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Daily Headlines
May 1 update from Railroad Retirement Board Labor Member
(BLET Editor’s Note: The following is a message to Rail Labor from John Bragg, Labor Member of the Railroad Retirement Board.) CHICAGO, May 2 — In my April 16, 2020 update, I discussed a question involving furloughs and negotiated agreements which had been added to...
COVID-19 and the rail economy
(Source: Railway Age, May 8, 2020) NEW YORK — Too much ink (printer ink in the modern era) has already been spilt trying to find an angle on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the national and global economy, the consumer, the business segments most impacted by...
North American rail volumes could dip in the double digits
(Source: Freight Waves, May 10, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In 2020, North American rail volumes could fall roughly 15% or more compared to a year ago. This projection, amidst others for deep declines in coal traffic and a shaky environment for intermodal volumes, was...
CN aims to maintain stay-resilient, stay-lean strategy to overcome business lost to the pandemic
(Source: Progressive Railroading, May 8, 2020) A labor strike in November. Protest blockades along several key lines in February. The COVID-19 pandemic emerging and accelerating in March. And on top of that, the usual severe winter weather during the first quarter....
Lack of cybersecurity exposes rail freight to attacks, says startup CEO
(Source: Freight Waves, May 11, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Technology has led to the advent of connected vehicles intelligent enough to interact with the driver and link to the cloud. But this has opened up a new avenue of cyberattacks in which bad actors could...
BNSF Railway to eliminate 344 jobs
(Source: Sheridan Media, May 7, 2020) SHERIDAN, Wyo. — With a declining coal industry, BNSF Railway is eliminating 344 positions within the company’s mechanical facilities. Full story: Sheridan Media
UP shuts down Cold Connect
(Source: Railway Age, May 10, 2020) NEW YORK — Union Pacific on May 8, 2020 shut down its Cold Connect service for perishables traffic from the West Coast to the East Coast. Cold Connect began in January 2017 with the acquisition from Railex of three cold storage and...
Amtrak to bring back Acela, increase other service
(Source: WTOP, May 8, 2020) NEW YORK — Citing an anticipated increase in demand, Amtrak will resume Acela service between D.C., New York City and Boston starting June 1. It will also increase the frequency of regular Northeast Regional service. Full story: WTOP
Special freight rail cars could travel at high speeds, federal research shows
(Source: Transport Topics, April 21, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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. Now, a new Federal Railroad Administration...
Texas Central hails appeals court ruling declaring it a railroad
(Source: Houston Chronicle, May 7, 2020) HOUSTON — Planners of a Houston-to-Dallas bullet train scored a victory in Corpus Christi Thursday when a state appeals court said the company — despite not operating yet — is a railroad in the eyes of the law. Full story:...
