WASHINGTON — Intermodal volume continues to carry overall weekly U.S. rail traffic to an increase over 2023 levels, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads.

For the week ending Sept. 21, total U.S. traffic was 522,112 carloads and intermodal units, a 6% increase over the same week a year ago. That figure includes 232,818 carloads, down 0.6% from the corresponding week in 2023, and 289,294 containers and trailers, up 12%. It is the sixth straight week of increases of 6% or more.

Through 38 weeks of 2024, carload traffic is down 3.3% from the same period a year ago, while intermodal traffic is up 9.6%, for an overall traffic gain of 3.3%.

North American volume for the week, from nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, includes 339,514 carloads, down 2.3% from the same week a year ago, and 371,529 intermodal units, up 8%. The overall volume of 711,043 carloads and intermodal units represents a 2.3% gain from the corresponding week in 2023. For the year to date, overall volume is up 2.6%. That includes a gain of 0.1% in Canada and 4.4% in Mexico.

MADISON, Wis. — The owner of the Wisconsin Great Northern, the heritage rail operation in Spooner, Wis., which gained significant attention for its efforts to restore the Mark Twain Zephyr, has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for failure to pay employment taxes.

Greg Vreeland, 55, of Springbrook, Wis., was sentenced on Tuesday, Sept. 24, by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson after pleading guilt to the tax charge on April 18, U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea said in a press release today (Wednesday, Sept. 25). Vreeland also paid $684,469 to the Internal Revenue Service in unpaid taxes prior to entering the guilty plea.

Vreeland, president of the railroad and also managing partner of the Country House Motel and RV Park in Spooner, failed to file employment tax forms for the railroad and to pay over employee tax withholdings from the fourth quarter of 2017 through the end of 2021, and similarly failed to file forms and pay over withholdings for the motel from the third quarter of 2015 through the third quarter of 2020.

The government says Vreeland used the employee withholdings to buy land and equipment to expand the railroad and to purchase a residence in Springbrook. He received civil notices from the IRS for non-payment of taxes from 2014 through mid-2016, but did not cooperate with the IRS until it began levying bank accounts.

Judge Peterson, in sentencing, said the failure to pay the taxes was a serious crime and was “part of a long-sustained pattern of criminal conduct,” and that the crime was aggravated by the fact he had engaged in the same conduct from 2014 to 2016, then did so again starting in 2018.

The Wisconsin Great Northern, which offers dinner and bed & breakfast train rides, also offers railcar storage and switching services.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and acting Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su sent a letter today (Wednesday, Sept. 25) urging the CEOs of three Class I freight railroads to guarantee paid sick leave for all employees. One of the railroads, CSX, responded that two unions have rejected its efforts to do exactly that. Another, CPKC, said sick leave negotiations with its unions are ongoing.

According to a news release from the DOT, Buttigieg and Su wrote to CEOs for CPKC and fellow Canadian railroad CN, as well as U.S.-based CSX. The letter highlights progress made for paid sick leave by the industry. It stated that since the end of 2022, the number of Class I freight railroad employees who have access to paid sick days has increased from 5% to 90%.

“While we applaud this success, it’s cold comfort for the 10 percent of railroaders who stillndo not have paid sick leave,” the letter stated.

The railroads should engage promptly and reach agreements with each of their respective unions to address paid sick leave for all employees, the letter added.

“This does not have to wait for national negotiations; your railroad should come to terms immediately with your labor unions,” it stated. “As our administration has noted, we are not satisfied with the current trajectory of railroad safety in America and see no reason for delay in making the rail industry safer.”

In the release, Buttigieg and Su stated that paid sick days help prevent safety risks and protect the public by ensuring healthy railroad workers are on the job.

“Workers in this country deserve to know that they won’t have to choose between getting well and putting food on the table,” Su said in the release.  “That’s not who we are — which is why Secretary Buttigieg and I are calling on the final three freight rail companies to do right by their workers and ensure paid sick leave for all of their employees. The unions and companies have come a long way on this issue, but it’s time to finish the job and protect the people who keep our country moving forward.”

