July 23, 201212 yr Author This could have major implications for rail services, infrastructure and investment in Ohio, especially in the Utica Shale region. In fact, I would not be surprised if development of the Utica Shale and its spinoff industries is not a major driver of this huge acquisition..... Genessee to Buy Fortress’s RailAmerica for $1.39 Billion By Heather Perlberg on July 23, 2012 Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWR) (GWR ) agreed to purchase RailAmerica Inc. (RA) (RA ), the short-line railroad controlled by Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) (FIG ), for $1.39 billion to combine North America’s two largest short-line and regional rail operators. Genesee, which will pay $27.50 a share cash for RailAmerica, plans to fund the deal and refinance existing debt with about $2 billion in new debt and $800 million of equity or equity-linked securities. It has $2.3 billion in committed debt financing from Bank of America (BAC ) Merrill Lynch and $800 million of committed equity financing from the Carlyle Group. (CG) (CG ) The purchase price is almost 11 percent more than the July 20 closing price and almost 28 percent higher than the stock price on May 21, the last trading day before RailAmerica said it was exploring a possible sale, Genesee said. READ MORE AT: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-23/genesee-and-wyoming-agrees-to-buy-railamerica-for-1-dot-39-billion "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 6, 201212 yr Author Train porn!! OK, try and guess how many containers/trailers went past the camera in the time it took for these two trains to pass.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 24, 201212 yr Just saw this one about a railbanked line in Michigan's UP being reopened. Article said trail negotiations had been successful but didn't state if a trail was actually established on the line. :| http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/freight/short-lines/new-michigan-short-line-would-tap-railbanked-row.html?channel=94
September 10, 201212 yr Author Railroads Ready for Utica Shale Midstream Hauling Monday, September 10, 2012 By Dan O'Brien YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Executives of national and regional railroad companies say they have a role to play as oil and gas companies develop the Utica shale in Eastern Ohio. Many of these big energy companies that have entered the region are still trying to define the play and are just beginning to map and build the pipelines needed to take their products to markets across the country. Meantime, railroads have a robust infrastructure in place and are ready to handle the heavy loads of materials and products to and from the well sites, executives say. "We've got a pretty good network in the Utica, from Youngstown to the Ohio River," said Ryan Fischer, assistant vice president, emerging markets, Genesee & Wyoming Inc., one of the largest regional/short-line railroads in the United States. READ MORE AT: http://businessjournaldaily.com/drilling-down/railroads-ready-utica-shale-midstream-hauling-2012-9-10 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 10, 201212 yr Author Valley’s rail study gets closer look Funding sought for various projects September 2, 2012 By BRENDA J. LINERT - Business Editor ([email protected]) , Tribune Chronicle | TribToday.com WARREN - A study that could help land grant money for developing area rail service in the Mahoning Valley is getting another review by Trumbull and Mahoning County commissioners. The study, an immediate needs assessment of railroad infrastructure commissioned by the Western Reserve Port Authority this past spring, is now getting a closer look in attempts to find funding for the projects. The study done by Ken Prendergast's All Aboard Ohio-RESTORE identified the top local potential projects that could be done quickly and cheaply and that would help in specific business development. READ MORE AT: http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/576114/Valley-s-rail-study-gets-closer-look.html?nav=5003 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 2, 201212 yr Since both railroads have a significant presence in Ohio....this is no small deal. 10/2/2012 9:30:00 AM Genesee & Wyoming completes RailAmerica acquisition, places control of holding company in voting trust Yesterday, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) announced it completed the RailAmerica Inc. acquisition and entered into a new five-year credit facility comprising a $1.87 billion term loan and $425 million in revolving credit. After the deal closed, control of RailAmerica was placed into a voting trust, which will remain in effect until the Surface Transportation Board (STB) issues a final decision on GWI's application to control the short-line holding company, GWI officials said in a prepared statement. The board could render a decision sometime in the fourth quarter or in first-quarter 2013, they said. Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=32768
