Rail traffic continues to drop
For the week ending Nov. 7, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 539,165 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.2% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Nov. 11, 2015.
For the week ending Nov. 7, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 539,165 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.2% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Nov. 11, 2015.
In reporting weekly U.S. rail traffic as well as volumes for October 2015 and the first 10 months of 2015, AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said that “a divide has opened up between the service sector, which appears to be fairly robust in many respects, and manufacturing, which appears to be facing increasingly strong headwinds, including international turmoil and slowdowns in the energy sector.”
Rep. Reid Ribble’s (R-Wisc.) controversial proposed amendment to H.R. 3763, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015, which would allow heavier trucks on interstate highways in an effort to save shippers time and money, was rejected by the House on Nov. 3, 2015.
For the week ending Oct. 24, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 553,144 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.6% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Oct. 28, 2015.
The Association of American Railroads on Oct. 27, 2015 awarded the 2015 Professional Environmental Excellence Award, “the highest honor for environmental professionals in the railroad industry,” to CSX’s Raghu Chatrathi, one of eight nominated.
For the week ending Oct. 10, 2015, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 556,233 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Oct. 14, 2015.
For the week ending Sept. 26, 2015, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 566,700 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.8% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Sept. 30, 2015.
In reporting U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Sep. 12, 2015, the Association of American Railroads noted that carloads and intermodal units, at 510,797, were down 11.9% compared with the same week last year because the week contained the Labor Day Holiday, and the 2014 week did not.
A new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that most U.S. railroads will not be able to implement Positive Train Control (PTC) technology by the current Dec. 31, 2015 deadline, and that legislation extending the deadline is necessary.
For the week ending Sept. 2, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 567,206 carloads and intermodal units, up 8% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Sept. 9, 2015.