The 86-mile MNNR serves the Twin Cities area in Minnesota and interchanges with four Class I’s (BNSF, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Union Pacific, and CN) and Twin Cities & Western. (Photograph Courtesy of Regional Rail via LinkedIn)

3i/Regional Rail Acquires MNNR

Minnesota Commercial Railway (MNNR) is the 17th short line to be added to the portfolio of Regional Rail, the 3i-backed holding company whose operations span nine U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

Daniel Adkins, Project Coordinator for the Hydrogen Locomotive Program, CSX. (Screen Grab from CSX Video)

Watch: CSX, UP Advance Alternative-Power Locomotive Projects

CSX is transitioning more diesel-electric locomotives to hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) power at its Huntington Locomotive Shop in West Virginia. Meanwhile, Union Pacific (UP) and locomotive control systems supplier ZTR will soon yard-test their first jointly built hybrid battery-electric locomotive, following proof of concept work at the railroad’s Jenks Locomotive Shop in North Little Rock, Ark.

SMART on May 31 officially launched passenger service to the new Windsor station. “This long-anticipated expansion marks a major milestone in SMART’s mission to provide sustainable, regional transportation for communities across Sonoma and Marin counties—and is the first of three northern extensions SMART plans to complete in the coming years,” SMART reported via social media. (Screen grab from SMART video)

Transit Briefs: SMART, NC By Train, San Diego MTS/NCTD

Northern California’s Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) launches service to Windsor. Also, NC By Train celebrates 35 years of Carolinian and 30 years of Piedmont passenger rail service; and San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and North County Transit–San Diego Railroad (NCTD) mark a contactless fare-payment milestone.

“We are proud to receive the Contenedor de Plata (Silver Container) award at the XXVI Intermodal Congress 2025, hosted by the Asociación Mexicana del Transporte Intermodal (AMTI),” CN reported via social media on June 1. (CN Photograph)

Class I Briefs: CN/UP/GMXT, UP

The Mexican Intermodal Transport Association (AMTI) recognizes CN for its Falcon Premium interline intermodal service with Union Pacific (UP) and Grupo México Transportes (GMXT, comprising Ferromex, Ferrosur and IMEX). Also, a UP-served soybean crushing plant celebrates its grand opening in Nebraska.

“We’re advancing a new #LaboratoriesCanada facility in #Ottawa—the future home of the Transportation Safety and Technology Science hub, where @TSBCanada and @NRC_CNRC scientists will study safer transportation,” Public Services and Procurement Canada reported via social media on May 30. (Public Services and Procurement Canada rendering)

Canada to Launch Federal Transportation Safety Research Facility

The Government of Canada has marked the first step in its establishment of a Transportation Safety and Technology Science (TSTS) hub, which will serve as a shared space for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and National Research Council of Canada (NRC) “to conduct in-depth investigations and advance scientific research in transportation safety.”

(Courtesy of the STB)

STB Dropping Final Offer Rate Review Rule

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on May 30 issued a decision removing its Final Offer Rate Review (FORR) rule. This deregulatory action, it said, follows a unanimous decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacating the rule.

“It’s a tightknit group,” said UP Senior Manager Dave Victores of the railroaders at the Oakland, Calif., locomotive shop who have achieved a safety milestone. “They actively care and look out for each other.” (UP Photograph)

Class I Briefs: UP, BNSF

Union Pacific’s (UP) locomotive shop in Oakland, Calif., celebrates a safety milestone. Also, BNSF opens nominations for its 2025 Sustainability Awards program.

Americold’s Import-Export Hub groundbreaking ceremony at Port Saint John in New Brunswick, left to right: Jonathan Wahba, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, CPKC; Rob Chambers, President, Americold; Susan Holt, Premier of New Brunswick, Canada; Doug Smith, CEO, DP World Canada; Terry Wilson, President, International Longshoreman’s Association; Craig Bell Estabrooks, President and CEO of Port Saint John; and Donna Reardon, Mayor, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. (Photograph Courtesy Americold)

Watch: CPKC Joins Americold for Port Saint John Facility Groundbreaking

Americold Realty Trust (Americold) on May 29 broke ground at Port Saint John on its first Import-Export Hub to be built in Canada, a project it said will “leverage the maritime logistics capabilities of DP World and the rail logistics solutions of Canadian Pacific Kansas City” (CPKC).

UP’s automated cross tie unloading equipment in action in North Little Rock, Ark. (UP Photograph)

Class I Briefs: UP, NS

Union Pacific (UP) Executive Vice President-Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker issues a “Status of the Railroad” report to customers. Also, Norfolk Southern (NS) uses “silvopasture” to help prevent wildfires at Brosnan Forest in South Carolina.

Jaxport Terminal Railroad (JXPT). (Watco Photograph)

Updated FRA Hours-of-Service Waiver Adds ASLRRA Members

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued an updated hours-of-service waiver decision letter in response to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) request to include three additional members.

LOAD MORE