In February 2023, shortly after the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the Biden administration called on Class I railroads to take specific actions to increase accountability and safety. One of these actions was enacting paid sick leave access to more than 100,000 workers that those railroads employ.

Railroads respond

In an emailed response provided by the railroad, CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs said the railroad has two unions that have not agreed to the same basic paid sick leave agreements accepted by all other unions.

Hinrichs said CSX has offered agreements to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) on multiple occasions. He said he personally flew to Cleveland for a day to meet with BLET to try to reach an agreement in August last year.

“In fact, as noted, two regions within our CSX network have already agreed to paid sick leave deals with BRS,” Hinrichs wrote. “Those offers still stand for BLET and BRS to work with us to finish the job.”

Hinrichs said CSX was the first and only railroad to work with the unions on these paid sick leave agreements. He also said CSX was the first railroad this year to reach tentative agreements with 11 unions representing over half of its workforce for national labor contracts – months before they expire at the end of the year.

“We have tremendous respect for our employees and the unions who represent them and we are working hard to improve our relationships,” Hinrichs stated. “So, you can imagine we are disappointed that two unions have not agreed to the same basic terms that all the other unions agreed to on paid sick leave with CSX.  It also happens to be the case that BLET and BRS are two of the three unions (along with IBEW and part of SMART-TD) that have not reached tentative agreements on the national contract with us as well. We owe it to all the other unions to keep our agreements consistent within the ONE CSX team and we look forward to working with BLET and BRS to do this on paid sick leave.”

BLET was not immediately available to provide a comment on CSX’s statement, but the union said it would provide more information at a later date.

A CPKC spokesperson wrote in an email that the railroad has 65 collective bargaining agreements in the U.S. Each one is different and nuanced, and all are the result of the collective bargaining process.

“As we have stated, and remained committed to, we continue to negotiate the issue of sick leave with our U.S. unions,” CPKC said. “We have sent formal sick leave offers to multiple unions. … CPKC and its unions have sick days included in multiple collective bargaining agreements in the United States. A substantial portion of CPKC’s unionized employees in the U.S. work under hourly collective agreements which provide many benefits, including higher average earnings, additional days off, personal leave days and more predictable scheduling.”

CN and BRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— This article originally appeared at FreightWaves.com.

WASHINGTON – A combination of excessive in-train forces and the pairing of dead-in-tow locomotives that lacked alignment control couplers was the probable cause of a 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment in Alabama, the National Transportation Safety Board said today.

Two locomotives and 37 cars derailed in the March 9 wreck on the Alabama East End District near Anniston, Ala. No one was injured and no hazardous materials were released.

NS train 245A109 consisted of six locomotives at the head of the 108-car train. Of those cars, 34 were loaded and 74 were empty. The dead-in-tow locomotives, RMEX 06 and 08, were not equipped with alignment control couplers that resist lateral coupler movement under compressive in-train forces. They were the fifth and sixth locomotives in the consist.

NS rules prohibit locomotives without alignment control couplers from being coupled together. The locomotives were coupled together, however, and picked up from Bluffton, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2023. An NS inspection before the first movement of the locomotives did not identify the absence of alignment control couplers, the NTSB said today in its final report on the accident. The couplers are rare: Only three units on the NS roster are not equipped with alignment control couplers.

At the time of the derailment, the 9,715-ton westbound train 245A109 was negotiating 10 curves while rolling down a 1.29% grade. The derailment involved two sections of the train: Two locomotives and 29 cars at the head end and eight cars at the rear of the train.

The 9,769-foot train had 88 manifest cars at the head end, including a block of 32 empties. Mixed in the manifest section of the train were 38 cars with end-of-car cushioning devices, which may contain as much as 30 inches of slack compared to a standard coupler’s 12 inches.

The 89th car began a solid block of loaded intermodal cars that included eight five-well double-stack cars that weighed 4,914 tons. “This block was listed on the crew’s paperwork as 20 railcars, but when broken down into individual segments, this portion of the train equated to 65 loaded railcars,” the NTSB said.

