FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE JULY 2025 ISSUE: Consolidation: “The action or process of making something stronger or more solid,” or, “The action or process of combining a number of things into
“California Dreamin’” was one of the iconic songs of the sixties. It was about an Angelino enduring a New York winter and dreaming about his warm hometown (the inverse of the scenario in Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”). Barry McGuire recorded the original version in 1963, and the 1966 version by The Mamas & the Papas with Bud Shank’s flute solo defined the song. Nostalgia aside, there seems to be a new custom in part of the Golden State: “California Starvin’” as practiced on Amtrak’s San Joaquin trains between Bakersfield at the south end and the Bay Area and Sacramento at the north end.
Most “transit railroads” in the United States (and GO Transit, which serves Canada’s Toronto area) provide a full span of service on most or all their lines, although there are a few
As the proverb provides, “Be careful for what you wish,” as wishes sometimes deliver unintended consequences. Railroads may have experienced a wishes backfire July 8 when the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of
Pricing expectations stalled in second-quarter 2025 and remain below our rail shipper survey’s long-term average. Business growth fell modestly sequentially to levels not seen since COVID. Economic confidence improved marginally, though well below the survey average. 47% of shippers would support a transcontinental merger. We are cautious for the rail group into earnings, though we favor Union Pacific (UP).
Amtrak’s long-term closure of one of the tunnel tubes (Amtrak calls them “lines”) under the East River between Penn Station and Queens remains controversial. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, other elected officials in the Empire State, and rider-advocates in New York and New Jersey have called instead for the work to be done on nights and weekends, similar to the way the L-train tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn on the subway system’s Canarsie Line was repaired in 2020-21: in only one year and without having to resort to a 15-month complete shutdown, which area residents feared.
There has been much talk lately about increasing participation by the private sector when it comes to running passenger trains in the United States. Brightline’s Florida operation and the company’s efforts to
FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE JULY 2025 ISSUE: At the 11th annual Rail Insights conference, participants from the Class I railroads and government and equipment sectors discussed the industry for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. Following are the key conference takeaways.
WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE, JULY 2025 ISSUE: What is more delightfully amusing than a paradox—that we park on driveways and drive on parkways; that foul is fair when batted baseballs collide with a
Without volume and market share growth, the Class I’s may be at risk—or be forced to look at merging. Investors continue to await the next leg of Class I railroad earnings growth.
