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A roundup of the week’s most-read rail — intermodal, Class I service, ports, and the bottlenecks in between.
| ● Clear |
FreightWaves Rail · Aug 27, 2026 |
Sub: Class I & Security |
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| Bulletin Orders |
FWRX · No. 08·27 |
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From the desk of Stuart Chirls · Railroads · FreightWaves & Trains.com
Carbon-capture railcars are an emerging technology, but the term covers three different ideas: locomotive-exhaust capture, direct-air-capture cars, and conventional tank cars that transport captured CO₂ … only the last is established commercial practice; the first is in pilot development, while the second remains largely a proposed carbon-removal system … a University of Pennsylvania study found that rail could be competitive with pipelines for carbon-management projects below roughly 2 million metric tons per year, and that it could serve some capture sites not located near proposed CO₂ trunk pipelines …
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| Featured · Class I · Infrastructure |
◆ Class I · M&A / Infrastructure
FreightWaves Rail · Aug 25, 2026
A revived plan to reroute Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern freight traffic around downtown Atlanta on a new bypass could free up existing track for as many as 14 commuter rail lines, though the roughly $6 billion project remains contingent on the still-pending merger winning regulatory approval.
| Caution |
The bypass is tied entirely to the UP-NS merger clearing a Surface Transportation Board review that isn’t expected to conclude until the second half of 2027 — a real possibility, not a locked-in capacity change. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
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◆ Short Line · Leadership
FreightWaves Rail · Aug 25, 2026
Tarek Ravenel is returning to Palmetto Railways as president and CEO, taking over a South Carolina short line that’s building a 25-mile industrial rail line and a 118-acre intermodal yard on a former Charleston Navy base.
| Signal |
A veteran rail executive returning to lead active expansion projects signals continued momentum for one of the Southeast’s fastest-growing short lines. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Security · Cargo Theft
San Bernardino County deputies recovered more than $123,000 in Brooks running shoes from two abandoned vans after a BNSF boxcar was breached near Ludlow, California, though no suspects have been identified and the investigation remains open.
| Caution |
A second BNSF boxcar burglary in the same California high-desert corridor this week underscores how persistent cargo theft risk remains along that route. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Security · Cargo Theft
Deputies arrested a 29-year-old transient after recovering more than $150,000 in New Balance shoes stolen from a BNSF boxcar near Daggett, California, capping a chase that began with a traffic stop and a foot pursuit.
| Caution |
Coming the same week as a second, still-unsolved BNSF boxcar theft nearby, this arrest is a reminder that Southern California’s rail corridors remain an active target for organized cargo theft. |
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Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Security · Human Smuggling
Karina Garcia surrendered to face federal charges in a smuggling operation that used sealed Union Pacific rail containers to move migrants for up to $10,000 a person — a scheme that left seven people dead in a container found near Laredo in May.
| Caution |
The case is a stark reminder that rail’s intermodal containers remain a target for human smuggling operations, with one co-defendant still at large. |
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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
235,885
▲ +1.12% w/w
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6-Mo. Average
225,145
▲ +4.8% above avg
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vs. 2025
188,673
▲ +25.0% above 2025
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vs. 2024
183,990
▲ +28.2% above 2024
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● SONAR · Total U.S. Carloads, 12-Month Trend — RTOTC.USA
Weekly total carloads rose to 235,885 this week, up 2,624 cars (+1.12%) and running about 4.8% above the six-month average of 225,145 — the highest print in the past 12 months, edging past the previous high set in early March.
● SONAR · Total U.S. Carloads, Year-over-Year Comparison — RTOTC.USA (2023–2026)
Layered against the past three years, 2026’s carload volumes (blue) are running above the comparable points in 2025 (188,673) and 2024 (183,990), extending last week’s pattern of the network moving noticeably more freight than in the same stretch of the past two years.
| Signal |
Carloads just posted a 12-month high, running well ahead of the trailing average and the prior two years at this point in the calendar — a clear-track signal heading into the fall shipping season, though the historical lines show a seasonal falloff typically follows by Q4. |
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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
Your team works hard every day to keep supply chains moving. This Labor Day, invest in their growth—and your company’s bottom line—by sending them to F3: Future of Freight Festival (Oct. 27-28 in Chattanooga). Get ahead of market trends and regulatory shifts, experience the latest FreightTech insights that directly impact your margins, and expand high-value relationships with 1,000+ supply chain leaders spanning the industry.
Register Now → |
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