October 2, 201212 yr Author It's Giganternormous! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 9, 201212 yr Author So if you're thinking about building a $300 million, 50+ mile petroleum pipeline from the Ohio River north to a new processing plant in the Youngstown-Warren area, don't. Instead, buy this rail line for $2.9 million, fix it up for another $5 million or so, and restore it 13 miles southward to the former Y&S Ohio River dock at Glasgow, PA for maybe $100 million. Not only will you have the same shipping capacity as a pipeline, but you'll save about $200 million and you'll be able to ship all sorts of other stuff that a pipeline cannot. End of sales pitch........ Rail line, debt free, goes back on market By Ashley Luthern [email protected] COLUMBIANA The 36-mile Youngstown and Southern rail line is back on the market and officially debt free. Last month, the Ohio Rail Development Commission formally accepted and approved a $900,000 loan repayment from the Columbiana County Port Author- ity, which owns the line, said Julianne Kaercher, the commission’s public- information officer. The port authority owed the rail commission $1.1 million in loans, and under the previously proposed sale of the line to Canadian company Tervita, the commission agreed to forgive late fees and penalties, Kaercher said. READ MORE AT: http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/oct/09/rail-line-debt-free-goes-back-on-market/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 24, 201212 yr Author Rail to the river Proposed project would bring old tracks back to life October 21, 2012 By BRENDA J. LINERT , Tribune Chronicle | TribToday.com Area development officials, rail advocates and a Boardman businessman are exploring whether 13 miles of defunct rail line in southern Columbiana County could be redeveloped to create a direct freight-shipping link from Trumbull and Ashtabula counties to the Ohio River. The project, which could cost upward of $100 million, has gained the attention of a statewide group focused on boosting rail use, an official with the Western Reserve Port Authority and even a local entrepreneur who says funding should not be a problem. The supporters believe that a direct rail link would be a more favorable shipping route for products linked to the natural gas drilling industry, and could help secure other midstream processing and manufacturing plants in the area. READ MORE AT: http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/578153/Rail-to-the-river.html?nav=5021 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 16, 201212 yr Author More Marcellus-related rail expansion... http://triblive.com/mobile/m/mnews/2921718-96/gas-railroad-shale-trains-rail-pennsylvania-tracks-valley-yard-ago "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 17, 201212 yr Rail Development Commission Approves 25-Year Lease for Piney Fork Line On the heels of approving one long-term lease for a state-owned rail line, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) followed it up Thursday by approving a 25-year-lease for the Piney Fork Line, a line in eastern Ohio they said could assist in the shale gas industry. The Piney Fork Line is a 41-mile line that stretches through Carroll, Harrison and Jefferson counties. The agreement between ORDC and the Ohi-Rail Corporation would have the company pay the state $200,000 a year for the first five years and $50,000 plus a rate based on the number of rail cars using the line for the period after that. Under the terms of the lease, the company would be able to pay rent directly to the state or invest the funds back into improving the rail line in exchange for a credit from ORDC. Matt Dietrich, executive director of ORDC, said the line only sees sporadic use in some sections. “It’s a line with a lot of infrastructure needs,” he told the commission. He said they see it as a good investment to get cash into the line, and said the length makes sense because if they expect Ohi-Rail to make long-term improvements to the line, they have to have assurance that they will continue to be able to operate the line in the long-term. Read more at: http://www.hannah.com/DesktopDefaultPublic.aspx?type=hns&id=191118
December 3, 201212 yr Author 12/3/2012 10:30:00 AM Genesee & Wyoming lands largest Utica Shale customer Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) announced today that its Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road Co. (CUOH) subsidiary has signed a long-term agreement to serve a $900 million natural gas liquids (NGLs) fractionation hub that Utica East Ohio Midstream L.L.C. is constructing in Scio, Ohio. Scheduled to open in May 2013, the processing/fractionation/storage facility will be the largest integrated midstream service complex in eastern Ohio and the short-line holding company's largest customer in the Utica Shale, GWI officials said in a prepared statement. CUOH will construct a one-mile siding and rehabilitate a three-mile storage track to serve the facility, which when fully operational is projected to ship 10,000 carloads of NGLs annually. READ MORE AT: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=33506 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 4, 201212 yr Author Cross-posted from the general transportation thread. This is a must read for anyone wanting an outstanding commentary "snapshot" on what is going on in American freight transportation today...... The Interstate 95 conundrum Fred Frailey Sat, Dec 1 2012 12:10 AM This is the whole interstate highway problem in microcosm. Our interstates are crowded and crumbling, and we lack the money to maintain and expand them. Of course, Interstate 95 has a competitor from New Jersey to Florida: CSX. The railroad takes no position in the toll proposal, perhaps wisely. Clearly, it’s to the advantage of CSX to block tolls and starve the highway. By the way, that’s the likely outcome. It is politically possible to finance new limited-access highways with tolls. But I can think of few roads (actually, none at all) that were built as freeways and later turned into toll roads. On the other hand, why isn’t CSX exploiting its crumbling competitor? Driving home to suburban Washington, D.C., traffic in the opposite direction south of the capitol city grinds to a standstill. Trucks seem to occupy half of the space — hundreds, thousands of them. READ MORE AT: http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/fred-frailey/archive/2012/12/01/the-interstate-95-conundrum.aspx?