CSX

The rapid development of electric and autonomous vehicles will arm trucking with competitive tools and advantages that they’ve not seen in quite some time.

Leading up to this development, there had been a high level of uncertainty and anxiety among supply chain stakeholders through multiple modes of freight transportation, with a 12:01 A.M. September 16 deadline marking the end of a 30-day “cooling off” period between the 12 United States-based railroad labor unions and six largest freight railroad carriers (even though the majority of the 12 unions had reached tentative labor agreements prior to the tentative deal being struck).

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railroad carrier CSX Corp. announced today it has officially completed its acquisition of North Billerica, Mass.-based short-line railroad carrier Pan Am System Inc. and its short-line railroad subsidiaries. CSX officials said that bringing Pan Am into the fold helps in “expanding its reach” into the Northeast.

In a move Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called “an absolute game-changer” for East Coast freight transportation, officials broke ground on Nov. 29 on a $466 million expansion of the 126-year-old Howard Street Tunnel underneath Baltimore. The move, expected to be a boost for rail and intermodal traffic because it will finally allow double-stacking of containers through the Port of Baltimore, will move an estimated 160,000 more containers a year when the project is completed in two years.

Kevin Boone, EVP, Sales & Marketing, for Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railroad carrier CSX, touched upon various topics relating to the freight rail carload and intermodal sectors at the Northeast Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS) 2021 Fall Conference, which was held in Portland, Maine last week.

CSX said the acquisition of Quality Carriers is aligned with the company’s long-term strategy to accelerate growth by deepening its relationships with its customers and providing them with more comprehensive transportation services throughout their supply chains

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Class I railroad CSX said this week that it has inked a definitive agreement to acquire North Billerica, Mass.-based short-line railroad carrier Pan Am Railways Inc. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, and the transaction is subject to regulatory review and approval by the Surface Transportation Board, CSX officials said.

The Washington, D.C.-based Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, recently announced that it made its annual determination of revenue adequacy for United States-based Class I railroads for calendar year 2019.

While United States motor carriers have received a well-deserved amount of praise over the last six weeks, of the COVID-19 pandemic, by moving freight such as medical supplies, PPE equipment and gear, groceries, and other essential goods, another mode of freight transportation, namely railroads, have also gone above and beyond in helping and aiding Americans in various ways.

Rail shippers in the Northeast will soon be able to enjoy more efficient movements now that more than $100 million in final funding has been secured to enlarge the 125-year-old Howard Street tunnel under Baltimore.

The blockchain relationship between Maersk and IBM dates back to June 2016, when they initially teamed up to build new blockchain- and cloud-based technologies, which have subsequently been piloted by various concerns, including DuPont, Dow Chemical, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, among others.

CN said that the Massena rail line is comprised of more than 220 miles of track between Valleyfield (Quebec) and Woodard (New York), adding that the line serves other cities in Quebec, including Beauharnois and Huntingdon, in addition to New York-based Massena, Norwood, Potsdam, and Gouverneur.

East Coast rail shippers stymied by the lack of double stack rail container option on a 125-year-old tunnel underneath Baltimore may be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. A $125 million federal grant issued by the Transportation Department under its Infrastructure of Rebuilding America Grant Program (INFRA) has reopened shippers’ long-held dream of allowing double stack service on a major rail line operated by CSX Transportation.

This new intermodal offering will be geared towards CN’s greater Montreal and Southern Ontario areas, and the CSX-served ports of Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area, according to CN and CSX officials.

Baltimore’s Howard Street Tunnel expansion is back on track after CSX Transportation reversed its decision to pull out of the project, CSX has committed $91 million toward the project.