NS train building rules in effect at the time said that intermodal well equipment must be placed at the head 25% of a consist when practicable, and that blocks of 30 or more empty cars must be placed at the rear of trains whenever practicable.

The placement of the 32 empties toward the front of the train and loaded intermodal equipment on the rear, train 245A109 was not in compliance with NS train build rules, the NTSB said. However, the phrase “when practicable” allowed NS to prioritize placement in the train for destination blocking “in a manner that did not comply with equipment restriction rules,” the NTSB said.

The safety board said that the engineer used dynamic brakes to slow the train’s descent. “This braking of the locomotive consist, as well as a recent application of the train braking system, caused the slack to run in toward the locomotives when the intermodal block of railcars on the rear of the train came over the crest of the grade,” the NTSB said. “The wave of in-train forces peaked in the locomotive consist and the railcars directly behind the locomotives.”

The forces likely caused damage observed to the coupler blocks on the dead-in-tow locomotives. The in-train forces transitioning from a longitudinal force to lateral force was exaggerated by the nonalignment control couplers, the safety board said. And that exceeded the amount of force the rail under the locomotives could withstand, the NTSB concluded.

A post-accident simulation, with cars arranged to be in compliance with NS rules, found that the train would have been unlikely to derail, the NTSB said.

Before the accident, NS was in the midst of an “ongoing data-driven project to make changes to their equipment restriction rules,” the NTSB said. The rule changes were issued the day before the accident but were not scheduled to go into effect until the following Monday.

The railroad also strengthened its rules covering inspection and coupling of locomotives without alignment control couplers.

TAMPA, Fla. — After an unusual lull in hurricane activity in August and September, railroads are monitoring a new tropical disturbance that will make landfall around Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 26, likely as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane.

“CSX is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Helene, which is projected to intensify to hurricane strength before making landfall along the Florida Panhandle on Thursday,” the railroad said in a statement. “Our primary concern is the safety of our employees, customers, and the communities we serve.

“In anticipation of potential impacts, we are implementing comprehensive safety measures and preparing our network to ensure the continuity of operations. Our teams are on high alert, ready to respond swiftly to any disruptions and to support recovery efforts.”

CSX is currently operating normally, with no train schedule changes currently in place. The railroad is closing its Tampa and Tampa Port TRANSFLO terminals Thursday and will monitor the storm before making a decision on Friday’s terminal operations.

Norfolk Southern says it’s also closely monitoring the storm and issued a Tuesday statement to customers.

“Currently, there are no impacted service areas and Norfolk Southern is operating as scheduled. However, high winds and heavy rains could impact rail operations in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama,” the advisory warns.

Amtrak makes several changes

Amtrak took several measures as of midday today in preparation for Helene, then expanded those moves as the day progressed and Helene intensified, becoming a Category 1 storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

The passenger railroad is canceling both Auto Trains Nos. 52 and 53 between Lorton, Va., and Sanford, Fla., on Thursday.

The southbound Crescent No. 19 from New York has been canceled for both Wednesday and Thursday, and northbound Crescent No. 20 is canceled for Thursday and Friday from New Orleans.

Today’s originating southbound Silver Star No. 91 will terminate in Jacksonville, Fla., with alternate transportation to Miami, bypassing Lakeland, Fla., and Tampa, Fla., on Thursday.

Northbound Silver Star No. 92 will originate from Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday with no alternate transportation.

Hurricane Helene is currently projected to make landfall near Tallahassee on Thursday evening.

— Updated at 7:25 p.m. CT with additional Amtrak cancellations.

BERLIN — A number of European manufacturers have unveiled new locomotive designs, several shown in public for the first time, at the InnoTrans trade fair.

Stadler presented the first of its new six-axle freight locomotives for the British market, the dual-mode Class 99, which will be used by the UK’s largest rail freight company, GB Railfreight. Leasing firm Beacon Rail has financed the new fleet and has an order for 30 locomotives to be used by GB Railfreight, with options for 20 more.

