June 1, 2023 | Headlines, Railroad Safety, Train Length
(Source: GAO Blog, June 1, 2023) Some recent derailments and other rail incidents have had something in common: they involved longer freight trains. Federal rail regulators are investigating the exact causes of these incidents and GAO has not examined them. But, we...
June 1, 2023 | Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Times Observer, June 1, 2023) Pennsylvania’s House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee gave 19-2 approval to House Bill 1028. It would authorize the state to maintain a tighter grip on the way trains operate. But while East Palestine...
June 1, 2023 | CPKC, Derailment, Headlines
(Source: CBS Minnesota, May 31, 2023) For the second time within two months, a train carrying hazardous materials has derailed in Minnesota. Canadian Pacific (CPKC) says 24 cars on a freight train went off the rails Wednesday at about 4:30 p.m. near the Kittson County...
June 1, 2023 | Amtrak, Congressional Hearing, Headlines
(Source: Reuters, May 31, 2023) U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner will testify on June 6 before a U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure railroads subcommittee, a spokesperson for the panel said on Wednesday, as traffic rebounds after a...
May 31, 2023 | CSX, Headlines, Paid Sick Leave, PSR, Shippers
(Source: Trains Magazine, May 30, 2023) Railroads have to mend frayed relationships with customers, employees, Congress, and regulators, CSX Transportation CEO Joe Hinrichs told a shipper conference last week. A number of recent factors have helped perpetuate negative...
May 31, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety, Train Length
(Source: Trains Magazine, May 30, 2023) Following a nationwide legislative trend in the wake of February’s derailment and toxic-chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio, the New York state Senate has passed a series of bills seeking to regulate the way railroads...
May 31, 2023 | Headlines, PSR, STB
(Source: Trains Magazine, May 26, 2023) Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman told a shipper conference that Class I railroad behavior over the past few years – mass layoffs, crew shortages, and poor service – may require a new approach to...
May 31, 2023 | CN, Headlines, Teamsters Canada
(Source: Teamsters Canada Rail Conference press release, May 26, 2023) OTTAWA, Ontario — The TCRC is very pleased to announce the ratification of their new collective agreement affecting approximately 6,000 Locomotive Engineers, Conductors and Yard Workers employed...
May 31, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: WCVB, May 30, 2023) The Federal Transit Administration has ordered the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to resubmit a safety work plan it shared with the federal agency at the beginning of May. Full story: www.wcvb.com
May 31, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Progressive Farmer, May 29, 2023) While the Bipartisan Rail Safety Act has yet to be made into law, some states are enacting their own safety laws, one of them being the two-person crew requirement that unions fought for, but did not get, in the recent 2023...
