General Information
COVID-19 and the rail economy
(Source: Railway Age, May 8, 2020) NEW YORK — Too much ink (printer ink in the modern era) has already been spilt trying to find an angle on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the national and global economy, the consumer, the business segments most impacted by the terrible crisis (think aerospace, restaurants, the…
Read MoreUP shuts down Cold Connect
(Source: Railway Age, May 10, 2020) NEW YORK — Union Pacific on May 8, 2020 shut down its Cold Connect service for perishables traffic from the West Coast to the East Coast. Cold Connect began in January 2017 with the acquisition from Railex of three cold storage and distribution facilities in Delano, Calif.; Wallula, Wash.;…
Read MoreTexas Central praises court ruling declaring it a railroad
(Source: Progressive Railroading 05/08/2020) Texas Central officials yesterday hailed a Texas Appeals Court ruling yesterday that determined the bullet-train company is a both a railroad and an interurban electric railway. The company is developing a high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. Yesterday’s court decision stems from a legal challenge from landowners along the route in…
Read MoreSpecial freight rail cars could travel at high speeds, federal research shows
(Source: Transport Topics, April 21, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — For at least the past decade, America’s railroads have been toying with the notion of freight trains moving at speeds approaching some passenger bullet trains. Now, a new Federal Railroad Administration demonstration study has concluded that specially designed “higher speed freight truck” railcars could be designed…
Read MoreHoffa: American workers need protection
(Source: Column by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, published in the Detroit News on May 6, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect hardworking Americans’ everyday life. Despite a plateauing of new cases, the toll this scourge is enacting on the public is immense. That’s why the Teamsters are pushing even…
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