Recycling used railroad crossties into bio feedstocks is one of the opportunities that UP and Shell will explore together. (Photograph Courtesy of UP)

UP, Shell to Partner on ‘Green’ Initiatives

Union Pacific (UP) and Shell have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow for the exploration and testing of several initiatives slated to help both companies meet their sustainability goals.

‘Rail Insights: Women in Rail’ Event Set for Nov. 10

Railway Age’s inaugural Rail Insights: Women in Rail Conference features a dialogue with the industry’s top women leaders.

Brian L. Glassberg (right) will take over the role of GTX Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary once Deborah A. Golden (left) retires at the end of November.

People News: GATX, UP, WSP (UPDATED)

Deborah A. Golden set to retire from GATX Corporation (GATX). Also, Union Pacific’s (UP) Wendy Whalen earns a Women in Supply Chain Award; and Rob DiAdamo joins WSP as Senior Director of the firm’s Advisory Enterprise and Strategy Team.

Commentary

Celebrating National Hispanic American Heritage Month: A Q&A with Seven Transportation Leaders

A spotlight on Latinx experiences in the railroad industry.

Rail Safety Week Initiatives Accelerate (UPDATED)

As Rail Safety Week (RSW) (Sept. 19-25), a collaborative effort among Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), state OLI programs and rail safety partners across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, continues to be observed, North American carriers and organizations are mobilizing to raise awareness about rail safety and to help stop track tragedies during this annual week-long event. Here is a roundup of the week’s initiatives.

Katie Farmer, President and CEO, BNSF Railway

Farmer Tops Lineup for Inaugural ‘Rail Insights: Women in Rail’ Event

Topping the list of reasons to attend Railway Age’s inaugural Rail Insights: Women in Rail Conference are headliners Katie Farmer, President and CEO of BNSF; Corina Moore, President and CEO of Ontario Northland; and Jean Savage, CEO and President of Trinity Industries, Inc. Need more reasons to participate in this virtual event, to be held Nov. 10? Here are five.

Railroads Prepping for Strike Action: AAR (UPDATED)

The six Class I freight railroads participating in national bargaining will begin taking steps as early as Sept. 12 to manage and secure shipments of hazardous and security-sensitive materials “in light of the possibility of a rail labor strike,” the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said the evening of Sept. 9. The SMART-Transportation Division (TD) and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen spoke out on embargoes* on Sept. 11.

UP’s Green Financing Framework outlines the projects that can be funded with proceeds from its green bond offering. Among them: locomotive modernizations that reduce GHG emissions and increase fuel efficiency. (Photograph Courtesy of UP)

UP Debuts Green Bond Funding

Union Pacific has issued $600 million of green bonds to “fund investments aimed at decarbonizing the company’s footprint and achieving set emissions reduction targets,” the Class I reported Sept. 12.

Students from the Transportation and Supply Chain Institute at the University of Denver took a tour this past July of Pacific Harbor Line and its related port facilities.

University of Denver Graduate Students Visit Pacific Harbor Line

Master’s Degree students in the University of Denver’s (DU) Transportation and Supply Chain Institute toured short line railroad Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) for an entire week in July to “experience the transportation industry at one of its critical nerve centers.”

(Photograph Courtesy of NS)

STB: Five Class I’s Revenue Adequate for 2021

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has found five U.S. Class I railroads to be revenue adequate for 2021: BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Soo Line (the U.S. affiliate of Canadian Pacific) and Union Pacific. Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner weighs in.

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