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TRN_News_Sub_121203_Final&utm_content= "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 11, 201212 yr Author Shale gas boom causes so much freight train traffic on a PA shortline that it has to cease its tourist train service... http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Marcellus-boom-means-bust-for-western-Pa-train-4105212.php "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 13, 201212 yr 12/13/2012 12:00:00 PM Carload Express, Hannibal Real Estate revive rail line in Ohio Carload Express Inc. and Hannibal Real Estate L.L.C. yesterday announced they reached agreement to operate a 12.2-mile line in Monroe County, Ohio. Ohio Terminal Railway Co., a new wholly owned Carload Express subsidiary, will operate the route — known as the Omal line — and interchange with Norfolk Southern Railway. The line originally was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to serve an aluminum plant in Hannibal, Ohio, and was later sold by Conrail to the Ormet Railroad Corp. In 2007, when Hannibal Real Estate acquired the former Ormet Rolling Mills in Hannibal, the company also acquired the operating rights to the Omal Railway from Ormet. Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=33647
December 13, 201212 yr Author That's good news. Another Ohio county that lost rail service gets it back -- by a shipper's initiative! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 17, 201212 yr 2013 Freight Rail Outlook: The challenge of change Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief Resilience and resourcefulness are two terms that have become closely associated with North American railroads in recent years. The industry has emerged from the worst economic recession since the Great Depression in relatively solid shape, and enters 2013 positioned for growth. More important, it has demonstrated that it is capable of dealing with changes in its traffic base that not so many years ago would have dealt a crippling blow. The big change has been the precipitous drop in coal, once the railroads’ single-largest revenue source. Cheap and abundant natural gas combined with tightened environmental regulations on coal have taken some of the gleam off the black diamonds that the industry has relied upon for generations. But in a not-so-strange twist, the abundance of natural gas has actually worked in the industry’s favor, because a highly efficient, rapidly growing means of extracting it from the ground—fracking—is now big business for railroads, the single-most efficient and productive form of surface transportation. This same efficiency and productivity have been the catalysts for growth in intermodal, which has consistently seen increases in traffic. All this, combined with continued strong pricing power, underpins an industry that in 2013 is expected to surpass $20 billion in capital investment. Read more at: http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/management/2013-freight-rail-outlook-the-challenge-of-change.html?channel=44
December 21, 201212 yr Big news for Ohio since both railroad companies own/lease and operate significant stretches of track in Ohio. 12/21/2012 9:30:00 AM STB blesses Genesee & Wyoming's RailAmerica acquisition The Surface Transportation Board (STB) yesterday announced it approved the acquisition of RailAmerica Inc. by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI), subject to certain conditions. The board found that the proposed acquisition is unlikely to cause a substantial lessening of competition, create a monopoly, restrain interstate trade or enhance market power. The operating plans currently governing each railroad involved in the transaction — including those at locations where a GWI railroad interconnects or interchanges with a RailAmerica railroad — would remain unchanged, STB members said in a prepared statement. Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=33751
January 3, 201312 yr Shale drilling boom fueling demand for tankers Business First by Rick Rouan, Staff reporter Date: Thursday, January 3, 2013, 2:31pm EST The U.S. shale boom and slow pipeline development is sparking demand for rail tankers that transport petroleum, Bloomberg reports. The 200,000 rail carloads of crude transported in 2012 was triple the amount that moved over rails in 2012, and it’s touching off a shortage for tankers. Union Tank Car Co., American Railcar Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:ARII) and Trinity Industries Inc. (NYSE:TRN) all are benefitting from high demand, Bloomberg reports. Read more at: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/01/03/shale-drilling-boom-fueling-demand-for.html
January 7, 201312 yr Kansas firm looking to buy Ann Arbor Railroad Transaction would be 3rd in area since Christmas BY DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER A Kansas-based company has applied for regulatory permission to buy a railroad that links Toledo and Ann Arbor. If Watco Railroad Company Holdings Inc.’s petition to the federal Surface Transportation Board to buy the Ann Arbor Railroad from the Howell, Mich.-based Ann Arbor Acquisition Corp. is approved, the AA would become the third railroad in the Toledo area to change hands since Christmas. Last week, Pioneer Railcorp. completed its purchase of the Maumee & Western Railway — a line that links Napoleon, Defiance, and Antwerp, Ohio, with Woodburn, Ind. — from RMW Ventures Inc., and Genesee & Wyoming, a conglomerate of shortline and regional railroads, completed its acquisition of RailAmerica, a similar company whose railroads include the Indiana & Ohio line that runs through or near Riga, Mich., and Delta, Hamler, Leipsic, Ottawa, and Lima, Ohio. A sale price for the Ann Arbor transaction was not disclosed. Read more at: http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2013/01/07/Kansas-firm-looking-to-buy-Ann-Arbor-Railroad.html
