North American carload and intermodal traffic for the first 25 weeks of 2025 (ending June 21) was up 2.8% from the prior-year period, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) latest rail traffic report. While the United States and Canada both saw gains, Mexico experienced a loss.
Four witnesses on June 24 discussed how technologies “have the potential to revolutionize the freight and passenger rail transportation” before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Phase I of a new rail yard on the south side of Colonels Island at the Port of Brunswick will be operational by the end of June, doubling rail capacity from five to 10
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has published the annual deflator factor and inflation-adjusted railroad revenue thresholds for 2024.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) now has a Fiscal Year 2026–2031 Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) with investments of $7 billion in public transportation and freight and passenger rail across
VIA Rail, Canada’s national passenger rail service, reaches tentative agreements with Unifor. Also, Siemens is delivering the second of 10 Charger locomotives for EXO commuter rail, which serves the Greater Montreal area; Connecticut Department of Transportation selects HNTB for major upgrades along Metro-North Railroad’s Waterbury Branch Line; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) extends its advertising partnership agreement; and stepped-up fare enforcement efforts are driving positive change at Metro Vancouver’s TransLink.
Representatives from the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency (HDC JPA) Board and labor unions signed workforce agreements in summer 2024 for the 54-mile high-speed rail project from Palmdale to Victorville, Calif., that will serve to link the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and Brightline West lines now under development (see map above). Now, the HDC JPA has selected HDR to provide engineering, design, and advisory services for the project.
The Eno Center for Transportation (Eno), an independent, non-partisan think-tank, has released two new Federal Transit Administration (FTA)-funded reports to “help agencies more effectively recruit, train, and retain professionals who manage large projects,” as well as assess the FTA’s capital cost database and provide recommendations for improving its usefulness.
Pittsburg, Kans.-based Watco Railroad Company Holdings, Inc. (Watco) on March 6 reported plans to add Great Lakes Central Railroad (GLC) to its short line portfolio pending approval by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). It has been an equity investor in the GLC since 2013 and now seeks ownership. The STB on May 30 instituted a proceeding.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on June 23 announced that its Finance Committee has approved the purchase of 316 M-9A railcars. This includes 160 cars to be allocated to the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) fleet and 156 for Metro-North Railroad (MNR).
