Railroad News

CSX yesterday recognized 71 customers with the Class I's annual Chemical Safety Excellence Award for their commitment to the safe transportation of hazardous materials.

Representing a wide range of industry segments — including chemicals, biofuels, waste and fertilizers — the award winners shipped a combined 238,000 carloads of hazard materials on the CSX network in 2020 without a non-accidental release due to controllable factors, according to a news release

CSX announced yesterday that its proposed merger with New England’s Pan Am Railways Inc. gained additional support from Maine Gov. Janet Mills as well as four shippers, two municipalities and one member of the New York State Assembly. All filed letters with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to express support for the deal, CSX officials said in a press release.

“This transaction has the potential to bring substantial benefits to Maine. The state of Maine relies on rail traffic to deliver goods and support our economy. If the transaction is approved, CSX has indicated that it will make upgrades to track and locomotives to provide improved service, extend positive train control on Amtrak's Downeaster, and make other improvements to the rail network,” Mills wrote, according to CSX.

CSX Corp. today announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Quality Carriers Inc., a North American provider of bulk liquid chemicals truck transportation, from Quality Distribution Inc.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

CSX and Wabtec are partnering to modernize CSX's locomotive fleet with digital technologies designed to deliver fuel efficiency and emissions reductions.

The partnership will help CSX in the Class I's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 37% by 2030, CSX and Wabtec officials said in a press release.

The planned Howard Street Tunnel expansion project in Baltimore has received a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) as part of the project review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced yesterday.

The project will expand the 126-year-old Howard Street Tunnel to accommodate double-stacked container trains traveling to and from the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, increasing efficiency and capacity.

Northwest Grains International LLC last week broke ground on an agricultural transload operation in Dillon County, South Carolina.

The $2.5 million transload facility will serve agricultural producers and handle containerized soybeans, lumber, logs, peanuts, cotton, cotton seed and yellow peas for export through the Port of Charleston via the rail-served Inland Port Dillon, according to a South Carolina Ports Authority press release.

Terminals operated by Total Distribution Services Inc. (TDSI), a CSX subsidiary, received the Association of American Railroads' (AAR) "Terminal of the Year" award in both the origin and destination categories.

TDSI Strawberry Yard in Louisville, Kentucky, earned the Origin Terminal of the Year award with a 99.69% audit score.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) yesterday announced it rejected CSX’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Systems Inc. and its short-line subsidiaries because the Class I’s application was considered "incomplete."

The board found that the application did not include all of the information necessary for purposes of a "significant" transaction under its regulations, STB officials said in a press release.

CSX Corp. yesterday announced decreases in first-quarter 2021 revenue and net income compared with the same period a year ago due to difficult operating conditions during the quarter.

The Class I posted Q1 net earnings of $706 million, or $0.93 per share, compared with $770 million, or $1 per share in the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter decreased 1% to $2.81 billion, as intermodal and other revenue growth was more than offset by declines in merchandise, coal and fuel surcharge revenue.

CSX Corp. yesterday reported third-quarter 2020 net earnings declined 14% to $736 million, or 96 cents per share, compared with $856 million, or $1.08 per share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter fell 11% to $2.65 billion, as intermodal volume growth was more than offset by declines in coal and merchandise volumes, as well as lower fuel surcharge revenue.

Following heavy rains stemming from Hurricane Delta, a CSX train derailed yesterday, causing a fire and hazmat situation outside Atlanta.

Two CSX employees were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, according to a statement from Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services. 

CSX last week published its 2019 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, which highlights the railroad's sustainability actions on safety, environment, people, communities and governance.

The report addresses CSX's "record-setting" safety performance, achieving 2020 emissions reduction targets ahead of schedule, and CSX becoming the first Class I to operate at a fuel efficiency rate of less than one gallon of fuel per 1,000 gross ton miles for a quarter.