January 11, 201312 yr Marcellus and Utica shale drilling keeps railroads busy Rail Industry Trends — by Julie Sneider, assistant editor The drop in natural gas prices in 2012 may have slowed the pace of drilling in some areas of the Marcellus Shale, but shale plays remain growth drivers for Class Is and short lines serving the eastern United States. A warm winter last year combined with rapid expansion of energy companies' drilling across the Marcellus region helped keep a lid on natural gas prices, particularly for "dry" natural gas (methane). As a result, energy companies have widened their focus from the dry gas areas of central and northeastern Pennsylvania to the "wet" gas (ethane, propane, butane) territories in the state's western region and into the Utica Shale in Ohio. Railroads that operate in the Marcellus and Utica shales remain busy transporting frac sand, pipe, chemicals and other commodities needed for shale exploration and drilling. Despite the lull in some parts of the Marcellus, railroad officials expect shales to remain one of their fastest growing lines of business in 2013. Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/rail_industry_trends/article/Marcellus-and-Utica-shale-drilling-keeps-railroads-busy--34779#
February 1, 201312 yr Marion Intermodal expects continued growth Increase in traffic will put more pressure on Ohio 309, owner of facility says Jan 27, 2013 Written by John Jarvis The Marion Star MARION — While hoping to receive state funding to relocate Ohio 309 to the other side of his business property, owner Ted Graham said the amount of freight moving through Marion Intermodal continues to grow. On July 30, Schneider National Inc. and CSX “opened up the depot so we could get product from not only the West Coast and Mexico, but most of the East Coast, so that opened up and increased volumes at the depot,” Graham said, referring to the site of his Marion Industrial Center, where the former Marion Engineer Depot was located. Another expansion will come to fruition Feb. 11 when an additional loop of railroad track Graham had built at the east end of Marion Intermodal will be complete, and CSX traffic will begin arriving via a connection in Ridgeway, 25 miles west of Marion, he said. The addition of a ramp at Marion Intermodal in conjunction with CSX’s construction of the railroad turn in Ridgeway, connected Marion Intermodal with CSX’s $175 million intermodal terminal in the northwest village of North Baltimore. “We’re putting in great big loop so that trains can pull in and pull back out without ever having to unhook, and because of that it gives the depot and intermodal operation a great deal of flexibility in having additional railroad traffic,” he said. Read more at: http://www.marionstar.com/article/20130127/NEWS01/301270020?gcheck=1
February 4, 201312 yr Author I'm pretty sure this is one of the dumbest things I've read -- if these guys aren't going to use the rail line and instead build a pipeline next to the rail, what a waste. It would cost them less to rehab the rail line and run inter-connected tank cars full of water than it would to build a pipeline next to the tracks. And it would provide the same or better capacity than a pipeline while still being able to haul things other than what runs through the pipe. http://businessjournaldaily.com/drilling-down/aqua-subsidiary-wants-ys-railroad-shale-pipelines-2013-2-4 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 12, 201312 yr Author Train traffic to resume Monday Train traffic to resume in Warren’s North End after 15 years Published: Sun, February 10, 2013 @ 12:00 a.m. By Ed Runyan [email protected] WARREN - Train traffic is expected to resume Monday on tracks on Warren’s north side to carry freight from Warren Steel Holdings. The Ohio Central Railroad has begun to educate safety forces about the dangers at railroad crossings, said Josh Connell, general manager of the Pittsburgh/Northern railroad lines. The company is reaching out to other groups that could benefit from the presentation to offer it also to them, Connell said. READ MORE AT: http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/feb/10/train-traffic-to-resume-monday/?newswatch "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 17, 201311 yr Author Conneaut Looks to Port, Biomass Projects for Jobs Monday, June 24, 2013 By Andrea Wood CONNEAUT, Ohio -- There is hope for new jobs, new users for Conneaut’s port on Lake Erie where raw materials and commodities flowed to industry for more than century -- and then there is the recent past. “We’ve lived through the U.S. Steel plant coming to Conneaut and it didn’t. We lived through the Saturn plant coming to Conneaut and it didn’t, so I guess we’re a little gun-shy,” says Joe Raisian, chairman of the Conneaut Port Authority. Like Youngstown, Conneaut’s industrial prosperity vanished decades ago with the steel industry. Unlike Youngstown, however, this Ashtabula County town, situated in the northeastern corner of Ohio, population 12,900, has yet to get a bounce let alone a big one like V&M Star, now Vallourec, gave the Mahoning Valley. “Prospects? We’ve got several,” says Raisian, “but nothing that we’re ready to announce.” READ MORE AT: http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/conneaut-looks-port-biomass-projects-jobs-2013-6-24 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 17, 201311 yr Author It's funny how fast a deal can go on the endangered species list...... Aqua America negotiating to purchase Y&S rail line Published: Thu, June 27, 2013 @ 12:09 a.m. Talks for Aqua to buy Y&S Railroad advance By Burton Speakman [email protected] BOARDMAN The Youngstown & Southern Railroad finally may have a buyer after years on the