November 14, 2023 | Commuter Rail, News
Major investment in passenger rail: President Biden announced $16.4 billion in funding for passenger and commuter rail at a November 6 press conference. (Image from White House YouTube video) __________________________ The Biden administration announced on November 6...
November 13, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Agreement, Headlines, Unions
(Source: Transport Workers Union Local 234 press release, November 10, 2023) PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — On Friday, November 10, the members of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 234, SEPTA’s largest union, voted to ratify new contracts with the transit agency. The City,...
November 10, 2023 | Amtrak, Commuter Rail, Headlines
(Source: Urben Field Notes, October 26, 2023) On several rail-friendly corridors — big city pairs less than 300 miles apart — train travel will go from an eccentric travel option to a perfectly logical one. That vision of the not-so-distant future starts to...
November 9, 2023 | Commuter Rail, CPKC, Headlines, Mexico
(Source: Associated Press, November 8, 2023) Mexico’s president announced Wednesday that he will require private rail companies that mostly carry freight to offer passenger service or else have the government schedule its own trains on their tracks. President Andrés...
November 8, 2023 | Amtrak, Commuter Rail, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Amtrak press release, November 6, 2023) Amtrak has been awarded nearly $10 billion in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funding from the Biden-Harris Administration to modernize critical infrastructure, improve stations and support future ridership growth...
November 6, 2023 | Amtrak, Commuter Rail, FRA, Headlines
Biden announces $16.4 billion for Amtrak rail improvements along Northeast Corridor (Source: CNN, November 6, 2023) President Joe Biden announced Monday the federal government will pump more than $16.4 billion into improving the nation’s busiest rail line. At an event...
November 2, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Headlines, Unions
(Source: Progressive Railroading, October 20, 2023) The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Transport Workers Union Local 234 late last week reached a tentative agreement on a one-year contract, averting a potential strike. Full story:...
October 25, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Negotiations, Headlines
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, October 23, 2023) Locomotive engineers and conductors are holding strike votes after months of mediated talks with SEPTA have failed to produce progress toward agreements. The engineers and conductors have not received raises in about...
October 25, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Negotiations, Headlines
(Source: NBC Philadelphia, October 24, 2024 The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a union that represents about 160 train engineers at SEPTA, also authorized a strike vote. The union claims pay for SEPTA’s engineers and conductors “is about...
October 23, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Negotiations, News
PHILADELPHIA, October 23 — This morning, National President Eddie Hall announced that BLET members will conduct a strike vote at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA). Voting begins today and results will be announced on November 20, 2023. A majority...
