The freight railroad industry began the earnings season on a positive note. CSX Corp. scratched out a small win and Canadian Pacific Railway easily surpassed year-ago levels as the industry continues to rebound in 2017.

WASHINGTON — CSX Corp. CEO Hunter Harrison apologized to railroad shippers at a U.S. Surface Transportation Board meeting Oct. 11, blaming layoffs prior to his arrival, the proxy battle to replace the prior leadership and employee resistance for lengthy service disruption during the summer.

CSX Transportation on Sept. 7 opened an intermodal terminal outside of Pittsburgh, and now the Port of Virginia will serve Pennsylvania and Ohio via double-stack trains.

Due to the threat of Hurricane Irma, the Surface Transportation Board postponed a meeting scheduled for Sept. 12 to discuss CSX’s rail service woes this summer.

The Surface Transportation Board will hold a special session to listen to CSX Corp. and railroad shippers discuss service disruptions since May that have ratcheted up the animosity between the sides in a public war of words.

CSX Corp. CEO E. Hunter Harrison issued a stark rebuke of complaints about poor service, sending a scathing letter to a coalition of rail shippers, lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and regulators at the Surface Transportation Board.

Federal regulators and railroad shippers have turned up the heat on CSX Corp. over repeated service disruptions in a series of letters to and from Washington.

Railroad giant CSX, which is under fire from regulators for operating changes that have disrupted its freight service nationwide, laid off more than 6o employees this week at its primary Chicago switching yard, according to the workers’ union.

Shippers frustrated with CSX Corp. deterring railroad service and extended delays are choosing to move some shipments to trucks to satisfy their urgent transportation needs, according to industry insiders.

An intermodal CSX rail hub proposed for Rocky Mount will bring 1,500 jobs to North Carolina.