NTSB, TSB issue joint CBR safety recommendations

The National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, on Jan. 23, 2014 issued a series of recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), both of which are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, to address the safety risks of crude by rail (CBR). The recommendations are not unusual or groundbreaking; that NTSB and TSB have issued them jointly is indicative of increased cooperation among U.S. and Canadian regulatory bodies regarding CBR.

AAR CEO: Room for both CBR and pipelines

Contrary to some speculation, North American railroads stand ready to do their share in supplying crude-by-rail (CBR) service to complement oil transport by pipeline, Association of American Railroads President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger said Jan. 23, 2014.

U.S. freight traffic rebounds strongly

Up the first week in 2014, and down the second, U.S. freight traffic reversed the trend yet again to the plus side in the third week ending Jan. 18, 2014, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, Jan. 23.

U.S. freight traffic falls in 2014’s second week

Both U.S. freight carload traffic and U.S. intermodal volume failed to gain ground during the week ending Jan. 11, 2014, measured against the comparable week in 2013, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, Jan. 16.

New AAR Silver Associate Member

Saguenay, Quebec-based Entretien Ferroviaire Boivin, Inc. has joined the Association of American Railroads as a Silver Associate Member.

New Year starts right for U.S. freight traffic

For the first week of 2014 ending Jan. 4, 2014, both U.S. freight carload traffic and U.S. intermodal volume gained ground over the comparable week in 2013, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, Jan. 9.

Commentary

2014: Railroads face problematic Washington landscape

Take it from an iron horse’s mouth that if it ain’t one damn thing, it’s another, and 2014 will present for railroads a repast of challenges on Capitol Hill, before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and federal courts, and at the labor bargaining table.

Strong Christmas week for U.S. freight traffic

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 28, 2013 advanced strongly, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. U.S. freight carload traffic gained 8.1% when measured against the comparable week in 2012, while U.S. intermodal volume did even better, up 10.6%.

U.S. freight traffic stays mixed in December

U.S. freight carload volume declined, while intermodal gained ground, during the week ending Dec. 14, 2013, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday, Dec. 19, making it two weeks in a row with such a split result.

U.S. intermodal up, carloads down, in latest week

U.S. freight traffic for the week ending Dec. 7, 2013 returned to a pattern seen most often in the first three quarters of the year, but not much recently: gains in intermodal volume, declines in carload traffic.

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