BLET News
Texas: Remote control derailment at UP’s Davidson Yard in Fort Worth renews questions about trains operated without locomotive engineers at the controls
The scene from Davidson Yard following the derailment of a remote control train on August 31. It resulted in a hazmat release and shelter-in-place order for nearby residents. Image: WFAA-TV ____________________ Another derailment involving a remote control train...
Surface Transportation Board: Robert Primus fired
Surface Transportation Board member Robert E. Primus said on his LinkedIn profile that he received an email from the White House terminating his position on August 28. The move comes a few months before the STB is expected to receive the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern...
Pennsylvania: SEPTA halts planned Regional Rail service cuts following court order
A September 4 court order from a Philadelphia judge has stopped SEPTA from implementing a planned 20 percent cut to Regional Rail service but is allowing the agency to go ahead with a 21.5 percent fare hike. This is the latest development in the ongoing financial...
New York: Replacement ballots in LIRR strike authorization vote available as of September 8; Ballots due September 15
BLET members working for Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) should have received a mailing from the National Division regarding the union’s strike authorization vote at the commuter railroad. Members who are eligible and have not received a strike authorization packet by...
BLET engineer at the throttle as Amtrak’s “Mardi Gras” service returns to the Gulf Coast after a 20-year absence
It was a bit of a homecoming for BLET locomotive engineer Ted Graham when he pulled back the throttle to officially relaunch Amtrak’s “Mardi Gras” service along the Gulf Coast on August 19. Graham, a member of BLET Division 18, previously worked as an assistant...
Advocacy by BLET members and others appears to have stopped a gutting of the RRB’s programs — for now
Projected Congressional funding for the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is significantly higher than anticipated, thanks in part to the hard work and tenacity of the BLET and its members. Earlier this week, the House’s Appropriations Labor, Health, and Human Services...
Texas: OSHA reaffirms reinstatement of BLET locomotive engineer with full back pay, orders UP to pay significant punitive damages after injuries in an Uber ride-share called by the company
A wrongfully-terminated BLET member received more than $184,000 in back pay after the BLET got him his job back, and he was awarded an additional $150,000 in punitive damages after a federal whistleblower investigation found that the Union Pacific Railroad violated...
C3RS: Big railroads would rather retaliate than safely operate
An investigation released last week on railroad safety from the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland — later broadcast on NPR, published in newspapers such as The Washington Post, and distributed by the Associated Press — quotes two...
Amtrak: Next generation Acela debuts on the Northeast Corridor
Representing BLET at the inaugural run, from left: Vince Verna, VP & NLR; Mark Wallace, National President; and Gary Best, First Vice President. ____________________ BLET locomotive engineer Earl Braxton, a member of BLET Division 482, was at the throttle as...
New York: BLET conducting strike authorization vote at Long Island Rail Road
Nearly six hundred locomotive engineers employed by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) received ballots in the mail last week from the national union seeking authorization to call a strike at the nation’s busiest commuter railroad. LIRR’s locomotive engineers, members...
The power of unions: New study says unions uplift not just wages, but communities as well
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) details the benefits of unions to workers, communities, and democracy. The report finds a number of benefits in the 17 states with the highest union density, including higher incomes, greater access to health...
Mark your calendars for 2026: Next year’s regional meetings will be held in New Orleans and Chicago
Looking ahead to next year, the BLET’s 2026 Western Regional Meeting will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, the week of July 13. The 2026 Eastern Regional Meeting will take place in Chicago, Illinois, the week of August 24. Please make plans now to attend one or both...
TAKE ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to fully fund RRB
Members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on July 31 considered Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) legislation, which funds the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), National Mediation Board (NMB), and Department of Labor...
BLET Auxiliary: New survival guide for railroad families still available
BLET Executive Committee members with BLET Auxiliary national officers. ____________________ Kat Bisbikis, National President of the BLET Auxiliary, said that copies of the Auxiliary’s new railroad survival guide, “Taking Charge,” remain available to BLET members and...
Like truck drivers, BLET says train crews from Mexico operating trains in the U.S. should be required to speak and read English
The BLET has been in firm opposition to allowing locomotive engineers coming out of Mexico to operate trains into the United States. Now the inability of most Mexican national train crew members to speak fluent English has become a safety and security issue. In April,...
One-on-one with the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Rep. Rick Larsen takes the stage at BLET’s Western Regional Meeting
From left: Rep. Rick Larsen, President Mark Wallace, and First Vice President Gary Best. _____________________ U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) participated in a one-on-one chat with BLET National President Mark Wallace in front of an audience comprised of more than 300...
President Wallace delivers State of the Union address at BLET’s 2025 Western Regional Meeting
Organizing and facing new technologies are two of the BLET’s top priorities during the months ahead, according to BLET President Mark Wallace as he gave his State of the Union address during the union’s Western Regional Meeting in Bellevue, Washington, on the morning...
BLET promotes rail safety, craft of locomotive engineer at Illinois State Fair
From left: Chad Clayton, LR of Division 644: Jeff Crane, LR of Division 155; Cory Martin, Illinois SLB Chairman; and Todd Knight, LC of Division 155. _____________________ Members of the BLET represented their union and the craft of locomotive engineer at the...
BLET members unanimously ratify first-ever union contract at Arizona Eastern Railway
In a unanimous vote (22-0), members of the BLET ratified their first contract with the Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER). The previously non-union workers voted to join the BLET in June of 2024. The new five-year agreement establishes rights that BLET members working at...
Union Pacific: BLET “vehemently objects” to railroad’s relocation plans for portions of North Platte home terminal
BLET contends that UP's intent to eliminate North Platte as a home terminal is contractually improper. Photo by Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659 ____________________ The BLET is objecting to a proposed plan presented by Union Pacific to relocate the home terminal for...
Daily Headlines
January 19 ceremony to honor UP workers who died in Pecos derailment
The ceremony will take place at the West of the Pecos Museum at 4 p.m.
DOT announces over $1.1 billion in new grants to reduce train-vehicle collisions and blocked rail crossings
The grants for communities in 41 states will fund construction of railroad overpasses and underpasses, helping to reduce the risk of collisions between trains and roadway users and prevent blocked crossings.
Border agency seeks to close security gaps on rail exports to Canada, Mexico
Proposed rule includes penalties of up to $100,000 for each violation.
2 killed, 3 injured when UP train derails in Pecos, TX, after collision
BLET President Eddie Hall said the derailment “should serve as a wake-up call to legislators to improve rail safety.”
January 6, 2025, marks 20th anniversary of Graniteville tragedy
BLET locomotive engineer Chris Seeling was killed in the crash on January 6, 2005. He was 47 years old.
A NJ Transit rail strike could be coming soon
A second Presidential Emergency Board, #252, is evaluating both sides of the argument.
NS line to Asheville, N.C., to be closed until March 2025
Reopening will include 12 miles east of Asheville, N.C; Old Fort Loops segment still being inspected
Analysis: Railroads head into 2025 with headcount momentum to support growth
CSXT, BNSF Railway, and Union Pacific have larger T&E rosters than they did a year ago. Norfolk Southern’s year-over-year T&E roster is down 6%.
Wyoming and Montana seek to reverse decision that would end Powder River Basin coal leases
The move came after a federal court ordered the agency to re-evaluate its environmental review criteria to include both limited leasing and no coal leasing options.
Railroads ramp up the use of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is weaving itself into the daily operations of big U.S. railroads, helping managers make data-backed decisions about operating plans and identify trends among virtually any t process.
