Locomotive Spare Parts and Inventory

The dramatic drop-off in freight traffic has driven Class Is to store locomotives in droves. As of May 20, Union Pacific Railroad had stowed away 2,100 locomotives, or 25 percent of its 8,400-unit fleet. A bullet point on a PowerPoint slide in BNSF Railway Co.’s Q1 presentation (“Near-term Initiatives”) read thusly: "Over 900 locomotives stored or returned." Read more...

Rail infrastructure company Network Rail (NR) made a pre-tax profit of £1.52 billion last year but its net debt rose to more than £22 billion. The pre-tax profit for 2008/09 was roughly comparable with the £1.59 billion figure achieved in 2007/08. Read more...

Ross Capon of the National Associations of Railway Passengers (NARP) submitted a statement to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on May 26th, 2009 strongly supporting Amtrak's funding request. You can read the full statement by clicking here.

Los Angeles redevelopment officials are drawing closer to an agreement with an Italian rail car company that hopes to build a manufacturing plant on a prized city site east of downtown, it was reported today. The company, AnsaldoBreda, is angling for a $300 million contract with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build 100 light- rail cars, some of which would be used for the expansion of Metro's Gold and Expo lines, the Los Angeles Times reported. Read more...

CN has landed agreements to sell three Mississippi line segments to Grenada Railway L.L.C. and Natchez Railway L.L.C., both non-carrier affiliates of A&K Railroad Materials Inc. and V&S Railway L.L.C., which operates short lines in Kansas and Colorado. Read more...

The idea of a high-speed train that runs on solar power is still in its early stage, but the project's creators are pitching the idea to area cities and potential investors. The idea is to start a train system that connects Tucson and Phoenix in a first phase. In the future it would extend north to Grand Canyon and south to Nogales. The cost for the first phase alone is estimated at $27 billion. Read more...

Today we're pleased to make official a deal that has been brewing for quite a few months. The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) and RailFood have agreed to work together to add value for REMSA members. Starting immediately, REMSA members are eligible for a free upgrade to our Professional level. Please contact Judi Meyerhoeffer for your promotion code. You can read the press release here.

UP announced last Wednesday it will launch a $27 million upgrade project to improve operation efficiencies between Lusk and Henry, Neb., a critical segment of the Powder River Basin coal transportation route. Work began May 6th, and by the end of June crews will have removed and installed 76,000 concrete ties and 29 miles of rail, spread 98,000 tons of rock ballast and replaced four switches. Read more...