market. The Columbiana County Port Authority has been responsible for the rail line for several years and has been attempting to sell it. Tracy Drake, port authority CEO, said a letter of intent to sell between a subsidiary of Aqua America and the port authority is moving toward becoming a sale contract. “It could be completed quickly, but it will most likely be a couple of weeks before it gets done,” Drake said. The expectation is the rail line’s value has increased because of shale-industry development in Columbiana County, he said. The rail is important, but a lot of companies are making money using railroad rights of way due to their length. READ MORE AT: http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/jun/27/columbiana-port-authority-rail-line-in-v/ Rail sale remains on unsteady track July 16, 2013 By TOM GIAMBRONI - Staff Writer ([email protected]) , Morning Journal News EAST LIVERPOOL - Is the Columbiana County Port Authority's latest attempt to sell its 36-mile railroad about to fall through? Port Authority Chief Executive Office Tracy Drake reported at Monday's board meeting the proposed sale of the railroad to Aqua Infrastructure LLC is still alive, even though the company missed the June 30 deadline to close on the deal. "We're in discussions about some conditional extensions," Drake said, before he and the board met in executive session to discuss the proposed sale. READ MORE AT: http://www.morningjournalnews.com/page/content.detail/id/547748/Rail-sale-remains-on-unsteady-tr---.html#sthash.n78PMXLd.dpuf "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 22, 201311 yr Author Investors work to revive abandoned P&LE railroad yard in Struthers, Ohio near Youngstown - YGN-WAR Business Journal http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/investors-work-revive-ple-rail-yard-struthers-2013-7-22 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 24, 201311 yr Abandoned rail yard at Struthers, Ohio being restored for rail use .... but the big headline is that 80% of the potential new businesses looking to relocate to the Youngstown area are wanting rail service available. http://www.wkbn.com/2013/07/23/new-life-ahead-for-struthers-railroad/ VIDEO AT: http://www.wytv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=4159938
August 13, 201311 yr Author Stark Business Journal: Railroad helping Utica Shale business roll By Edd Pritchard CantonRep.com staff writer Posted Aug 13, 2013 @ 05:20 AM BREWSTER — The view out Larry Parsons’ office window overlooks more than a half dozen sets of railroad tracks packed with cars. Plenty of black tanker cars are in the mix, as are short, covered hopper cars. The tankers carry condensate, butane, propane and other hydrocarbons that are pulled from Utica Shale wells. The hoppers are loaded with sand — shipped from Wisconsin and Illinois — that’s used to frack shale wells being drilled in eastern Ohio and southwest Pennsylvania. The crowded rail yard is a sign of changing times in eastern Ohio’s business. It’s also a positive sign for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co., which Parsons, 73, owns and operates. Read more: http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x1592819074/Stark-Business-Journal-Railroad-helping-Utica-Shale-business-roll#ixzz2brSTCB1u "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 19, 201311 yr Author American Rail Traffic Is Gaining Momentum CULLEN ROCHE, PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM AUG. 18, 2013, 10:21 AM More decent news here in rail trends as we begin to see some signs of life in traffic. Intermodal jumped 6.1% year over year and total traffic was up 2.7%. Carloads were down marginally. This week’s reading brought the 12 week moving average in intermodal to 2.8% which is the highest reading since May. AAR has the details on this week’s report: “The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported mixed weekly rail traffic for the week ending August 10, 2013, with total U.S. weekly carloads of 288,803 carloads, down 0.2 percent compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 257,969 units, up 6.1 percent compared with the same week last year. Total U.S. rail traffic for the week was 546,772 combined carloads and intermodal units, up 2.7 percent compared with the same week last year. Read more: http://pragcap.com/rail-traffic-picks-up-some-momentum#ixzz2cQcotB3C "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 21, 201311 yr Author http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/09/20/5228156/locomotive-engineers-and-trainmen.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 4, 201311 yr Author http://tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/593719/Mon---8-14am--Energy-company-buys-railroad.html?nav=5192 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 29, 201311 yr Tuesday, October 29, 2013 Napoleon, Defiance & Western completes trackwork to offer CSX, NS access The Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway (NDW) has completed a major track rehabilitation project that will enable shippers on the Indiana and Ohio line to route traffic via CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway, NDW's owner Pioneer Railcorp has announced. In December 2012, Pioneer Railcorp purchased a 51-mile line between Woodburn, Ind., and Liberty Center, Ohio, that formerly was operated by the Maumee & Western Railroad Corp. After the acquisition, a major priority was to rehab several miles of previously inoperable track between Defiance and Cecil, Ohio, said Pioneer Railcorp President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Carr in a press release. "In doing so, we are now able to offer our eastern shippers NS access via Woodburn, and our western shippers CSXT access via Defiance, Ohio," he said. Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=38214