Described at the launch event by GB Railfreight CEO John Smith as “the new Class 66,” the locomotive is envisioned as the replacement for diesel traction for many freight flows. EMD supplied hundreds of Class 66 diesels to the UK from 1998 onward, but moves to reduce diesel operation and increase use of already electrified lines mean there is likely to be a growing market for bi-mode models like the Class 99.

The locomotive is a 6,170-kilowatt electric (25-kilovolt AC) and also a powerful 1,790-kW diesel, equipped with a Cummins 16-cylinder QSK50 engine. The first two units will be tested at the Velim test center in the Czech Republic later this year; the first locomotives should arrive in Britain in May 2025, with all of initial 30-unit order delivered by the end of 2026.

145-mph electric locomotives from Talgo

Spanish passenger train manufacturer Talgo is exhibiting one of the “Travca” locos it is building for German passenger operator Deutsche Bahn. The new 145-mph DB Class 105 locos are designed to work with brand new 17-car Talgo train sets, designated Intercity Express Low Level (ICE-L) by DB, and planned for operation in Germany plus neighboring Austria and The Netherlands. Operation on the Berlin-to-Amsterdam route was originally due to begin in 2024, but this will not be achieved because of production and testing delays, although the passenger cars may enter service temporarily hauled by alternative locos. DB has ordered 79 of the trains, each with one Class 105 loco.

Switchers with alternative traction

German-based Vossloh Locomotives, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese firm CRRC since 2020, has launched its new “Modula” locomotive family. At previous editions of Innotrans, the company has shown models of these proposed locomotives, but they now exist in several formats.

The Modula locomotive is available in four versions combining diesel, battery, and hydrogen energy sources in different configurations. The two on display are quite different. The EBB (Electric Battery Battery), is a 2,400-kW electric, equipped with a conventional pantograph, as well as batteries for operation away from overhead power sources. The other — the BFC (Battery and Fuel Cell) model for German industrial port operator Duisport Rail — has hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. Both have spacious off-center cabs on the roughly 18-meter-long locomotive.

A small three-axle switcher entirely powered by batteries has been unveiled built by Italian manufacturer IPE Railway Vehicles, working with German rail freight company Havelländische Eisenbahn AG and financed by leasing company Nexrail Lease. The new 750-kW loco, designated as the “e6,” has three traction motors and batteries which can store up to 1 megawatt-hour of power. While it is equipped with a pantograph, this cannot be used to pick up power while moving but instead is designed to allow the loco to be recharged when stationary. Similar systems are used by some electric buses.

WASHINGTON — With a dockworkers strike looming at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, Surface Transportation Board Chairman Robert E. Primus has asked BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to provide regulators with information on how they will handle the anticipated surge in container traffic at West Coast ports.

“While I understand that a pivot to address these increased volumes is not without strain on the supply chain, including your railroad, it is essential that rail not become a choke point in this critical time,” Primus wrote in letters dated Sept. 24. “To that end, as soon as possible please provide me with information on your preparedness to handle the volume shifts.”

Specifically, Primus asked the railroads for their plans to provide reliable service, how they will allocate resources to West Coast ports, and how the railroads are sharing information with port officials.

The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents ports from Maine to Texas, are at an impasse in their contract talks. The union says it’s prepared to walk out on Oct. 1. President Joe Biden has said he will not invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to end a strike.

Importers have been adjusting their plans this year due to a series of global disruptions that include threats to shipping in the Red Sea, low water levels in the Panama Canal, and potential rail strikes in Canada and at ports on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast.

As a result, retailers have in some cases accelerated their holiday season imports to arrive before a labor disruption. In other cases, they have shifted cargo to the West Coast.

The biggest ports, at Los Angeles and Long Beach, have seen a surge in containers that’s on par with the levels seen during the pandemic-related boom in imports in late 2020 and 2021. The Port of Long Beach set an August record for container volume.

Primus said it is imperative that BNSF and UP are positioned to handle current volume shifts as well as the potential boost in container volume if there’s a dockworkers strike on the East Coast.

