Articles by Railfanning.org News Wire

No Picture
BNSF

BNSF Logistics Selected to Top Ten List

August 19, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
SPRINGDALE, Ark. — BNSF Logistics, LLC has been named one of the top logistics providers for the sixth consecutive year by readers of Inbound Logistics magazine in its annual “Top 10 3PL Excellence” awards. More than 6,000 votes were cast in this year’s survey, for over 400 unique third-party logistics providers. “Inbound Logistics readers say great 3PL relationships are built not just on cost savings but on consistent customer service. Strategic supply chain vision is also a key measurement of 3PL excellence,” noted Felecia Stratton, Editor of Inbound Logistics. “Inbound Logistics readers were effusive in their praise of BNSF Logistics,
No Picture
Commuter Rail

WMATA: Metro Implements Stricter Hiring Standards

August 19, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Metro has implemented stricter hiring standards, including applicants for frontline and safety sensitive positions. The new standards went into effect earlier this month. “Our frontline employees are the face of Metro,” said Metro General Manager John Catoe. “We want the strongest applicants for every open position. These new hiring standards are meant to help us find only the best and brightest employees to help move more than one million customers each day.” Under the new hiring standards, job applicants for “frontline positions” will be disqualified from the applicant pool for any number of reasons, including one or more
No Picture
Union Pacific

Union Pacific Marks Silver Anniversary of Its First Southern Powder River Basin Coal Train

August 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
OMAHA, Neb. — Twenty-five years ago on Aug. 16, the first Union Pacific and former Chicago & North Western (C&NW) coal train moved out of Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) coal field over a new 107-mile rail line connecting Union Pacific to the region. The C&NW merged with Union Pacific in 1995. Since the line was opened between Joyce, Neb., and Shawnee Junction, Wyo., in 1984, several milestones have been met including the operation of the 100,000th train March 17, 2001, and the movement of the 200,000th loaded coal train May 10, 2009, out of the SPRB. “Capital investment
No Picture
STB

New STB Chairman Sworn Into Office

August 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Daniel R. Elliott III was sworn in Aug. 13 as the Board’s chairman, pledging to bring an open mind and sense of fairness to the Board’s economic regulation of railroads. Elliott, 46, served for 16 years as associate general counsel to the United Transportation Union. Earlier, he practiced at law firms in Washington and Cleveland. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in political science in 1985 and earned a law degree from Ohio State College of Law in 1989. He was nominated to the Board by President Barack Obama on June 20, 2009 for
No Picture
Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Provides $100,000 Grant to Penn State Altoona for Railroad Engineering Degree Program

August 13, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
ALTOONA, Pa. — The Norfolk Southern Foundation has given $100,000 to Penn State Altoona to assist in the development of a four-year Rail and Transit Engineering (RTE) degree program. This innovative Bachelor of Science program will include existing Penn State civil engineering courses, coupled with new customized courses in rail business, mechanical systems, track, operations, communications, and regulation. The program is designed to produce graduates who will quickly acclimate to the rail industry and its suppliers. “On behalf of the entire Penn State Altoona community, I express heartfelt appreciation to Norfolk Southern for the vital role it is playing in
No Picture
Commuter Rail

WMATA Train Kills Man on Tracks

August 12, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
ARLINGTON, Va. — A 45-year-old Arlington man was killed after being an Orange Line Metro train at the West Falls Church-VT/UVA Metrorail station. At 11:18 a.m. Aug. 12, the six-car train headed in the direction of New Carrollton struck the resident, who “was on the tracks intentionally” as the train pulled into the station., Metro said.
No Picture
Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Selects Greencastle Site for New Franklin County Regional Intermodal Facility, Supporting Crescent Corridor Initiative

August 12, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern said it will construct a new intermodal terminal in Greencastle, Pa., to serve the Mid-Atlantic region, as part of the railroad’s multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish a high-speed intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast. The $95 million facility, at which freight moving in containers and trailers will be transferred between train and truck, will occupy a 200-acre site adjacent to the planned Antrim Commons Business Park and is expected to open in late 2011. “Because of its strategic location to key markets in the Mid-Atlantic region, the new Franklin
No Picture
Amtrak

Second Amtrak Cascades Train between Seattle and Vancouver to Begin Service Aug. 19

August 12, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Province of British Columbia, and Amtrak announced that the long awaited second daily Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. will begin service on Wednesday, August 19, 2009. The second train is an extension of the existing service between Bellingham and Vancouver, B.C. “Amtrak typically needs 90 days to start up service, so getting the second roundtrip train to BC going so quickly is a major accomplishment for everyone involved,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “The August launch of the new service
No Picture
Norfolk Southern

Hart Sworn in as NTSB Member

August 12, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Christopher A. Hart was sworn in as a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Member Hart joins the Board after a long career in transportation safety, including a previous term as a Member of the NTSB. Most recently, Member Hart was Deputy Director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight at the Federal Aviation Administration. He was previously the FAA Assistant Administrator for the Office of System Safety. He served as a Member of the NTSB from 1990 to 1993. After leaving the Board, he served as Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He had been