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On Friday, Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. (PWRR) reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.4 million compared with a $922,000 net loss in first-quarter 2008. The quarterly loss per common share fell from 19 cents in first-quarter 2008 to 29 cents.

Operating revenue declined 17.6 percent to $4.9 million primarily because of lower conventional freight and container traffic volumes.

“As a result of national and international economic conditions, shipments of most commodities handled by the company declined during the quarter,” PWRR officials said in a prepared statement. “While the company’s traffic volume has begun to improve during the second quarter, management cannot predict when and if economic conditions will improve enough to enable the company to return to profitable operations.”

Quarterly operating expenses decreased 4.5 percent year over year to $7.1 million, with fuel costs accounting for more than 80 percent of the decline.

The 545-mile PWRR operates lines in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.