MB Rail to Launch Kentucky Logistics Facility

Midwest & Bluegrass Rail (MB Rail) and the Maysville-Mason County (Ky.) Port Authority have teamed to develop a new multimodal logistics facility, to be served by CSX.   With access to state

Andy Ash, retired Director of Dangerous Goods at the Railway Association of Canada, is the 2023 Holden-Proefrock Award winner for career achievement in hazmat safety. (RAC Photograph)

AAR Honors 28 Hazmat Safety Leaders

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on Oct. 18 reported that Andy Ash, retired Director of Dangerous Goods at the Railway Association of Canada (RAC), and 27 shippers have earned industry awards for their commitment to the safe transport of hazardous materials (hazmat).

ASLRRA Legal and Office Administrator Kathi Birch

Birch Joins ASLRRA as New Legal and Office Administrator

The American Short Line and Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recently announced that Kathi Birch has joined as the new Legal and Office Administrator. She will be responsible for a range of administrative and paralegal duties, and will report to Senior Vice President, Law and General Counsel Sarah Yurasko.

Metra: $169.3MM CMAQ Grant for BEMUs

Metra announced Oct. 17 that it will receive a $169.3 million federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) grant to purchase BEMUs (battery-electric multiple-unit) zero-emission trainsets, making the agency one of the first in the nation to operate such equipment.

NTSB’s derailment diagram of the BNSF derailment in Minnesota earlier this year. (Courtesy of NTSB)

UPDATE: NTSB Releases Memo for Determination of BNSF Minnesota Derailment 

On Monday, Oct. 16, NTSB Newsroom announced via Twitter that it has opened a docket “for its investigation of the March 30, 2023 derailment of a BNSF Railway freight train on the Marshall District in Raymond, Minnesota.”

National Steel Car Exonerated in NS Derailment, Investigation Closed (Updated Oct. 18 with additional NTSB Information)

Train consist makeup, not defective wheelsets, caused the March 4, 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in Springfield, Ohio. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on April 14 cancelled EI (Equipment

AAR: U.S. Intermodal Up, Carloads Down in Week 41

For the week ending Oct. 14, 2023 (Week 41), total U.S. rail traffic was 492,781 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.5% from the prior-year period, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Oct. 18. It is the fifth consecutive week of gains for intermodal units while carloads took a dip.

SIR Receives First R211S Cars

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Oct. 18 rolled out a five-car set of “standard” (non-open-gangway) Kawasaki R211S rapid transit cars for service on MTA Staten Island Railway (SIR) beginning

Patrick Whitehead, Executive Vice-President and Chief Networking Operating Officer, CN (left); and Derek Taylor, Executive Vice-President and Chief Field Operating Officer, CN (right).

Whitehead, Taylor to Succeed Harris at CN

CN on Oct. 18 announced the appointment of Patrick Whitehead as Executive Vice-President and Chief Networking Operating Officer and the appointment of Derek Taylor as Executive Vice-President and Chief Field Operating Officer, effective Nov. 15. Whitehead and Taylor will succeed Ed Harris, who will take on a consultant role until March 30, 2024, to “ensure a seamless transition.”

Cara Chell, diesel mechanic, is photographed in the Winnipeg CP service yard April 17, 2019.

RAC Announces Scholarship Recipients

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) on Oct. 15 announced the first scholarship recipients from the proceeds of its Women in Rail 2023 conference, which took place in June.

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