November 29, 2023 | AAR Freight Trends, Headlines
(Source: Railway Age, November 22, 2023) Through the first 46 weeks of 2023 (ending Nov. 18), total North American carload and intermodal traffic decreased 3.1% from the same point last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Nov. 22. For the week...
November 29, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: New Jersey Monitor, November 28, 2023) New Jersey lawmakers are considering legislation intended to make “high hazard” freight trains safer by requiring two-person crews, capping train length, and mandating trackside technology to detect defects on passing...
November 22, 2023 | CSX, Headlines, PSR
(Source: Trains.com, November 20, 2023) CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs dished out some tough love for the industry last week while reflecting on his nearly 14 months at the helm of the railroad. The former Ford Motor Co. executive has learned a lot about railroading in his...
November 22, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Negotiations, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com, November 21, 2023) Don Hill, General Chairman of BLET’s SEPTA locomotive engineers, said that SEPTA currently has 177 engineers instead of the 230 needed to properly maintain the agency’s regional rail schedule. BLET Vice President James P. Louis...
November 22, 2023 | Headlines, Teamsters, Unions
(Source: CNN, November 21, 2023) Nearly 900,000 Americans sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner this week will have unions – and the double-digit pay increases they won – to thank. That’s how many unionized workers have won immediate pay hikes of 10% or more in just the...
November 22, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines
(Source: KDKA, November 21, 2023) People impacted by the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio last winter sat down for a Thanksgiving meal. Family and friends whose lives have been turned upside down after the toxic East Palestine Norfolk Southern train derailment...
November 22, 2023 | Accident, Amtrak, Headlines
(Source: Associated Press, November 21, 2023) A 911 call center on Monday took some responsibility for an Amtrak train derailment last week in southwestern Michigan, saying it misidentified a crossing and contacted a different railroad to warn that a car was stuck on...
November 22, 2023 | Derailment, FRA, Headlines, Weather
(Source: Railway Age, November 21, 2023) The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has released a safety advisory recommending six actions that railroads take “to reduce weather-related accidents/incidents and improve the efficiency of the national rail network during...
November 22, 2023 | Headlines, STB
(Source: Freight Waves, November 22, 2023) The Surface Transportation Board is extending the deadline for industry stakeholders to reply to feedback that the board received on its proposed rule for reciprocal switching. The new deadline is December 20, 2023. Full...
November 22, 2023 | Commuter Rail, CPKC, Headlines, Mexico
(Source: Associated Press, November 20, 2023) Mexico’s government issued a decree Monday that will force private freight railway lines to give preference to passenger train service over their normal freight runs. The decree gives the two main private concessionary...
