CP’s next move?
A bid for CSX does not suggest that all of CP’s growth potential lies eastward.
Author: Bruce E. Kelly
Commentary
Signals lit for Lamphier and company
On a recent drive past BNSF’s Hauser Yard, just a few miles north of my home in Post Falls, Idaho, I noticed the routine glow of signals standing alongside main tracks that lead into the run-through, semi-enclosed refueling facility.
UP begins Canada-to-California CBR service
Union Pacific’s Can-Am Corridor linking western Canada with the western U.S. entered a new era on Nov. 24, 2014, when the first unit train of Canadian crude rolled across the international border at Eastport, Idaho, headed for a distribution terminal near Bakersfield, Calif. The 97 loaded tank cars, owned by Phillips 66, were powered by two locomotives on the head end, plus a single distributed power unit on the rear.
Is coal on a comeback?
With utility losses stabilizing and global demand still strong, carloads are edging upward.
BNSF plans second bridge over Idaho chokepoint
One of the more challenging capacity constraints affecting BNSF’s Northern Corridor is the 4,769-foot long bridge across Lake Pend Oreille outside Sandpoint, Idaho, not far from where BNSF and Montana Rail Link (MRL) converge. BNSF is now looking into the bold concept of building a second bridge, nearly a mile long, adjacent to the existing one.
Cold Train cites BNSF congestion, suspends service
Earlier this year, congestion and trackwork on its Northern Corridor forced BNSF to increase transit times for intermodal shipments between the Pacific Northwest and Chicago, a move which has driven some customers to ship via Union Pacific. Now, a segment of Northwest perishables traffic is looking elsewhere as well.
Commentary
What history can tell us about things to come
In February 1882, Joseph Osgood allowed shortsightedness to steer him wrong. As newly-appointed chief engineer for the California Southern Railroad (which would later become part of the Santa Fe Railway), he was tasked with constructing a new rail line that would link the seaport city of San Diego with one—or both—of the transcontinental lines that were building their way toward Los Angeles.
Wildfires damage Northwest rail lines
A series of wildfires in central and eastern Washington state, some blazing for nearly a week, have devastated entire communities and left several sections of railway damaged.
Rebuilding an empire
BNSF is expanding its Northern Corridor to meet increasing demand.
Cold Train plans terminal expansion
While BNSF expands capacity along its Northern Corridor, many of its customers are expanding their own facilities to accommodate more of the business that corridor carries. The Port of Quincy in central Washington serves a bustling agriculture region that ships an ever-increasing amount of its products by rail. Key to Quincy’s success is the intermodal terminal where Cold Train Express containers are loaded for pick-up by BNSF high-priority intermodal trains.