I’m just wondering if there will be fewer trains running this Labor Day weekend, in an attempt to give more railroaders an extra day or 2 off? I’m thinking more of the trans-con routes run by Union Pacific and BNSF, along with other eastern railroads, such as NS and CSX. Would fewer coal trains be loaded in the Powder River Basin on Friday, knowing they would normally be the weekend traffic? I would guess many local freights in industrialized areas would be canceled on Monday holidays. Also, commuter trains would probably follow a “Sunday schedule” instead of their regual weekday runs. Amtrak’s long-haul runs would be kept running, but maybe some shorter runs canceled? Anybody got any thoughts? Thanks.
Nobody around here is getting the day off (unless they get Mondays off as a matter of course, as I do). I’m not sure whether PRB miners get a holiday, but we still ship coal trains to power companies, and stack trains to (and from) the ports. The manifest traffic ought to lighten up in a day or two because of the holiday, but that generally means shorter–not fewer–trains.
For what it’s worth, yesterday the BNSF “racetrack” through Aurora was extremely busy and so far today it seems also to be busy (I can hear trains blowing for the McClure crossing from my back deck under normal conditions as I am about three miles away and when the weather is clear I can hear them clearly).
Same here. Norfolk Southern in north central Indiana has been
running the same trains it always does–both yesterday and
today. Some of them have been a little shorter.
I’m referring here to the ex-Wabash, the ex-NKP, and the ex-
Big Four (from Goshen to Anderson, In).
The CSX Indy-St. Louis line out back here and was busy Sat and Sun. It’s been kinda quiet this morning, with only 2 or 3 through, normally 7 or 8. It’ll pick this evening I’m sure.
It was busy in Joliet last night after 7:30 or so. About 7 trains in 55 minutes. When we left there the signals were green for both eastbound and westbound.