U.S. carloads, intermodal experience weekly decline

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 9, 2019, was relatively flat, with carload declines cancelling out intermodal gains. For the week ending Feb. 16, carloads and intermodal both took hits, according to figures released by Association of American Railroads (AAR). Total carloads were 250,236, down 3.9% compared with the same week in 2018, while intermodal volume was 273,679 containers and trailers, down 2.1% compared to 2018. Combined U.S. weekly rail traffic was 523,915 carloads and intermodal units, down 3% compared with the same week last year.

Simmons-Boardman Rail Group named Railway Interchange media partner

Railway Interchange, the largest exhibition and technical conference in North America, on Feb. 20 announced that Simmons-Boardman Rail Group, publisher of Railway Age, Railway Track & Structures (RT&S) and International Railway Journal (IRJ), is the official media partner for 2019. Railway Interchange is scheduled on Sunday, Sept. 22 through Wednesday, Sept. 25 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minn.

NPRS expanding to Grand Forks

Northern Plains Rail Services (NPRS) is set to begin construction later this year on the Grand Plains Rail Center, a new railcar servicing and repair facility at Grand Forks, N. Dak. The facility will complement NPRS’s existing repair facility at Erskine, Minn., as well as its mobile car repair operations in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Saskatchewan and Alberta provinces in Canada.

Keasling joins RGCX

Rail industry veteran Mike Keasling has joined Marietta, Ga.-based railcar leasing company RGCX as Vice Presiden, Sales & Marketing. Based in Chicago, he will take on a national role “focused on deepening existing and developing new client relationships across the industry,” the company said in announcing his appointment.

Alberta inks CBR deal with CN, CP

The Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission (APMC) has signed contracts with CN and Canadian Pacific to utilize 4,400 DOT117 tank cars to transport oilsands crude (bitumen) to U.S. and international markets. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced the plan, which also includes locomotive leases, on Feb. 19.

FRA pulls funding plug on California HSR

For all intents and purposes, California’s high-speed rail project is dead. At least that’s the consensus among several observers of the U.S. high-speed rail scene, which, sadly, appears to be based more upon fantasy than reality.

45-G permanence inches closer

On Feb. 11, HR 510, which calls for permanence of the 45-G short line tax credit, formally received its 100th co-sponsor. The bill, introduced Jan. 11 by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), “has rapidly garnered significant bi-partisan support, as it has every Congress since the credit was introduced in 2004,” said the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA). “House support for this legislation is growing at a record pace, with 106 co-sponsors in just four weeks.”

Intermodal-only gains kick off February

U.S. rail freight traffic rose a negligible one-tenth of 1% in the first week of February 2019, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Feb. 13. An intermodal gain was almost completely negated by a drop in carload traffic.

BNSF 2019 capex: Up 5% to $3.57 billion

BNSF Railway will invest $3.57 billion in capital in 2019—a 5% increase from 2018—toward “maintaining and expanding its network with an unwavering focus on operating a safe railroad that meets customers’ demands.”

Virgin Trains USA scuttles IPO

Miami-based Virgin Trains USA LLC, previously known as Brightline before it rebranded itself following a 2018 partnership forged with Virgin Enterprises Ltd. and founder Richard Branson, has canceled issuing the IPO scheduled for the week of Feb. 11, saying it will pursue other fundraising options. No indication was given whether it will reconsider an IPO in the near future.

LOAD MORE