October 29, 201311 yr Author Cool. Now we can run 110-mph passenger trains over it from Toledo to Fort Wayne and on to Chicago. just as was envisioned in the Ohio Hub plan! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 7, 201311 yr Biden lauds NW Ohio's CSX Intermodal Yard Vice President sees area's efficient, inexpensive transportation as nationally vital BLADE STAFF NORTH BALTIMORE, Ohio -- Calling efficient and inexpensive transportation vital to the future of the United States' manufacturing economy, Vice President Joe Biden today lauded CSX's Northwest Ohio Intermodal Terminal here and cited public funding toward railroad improvements linking it with Atlantic ports as exemplary of government's role in infrastructure development. While CSX Transportation used no public funds to develop its $175 million, 500-acre terminal on former farmland in Henry Township, bridge and tunnel work in eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia was paid for in part by $98 million in federal funds as well as state funding, Mr. Biden said during an address at the northwest Ohio terminal. "Without TIGER, there would be no National Gateway," Mr. Biden said, referring to the Transportation Improvements Generating Economic Revitalization grant program and CSX's name for its program of terminal construction and rail line improvements that includes the North Baltimore hub, opened in 2011. Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2013/11/06/Biden-lauds-NW-Ohio-s-CSX.html?sf19206133=1#zk1DwBOaIxADC76z.99
December 2, 201311 yr Author Obama spends $600 million on rail projects that benefit private companies BY CURTIS TATE McClatchy Washington BureauDecember 2, 2013 Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/12/02/210101/obama-spends-600-million-on-rail.html#storylink=cpy WASHINGTON — The railroad industry brags in its national publicity campaign that it spends billions of dollars improving its infrastructure “so taxpayers don’t have to.” But the ads don’t tell everything. The nation’s freight rail network has been the quiet recipient of more than $600 million in federal investment during the Obama administration. According to Federal Railroad Administration numbers, at least half that amount has gone to projects that benefit the nation’s four largest railroads, the same companies at the heart of the industry’s ubiquitous “Freight Rail Works” campaign. That doesn’t even include tens of millions more that states have contributed for additional investment in ports and high-speed passenger trains that’s boosted the nation’s freight railroads. READ MORE AT: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/12/02/210101/obama-spends-600-million-on-rail.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 25, 201411 yr Author FORBES | 1/22/2014 @ 6:00AM |36,087 views All Aboard: Why America's Second Rail Boom Has Plenty Of Room To Run The relic of the 19th century will become the most important logistics system of the 21st century–making billions for Warren Buffett and others. By Joann Muller, Zack O’Malley Greenburg and Christopher Helman On an overcast Tuesday morning in dusty North Platte, Nebr., Tony Orr stands at the center of the world’s largest freight rail yard, watching as billions of dollars’ worth of commodities and goods roll by. He’s the general superintendent of Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard–at 2,850 acres, it’s three times the size of New York’s Central Park and handles 10,000 train cars per day on 315 miles of track. Orr’s view is a soot-caked cross-section of the American economy. To his left a 1.25-mile-long train trundles west toward Wyoming to refill after dropping off 30 million pounds of coal; to his right 140 double-stacked cars clack off to the East Coast with furniture, auto parts and electronics from China and Japan. Beyond, westbound grain trains shriek through the yard while refrigerated cars the color of dirty snow carry fresh produce from California to the Mid-Atlantic, and rusty blue boxcars bear lumber from the Pacific Northwest to points east. “We stay busy,” says Orr. “It’s like New York–this place doesn’t sleep.” READ MORE AT: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2014/01/22/americas-second-rail-boom/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 11, 201411 yr Similar and successful work has been done to restore once abandoned or underuse rail lines in Ohio by the Ohio Rail Development Commission, States Reinvest in Once-Abandoned Freight Lines In the past year, several states have either created or rekindled grant programs dedicated to improving freight service. BY JONATHAN WALTERS | FEBRUARY 2014 It is 6 o’clock on a recent morning and the thrum of Housatonic Railroad freight train NX-13’s twin diesels is deepening. Engineer P.J. Bailly releases the air brakes and eases the early morning train south down the railroad’s main line. It is hauling a variety of materials, from ethanol and lumber, to paper goods, construction and demolition debris. In all, the Housatonic Railroad hauls some 6,000 cars’ worth of freight a year between its southern end in Danbury, Conn., and its northern terminus in Pittsfield, Mass. There, it exchanges cars with the major East Coast railroad, CSX. While there’s no definitive data on the railroad’s economic impact on the two states in which it operates, the businesses served by the Housatonic employ 3,000 people. The companies served by the railroad, in turn, do millions of dollars’ worth of business in products and services annually, adding to secondary employment numbers. That the train is on the tracks at all this morning, though, is something of a miracle—a miracle for which the state of Connecticut is directly responsible. Connecticut was one of a group of states with the foresight in the 1970s and 1980s to step in and snap up abandoned rail lines at a time when railroads nationally were jettisoning thousands of miles of right of way in the face of an epidemic of railroad bankruptcies. “Back then,” says John Hanlon, president of the Housatonic Railroad, “railroads were almost viewed as irrelevant.” READ MORE AT: http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-states-reinvest-in-rail.html
