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A roundup of the week’s most-read rail — intermodal, Class I service, ports, and the bottlenecks in between.
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FreightWaves Rail · Sept 24, 2026 |
Sub: Class I & Regulatory |
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| Bulletin Orders |
FWRX · No. 09·24 |
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From the desk of Stuart Chirls · Railroads · FreightWaves & Trains.com
The Surface Transportation Board this past week denied three motions to summarily dismiss the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger … the regulator expects to solicit still more information to help guide its evaluation under the ‘higher bar’ merger rules written in 2001 … lost in the debate over gateway access, the cost of interchange, and single-line reach, is the availability of rail-served property in places where permitting is all but non-existent … as one Northeast industrial real estate concern puts it, "[w]hen a network map gets redrawn, the shippers already sitting on rail-served ground don’t have to react. Everyone else does …"
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| Featured · Class I · Regulatory |
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◆ Class I · Regulatory
FreightWaves Rail · Sept 22, 2026
The STB rejected three motions from BNSF, CSX and a coalition of six shipper associations seeking summary denial of the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application, calling for more evidence before ruling; Union Pacific called the decision a vindication as the case moves toward a Nov. 18 comment deadline under the STB’s 2001 major-merger rules.
| Caution |
The board’s refusal to dismiss keeps the merger alive but explicitly isn’t an endorsement — opponents get another chance to make their case as the review heads toward its first real test under the newer merger rules. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
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◆ Class I · Regulatory
FreightWaves Rail · Sept 18, 2026
UP CEO Jim Vena pushed back hard on BNSF, CSX, CPKC and 11 short lines’ STB filings seeking trackage rights over a combined UP-NS network — including BNSF’s request for 824 miles between Chicago and Pennsylvania — calling the idea contrary to basic business logic even as UP reported domestic intermodal on pace for a fifth straight record quarter.
| Caution |
Vena’s blunt rebuttal signals the trackage-rights fight will be contentious, not a routine condition negotiation, as rivals try to extract concessions from the $85 billion deal. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Infrastructure · Intermodal
The Alabama Port Authority and CSX are building the $100 million, 272-acre Montgomery Intermodal Container Transfer Facility to link central Alabama manufacturers to the Port of Mobile via daily rail service, targeting 60,000 TEUs of annual capacity and an early 2027 opening.
| Signal |
A new inland terminal adds rail-served capacity for Alabama shippers and reduces truck drayage to the coast, following a pattern of similar hubs already running in South Carolina and Virginia. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Manufacturing · Orders
Greenbrier booked orders for 3,400 railcars worth roughly $600 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, including a 780-car deal with Saudi Railway Company — the manufacturer’s first intermodal equipment sale to that customer — spanning tank cars, hoppers, flatcars and boxcars.
| Signal |
A large, diversified order book — including a marquee international win — points to healthy replacement and growth demand across the North American and global railcar fleet. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Safety · Security
A BNSF double-stack train running from Los Angeles to Chicago was burglarized in Riverside, California early Thursday, with an open container catching fire before a 19-firefighter response brought it under control by 5:30 a.m.; no injuries were reported and BNSF Police are investigating.
| Caution |
Cargo theft that escalates into an active fire mid-transit underscores the security risk facing high-value intermodal freight moving through Southern California’s rail corridors. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
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Reading the Rails
Powered by  · Intermodal Dashboard
The week’s total U.S. rail carload volumes, pulled straight from SONAR’s Intermodal Dashboard.
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Total Carloads
234,207
▲ +4.76% w/w
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6-Mo. Average
225,592
▲ +3.8% above avg
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vs. 2025
188,673
▲ +24.1% above 2025
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vs. 2024
183,990
▲ +27.3% above 2024
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● SONAR · Total U.S. Carloads, 12-Month Trend — RTOTC.USA
Weekly total carloads rebounded to 234,207 this week, up 10,647 cars (+4.76%) after last week’s pullback, running about 3.8% above the six-month average of 225,592 and back near the 12-month high set two weeks ago.
● SONAR · Total U.S. Carloads, Year-over-Year Comparison — RTOTC.USA (2023–2026)
Layered against the past three years, 2026’s carload volumes remain well ahead of the comparable year-end points in 2025 (188,673) and 2024 (183,990) — up roughly 24% and 27% respectively; the 2023 comparison line was again too overlapped with the others to read confidently.
| Signal |
Carloads snapped back sharply after last week’s dip, reclaiming a spot near the year’s highs and reinforcing that the pullback was a blip rather than a trend change heading into fall. |
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Powered by · Intermodal Dashboard
See the whole rail picture in SONAR
Every figure above is live in SONAR’s Intermodal Dashboard — carloads, container volumes and year-over-year moves, refreshed daily across every mode.
Explore the Intermodal Dashboard → |
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October 27 – 28, 2026 · The Signal, Chattanooga
F3: Future of Freight Festival
FreightWaves’ flagship event blends rapid-fire tech demos and world-class speakers with the most legendary networking in logistics. Join 1,000+ freight and logistics experts, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators for a definitive look at the year ahead. Come for the insights, stay for the celebration and leave with the connections that will define your 2027.
Register Now → |
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