaction, the investor also has the right to purchase 4,000,000 shares of the no par common stock at a price of $0.50 per share for a period of 36 months. Both the initial investment and the warrant exercise price represent a premium to the current market price of $0.2450 per share as of the close of trading on Dec. 23, 2025.”

TX Rail Products said it plans to use the proceeds for working capital purposes.

“This additional capital strengthens our balance sheet and positions us to secure the inventory needed to meet growing customer demand,” TX Rail Products Chairman and CEO William “Buck” Shrewsbury said. “With clear visibility into our order pipeline, we can strategically build inventory and take advantage of current market opportunities. Furthermore, this transaction reflects investor confidence in our growth trajectory and long-term value creation.”

The post Supply Side: GATX, Enviri/New Enviri, TX Rail Products appeared first on Railway Age.

BNSF has delivered the first load to its new intermodal ramp in Oklahoma City, carrying freight for customer Hobby Lobby, the Class I announced via a social media post. Locomotive Engineer Dane Sargent and Conductor Kolic Edwards brought it home on Dec. 31.

The new 42-acre facility is a result of BNSF’s partnership with the retailer, which was looking for more efficient movement of its loaded containers from the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach to the network of Hobby Lobby distribution centers in OKC.

Other business will also be able to use the facility for export to the West Coast.

UP recently announced that GPS tracking, developed by supply chain technology partner Blume Global, is now embedded in the Class I’s 53-foot EMP and UMAX domestic containers, which are owned in partnership with other Class I railroads.

Together, the combined fleets represent the largest GPS-enabled, rail-owned container fleet in North America, according to UP. Central to the upgrade is Blume’s enhanced GPS intermodal platform, providing customers with real-time, smarter visibility into their shipments.

Key benefits for customers:

• “Real-time notifications for critical deliveries.
• “Instantaneous alerts for load/empty and location status, reducing street dwell time (the time period a container is outside of the ramp in the customer’s possession, either loaded or empty).
• “Customized geofencing, technology that creates virtual boundaries around real-world locations to enhance street visibility for optimal asset utilization.
• “Streamlined communication, resulting in fewer phone calls and manual updates.
• “Application Programming Interface (API) connectivity for full data integration.”

These tools, UP says, “help customers resolve issues faster, plan more effectively and reduce manual follow-ups, leading to an enhanced and reliable shipping experience.”

“This is another meaningful step as we deliver the best customer experience possible,” said Kenny Rocker, Executive Vice President-Marketing and Sales, Union Pacific Railroad. “By combining GPS-enabled containers with real-time data and smarter visibility tools, we’re providing the transparency and reliability our customers depend on.”

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