February 14, 201411 yr Author MarkWest Unit Completes Purchase of Y&S Railroad Friday, February 14, 2014 EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – Sale of the assets of Youngstown & Southern Railroad, the short line that runs from Youngstown to Darlington, Pa., to Mule Sidetracks LLC is complete, the Columbiana County Port Authority announced Thursday. Mule Sidetracks, an affiliate of MarkWest Energy Partners LP, Denver, paid the port authority $3 million, the CEO of the port authority, Tracy Drake, said. The port authority retains the mineral rights to the underlying real estate. In the assets Mule Sidetracks assumes are all ties, ballast, rails and rights of way of the 36.8-mile railroad. Mule Sidetracks will continue rail service of the line “pursuant to an operating lease with the Youngstown & Southeastern Railroad, operated by Powell Felix,” the press release said. READ MORE AT: http://businessjournaldaily.com/economic-development/markwest-unit-completes-purchase-ys-railroad-2014-2-14 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 17, 201411 yr Author Increased Ohio Shale Fracking Drives Demand For Rail Improvements by Tom Borgerding 89.7 NPR News Managing Editor 1:26PM April 14, 2014 The number of hydraulically fractured wells drilled in Ohio has now topped 800. About half of those wells are producing natural gas and oil. While debates over safety and severance taxes continues, production is reaching critical mass. And that has created need for more railroad capacity. The rail improvements have rippled into Frazeysburg and Columbus. The need to quickly transport oil and natural gas liquids away from Ohio shale drill sites is spurring new short-line rail construction. Matthew Dietrich at the Ohio Rail Development Commission counts 32 short line railroad companies. Some struggled for years as manufacturing and coal shipments declined. But, the new oil and gas production is throwing them an economic lifeline. READ MORE AT: http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/04/14/increased-ohio-shale-fracking-drives-demand-for-rail-improvements/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 1, 201410 yr Author Mahoning Valley Rail Lines Pick Up Steam Friday, August 01, 2014 By Josh Medore YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Four years ago, many of the short line railroads here had been abandoned and the lines that connected the parcels they ran through were dangerous at any speed. When the Ohio Commerce Center bought the former Space Center in Lordstown, the rail yard there, built to “move everything but munitions” during World War II, couldn’t be used, says real estate broker Dan Crouse. Few improvements had been made to the warehouses since the end of the war. Crossing the property required a 4x4 truck; nothing else was capable. Only two companies were receiving shipments from the rail yard. READ MORE AT: http://businessjournaldaily.com/company-news/mahoning-valley-rail-lines-pick-steam-2014-8-1 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 18, 201410 yr Author For comparison, how much is Ohio's freight rail capital improvement budget? Only $4.1 million per year.... 8/18/2014 Pennsylvania ponies up $35.9 million for 39 freight-rail improvement projects The State Transportation Commission has approved the allocation of $35.9 million for 39 freight-rail projects, including 26 through the Rail Freight Assistance Program (RFAP) and 13 through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP), Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced on Friday. Managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, RTAP is a capital budget grant program funded with bonds and RFAP is underwritten through the state's new multi-modal fund. "We have continued investments in Pennsylvania’s rail network because it helps keep our transportation assets strong as a whole. Since January 2011, we've invested over $167 million in rail," said Corbett in a press release. "Ensuring that these facilities and assets are ready to meet consumer demands is vital to keeping our state competitive." READ MORE AT: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/short_lines_regionals/article/Pennsylvania-ponies-up-359-million-for-39-freightrail-improvement-projects--41517?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 10, 201410 yr Author All Aboard Ohio @AllAboardOhio now How much has rail traffic dwell time worsened? Look at this amazing web tool especially Ohio RR's & their terminals! https://public.tableausoftware.com/views/RPMWeeklyPerformanceAAR/RRComparison?:showVizHome=no#1 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 9, 201410 yr Author As Trains Move Oil Bonanza, Delays Mount for Other Goods and Passengers By RON NIXON OCT. 8, 2014 WASHINGTON — An energy boom that has created a sharp increase in rail freight traffic nationwide is causing major delays for Amtrak passenger trains and is holding up the transport of vital consumer and industrial goods, including chemicals, coal and hundreds of thousands of new American cars, rail officials and federal and state regulators say. American rail lines now move more than a million barrels of oil a day, much of it from the Bakken shale oil field in North Dakota and Montana and from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. Last year about 415,000 rail cars filled with crude oil moved through the United States, compared with 9,500 in 2008, according to the Surface Transportation Board, a bipartisan body with oversight of the nation’s railroads. In large part as a result, long-distance Amtrak passenger trains are now late 60 percent of the time, Amtrak officials said, compared with a year ago, when the trains were late 35 percent of the time. READ MORE AT: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/us/as-trains-move-oil-bonanza-delays-mount-for-other-goods-and-passengers.