UP handled record container tonnage from West Coast ports in August and likely will set a record this month, Kari Kirchhoefer, senior vice president of the railroad’s premium traffic segment, said during the railroad’s investor day last week.

She also said that the railroad was working closely with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in anticipation of a further shift in container volume back to the West Coast.

UPDATE: The image has been clarified for the evacuation area of half-mile radius. https://t.co/lTpcF0Ni9U pic.twitter.com/Mv66wHwCss

— Hamilton County EMA (@HCEMA) September 24, 2024

CLEVES, Ohio — An evacuation order was lifted this evening (Wednesday, Sept. 25) in the area where a tank car began leaking the toxic, flammable chemical styrene on Tuesday.

The order was lifted about 6:30 p.m. ET after air-quality evaluations determined no threat existed from the leak, which was first reported at 12:46 p.m. Tuesday but had been halted overnight, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The leak occurred in a yard for Genesee & Wyoming’s Central Railroad of Indiana, which runs between Cincinnati and Shelbyville, Ind. A railroad representative told the Enquirer that tank car likely had begun venting because stabilizing additives used to maintain the chemical’s properties became “ineffective.” Approximately 210 homes within a half-mile radius of the incident site were evacuated; others just outside that area were advised to shelter in place, keeping windows and doors closed with heaters off, while several local schools were closed. No injuries were reported and there have been no reports of symptoms related to chemical exposure.

The leaking car was separated from 29 others on the same track in the yard about 10 p.m. Tuesday. The venting halted after crews worked overnight to cool the tank car, easing initial concerns of a possible explosion.

Cleves, population 3,414 as of the 2020 census, is in Hamilton County, Ohio, about 14 miles from downtown Cincinnati.

— Updated at 7:50 p.m. CT with end of evacuations.

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has named Jason A. Zampi as chief financial officer and treasurer and Jason M. Morris as chief legal officer and corporate secretary, the company announced Tuesday.

Zampi, who also becomes an executive vice president, has been at Norfolk Southern for 13 years in roles in forecasting, budgeting, and corporate accounting. Previously, he was a senior manager with KPMG LLP. He moves into the role previously held by Mark R. George, elevated to CEO with the ouster of Alan Shaw earlier this month [see “Norfolk Southern dismisses CEO Alan Shaw …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 11, 2024].

“Jason is someone our entire executive team and board count on to provide critical financial insights that increase our success,” George said in a press release. “His deep industry knowledge, coupled with his strategic leadership and commitment to operational excellence, makes him an invaluable asset as we continue to position Norfolk Southern for long-term growth.”

Morris, also named a senior vice president, joined Norfolk Southern’s legal department in 2010 and took roles of increasing responsibility there, the railroad says, before also serving in the Operations and Tranformation divisions. He was appointed vice president Law in 2022. He has previously served as a legislative director in the U.S. House of Representatives and as a logistics readiness officer in the Virginia Air National Guard, in addition to service as an officer in the U.S. Air Force.

“Jason Morris is a trusted advisor and natural leader with extensive experience in crisis and risk management, compliance, legal strategy, and public service,” said George. “He has a unique ability to apply his military, government, and legal background to develop dynamic strategies, enhance system improvements, and mitigate organizational risks. We have no doubt Jason will push Norfolk Southern to meet the highest standards for our employees, our customers, our shareholders, and the communities where our railroaders live and operate.”

WASHINGTON — Amtrak conductors and assistant conductors have approved a new seven-year contract agreement by a three-to-one margin, the union representing those more than 2,100 workers has announced.

“Our members are a major part of the experience passengers have aboard Amtrak,” said Jeremy Ferguson, president of the Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD), in announcing the results of ratification balloting.

The union and Amtrak had reached an agreement in August [see “Union announces tentative deal for conductors …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 24, 2024]. The deal, retroactive to July 1, 2022, runs through Dec. 1, 2028. It includes an unspecified “general wage increase;” addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday; 10 weeks of paid parental leave; and increases in training pay, certification pay, away-from-home terminal expenses, and overtime pay for employees on three- and four-day yard assignments on relief days, among other details.