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Freight railroads want to let companies track shipments to compete with trucking

Feb 15, 2024
But so far they've only added GPS tracking to less than 1% of the nation's railcars.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A Southern California town reckons with its disappearing beaches

Nov 21, 2022
One sign of erosion: The rail tracks that run along the beach south of San Clemente are in danger of sliding into the ocean.
An excavator piles riprap along the train tracks south of San Clemente State Beach in Southern California, part of an ongoing effort to keep the tracks from sliding into the ocean.
Jill Replogle/KPCC

Freight rail faces service and labor issues as well as federal scrutiny

Jul 21, 2022
What happens on the rails has ripple effects because freight trains are the economy's bloodstream, circulating products across the U.S.
Observers have attributed freight trains' service shortfalls to both pandemic-related stresses and cost-cutting to please investors.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty images

Biden looks to curb the big business powers behind shipping and rail

Jul 9, 2021
An executive order could spur government regulators to address patterns of consolidation and high pricing.
A fully loaded cargo ship heads out to sea from New York Harbor on August 22, 2016 in New York City.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Freight rail is king in U.S.

Mar 20, 2015
U.S. freight rail is profitable, and it's attracting international attention.