July 17, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines
(Source: NBC News, July 12, 2023) According to a study, levels of a chemical irritant called acrolein detected near the derailment site on Feb. 20 and 21 were up to six times higher than normal levels recorded before the disaster. But local and federal officials had...
July 17, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Editorial in the Altoona Mirror, July 15, 2023) The fiery Norfolk Southern derailment that wreaked havoc in and around East Palestine, Ohio, last winter — as well as the derailment’s aftermath — have dispatched numerous poignant messages not only to current...
July 17, 2023 | Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Retirement
(Source: Railway Age, July 13, 2023) Two rail industry associations and two unions teamed recently to encourage Congressional support of the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness Act (REEF Act; H.R.2785/S.1274), which they said would “eliminate cuts to railroad...
July 17, 2023 | Amtrak, Headlines, STB, UP
(Source: Railfan & Railroad Magazine, July 17, 2023) Seven months after Amtrak called on the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to investigate Union Pacific’s handling of the Sunset Limited, the federal regulator announced it would be looking into how the freight...
July 17, 2023 | AAR Freight Trends, Headlines
(Source: Progressive Railroading, July 13, 2023) U.S. railroads logged a 5.1% decrease in traffic to 407,843 carloads, containers and trailers for the week ending July 8 compared with volumes in the same week last year, according to Association of American...
July 7, 2023 | CSX, Fatality, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Trains Magazine, July 7, 2023) The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin after a CSX Transportation conductor trainee was killed during a shove movement in Baltimore. Full story: Trains Magazine
July 7, 2023 | 2-man Crews, AAR Freight Trends, Headlines, Lawsuit
(Source: Associated Press, July 7, 2023) The railroad industry has sued to block a new minimum crew-size requirement that Ohio imposed after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine in February. Full story: Associated Press
July 7, 2023 | BNSF, Headlines, Shippers, STB
(Source: Trains Magazine, July 6, 2023) Federal regulators have set a procedural schedule for handling Navajo Transitional Energy Co.’s common carrier complaint against BNSF Railway. The Surface Transportation Board last month issued a preliminary injunction that...
July 7, 2023 | FRA, Headlines, PSR, Train Length
(Source: Fort Worth Report, July 6, 2023) Over the past year, drivers sent hundreds of reports of trains blocking track-and-street intersections to the Federal Railroad Administration. Sometimes the trains are moving across the intersection for long periods of time....
July 7, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Press release from the office of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), July 6, 2023) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), and John Fetterman (D-PA) backed a new proposed rule from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety...
