The country’s freight and passenger railways are operating with automatic braking system technology, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

Railcar leasing and repair company American Railcar Industries has changed its name to American Industrial Transport, the company announced July 21.

For at least the past decade, America’s railroads have been toying with the notion of freight trains moving at speeds approaching some passenger bullet trains.

Canadian Pacific closed its acquisition of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway, the Alberta-based rail company said in a Dec. 30 news release.

The complexity of building a bullet train through Southern California’s urban maze is leading state officials to consider two major additions: a tunnel under the Burbank airport and a project that would help a freight railroad expand its switching yards in the Inland Empire.

Last week’s vote in Washington state to roll back car registration fees has scrambled transportation budgets. But Pacific Northwest rail advocates are undeterred in pursuing their vision of a bullet train connection among Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, Canada.

This year’s railroad slump is getting worse as a slowdown in manufacturing threatens broader weakness in the U.S. economy.

New Jersey and New York officials will submit a revised financial plan for the $1.6 billion replacement of a decrepit bridge that’s key to rail traffic in the U.S. Northeast, the latest attempt to secure funding from a recalcitrant administration.

An affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. agreed to buy railroad company Genesee & Wyoming Inc. for about $6.3 billion, expanding its global portfolio of rail companies with a 120-line network spanning North America, Europe and Australia.

Exactly two months after Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies purchased GE Transportation, Wabtec on April 25 announced that CEO Ray Betler will retire and that Rafael Santana, previously the CEO of GE Transportation, will step into that role as of July 1.