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Norfolk Southern Corp. systematically refused to hire or retain people with a wide range of real or perceived medical problems including cancer, diabetes, arthritis and heart problems, the federal government claims in a federal lawsuit filed Sept. 27 in Pittsburgh

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.

The Department of Transportation has approved an $8.67 million grant for Taylor County, Fla., to revitalize 80 miles of railway between Florida and Georgia, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) has announced.

Freight rail carrier Union Pacific Corp. announced July 20 that profits jumped 19% in the second quarter after CSX Corp. and Canadian Pacific Railway posted strong gains earlier in the week.

CSX Corp. investors who endorsed a massive pay package to bring railroad wunderkind Hunter Harrison on board as CEO are already seeing the payoff. The question is, at what cost?

All publicly traded freight railroads reported higher profits in the first quarter, led by a strong rebound in coal transportation from the doldrums of recent years and continued improvement in the intermodal sector.

Shippers of bulk freight expect prices to rise on railroads next year, but they could have greater control in contract negotiations because of competition from trucking with intermodal rail, according to a Nov. 16 report from RBC Capital Markets.

A Great Lakes Basin Railroad forecast shows as many as 60 trains riding its rails daily through southern Lake and Porter counties in Indiana by its third year of operations, with that number declining to the low 50s and finally to 22 at the railroad's eastern terminus in LaPorte County.

This year will be another disappointing one for freight rail carriers hauling fewer carloads of coal and natural-gas drilling supplies through southwestern Pennsylvania.