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=2 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 10, 201410 yr Author By Janell Thomas Surface Transportation Board Amends Rail Reporting Requirements New directive requires all class I rail carriers to report performance data to the STB Published on: Oct 10, 2014 All class I rail carriers will be required to submit weekly performance data to the Surface Transportation Board starting Oct. 22 to allow for better understanding of the magnitude and impact of current service issues, the board said in a directive issued Wednesday. STB earlier this year requested similar information from BNSF and Canadian Pacific rail carriers following concerns of sluggish service in the upper Midwest. The new directive also follows a September meeting during which legislators and stakeholders requested additional information from other carriers on the status of rail service. The group also asked for broader standardized public reporting. READ MORE AT: http://farmfutures.com/story-surface-transportation-board-amends-rail-reporting-requirements-0-118777 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 11, 201410 yr Author Rail delays force Hibbing Taconite to use trucks to get pellets to customers before the big freeze As winter looms, many shippers are blaming delays on oil-train traffic from North Dakota. Article by: DEE DEPASS , Star Tribune Updated: October 10, 2014 - 9:22 PM Hibbing Taconite said Friday that the slowdown in U.S. rail service has forced it to begin hauling taconite pellets by truck to Duluth-Superior Harbor to supply customers and reduce a massive stockpile at the plant. “This action will ensure … steelmaking customers on the lower Great Lakes will have an adequate supply of pellets to maintain steelmaking operations,” company officials said in a statement. For about two months, Hibbing Taconite expects to load its iron-ore pellets onto 100 trucks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company said it “needs to take immediate steps to fulfill its commitment to supply iron ore pellets to its customers.” The pellets are loaded onto ships in the harbor and taken to steel customers across the Great Lake states. At a recent Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said that Minnesota companies have 2 million tons of taconite pellets ready to be shipped but stored in stockpiles because of rail delays. READ MORE AT: http://www.startribune.com/local/278860131.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 29, 201410 yr Author Frank Wilner is one of the most respected railroad industry writers in the USA. When he's sounding the alarm, people would be advised to listen -- and read.... Tuesday, October 28, 2014 Unknotting rail congestion compels investment Written by Frank N. Wilner Unraveling the knot restricting rail network fluidity cannot be achieved through Surface Transportation Board (STB) intimidation of rail CEOs, or by the agency's issuance of an emergency service order instructing one railroad to operate over the tracks of another, or by merging the nation's seven major rail systems into a North American duopoly. None would cause to appear, in sufficiently short order, the required additional locomotives and track capacity essential to curing the problem. READ MORE AT: http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/frank-n-wilner/unknotting-rail-congestion-compels-investment.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 16, 201410 yr Author Live near an under-utilized rail corridor owned by Norfolk Southern or near a rail corridor that has NS trackage rights over it? It may not be under-utilized for long. Every NS corridor in/through Ohio is in play.... NS Moving Trains to Lightly-Used Ohio Routes December 12, 2014 There has been much talk in railfan forums of late about how Norfolk Southern has been shifting traffic around in Ohio in an effort to alleviate congestion on the busy Chicago Line between Cleveland and Chicago. The need to address congestion on this route became quite clear this summer and fall when Amtrak trains were delayed for hours due to freight trains sitting on the tracks ahead awaiting new crews. NS routes in Northern Ohio has or will be seeing increased traffic as NS reworks routings to more efficiently move traffic. MORE: https://akronrrclub.wordpress.com/tag/ns-fort-wayne-line/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 16, 201410 yr Not everywhere, sadly. "Finally, there is a report that NS is eyeing the Peavine route between Cincinnati and Portsmouth, Ohio. A short line operator, Frontier Rail, has been serving customers in the Cincinnati area after NS ceased using the former Norfolk & Western route." NS just made the NS Cincinnati Division out-of-service from 73.50 at Plum Run to 105 at West Portsmouth/Vera earlier this month. It's also been 10 years since any train has operated between Peebles and West Portsmouth. The notable reasons being that the Scioto River Bridge needs major repairs and the steeper grades and tight curves east of Peebles makes it difficult to operate trains over. They still do maintain the line. CCET is now the proud operator of the line from Clare/Mariemont east to Plum Run, though.
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