January 22, 2024 | Congressional Hearing, Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Eno Center for Transportation, January 19, 2024) The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials met on January 18 to discuss the oversight of railroad grade crossing elimination and safety...
January 5, 2024 | Education and Training, Health & Welfare, Legislation, News, Paid Sick Leave, Railroad Safety, Regional Meetings, Tentative Contract
Happy New Year! As we move forward into 2024, let’s examine the biggest achievements of the BLET’s five major departments in 2023: Protective, Legislative, Education & Training, Organizing, and Public Relations. Please enjoy our Year in Review!...
January 4, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Freight Waves, January 3, 2024) The Federal Railroad Administration has submitted its final rule on train crew staffing to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, with the final rule potentially being released in March, according to OMB’s...
January 4, 2024 | 2-man Crews, Contract Negotiations, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Shippers, STB
(Source: Freight Waves, January 4, 2024) Railroads, shippers and unions are tracking hot topics ranging from service improvement to government oversight to safety regulations in 2024. Two of the items are federal action on rail safety and labor contract negotiations....
January 3, 2024 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Legislation, NTSB, Railroad Safety
(Source: Freight Waves, January 1, 2024) The passage of any rail safety legislation in Congress next year is likely to be influenced by two things, industry observers told FreightWaves: the 2024 presidential election and the release of a report by the National...
December 28, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Paid Sick Leave, Railroad Safety
(Source: Freight Waves, December 21, 2023) The year 2023 seemed to kick off quietly for U.S. freight railroads: The industry had seen the resolution of the labor contract impasse between craft unions and U.S. Class I railroads in December 2022, while rail service was...
December 21, 2023 | Headlines, KCS, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: ProPublica, December 19, 2023) After brakeman Chris Cole lost both his legs on the job, KCS railroad officials removed evidence before state regulators could see it, omitted key facts in reports and suspended him from a job he could never return to. Full...
December 11, 2023 | Canada, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Trains.com, December 11, 2023) The Canadian government has announced new rules regarding rail air brake inspection and maintenance, to take effect Dec. 1, 2025. Full story: Trains.com
December 7, 2023 | Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety, STB, Unions
(Source: Trains.com, December 4, 2023) A coalition of rail labor unions has criticized the U.S. Class I railroads’ hiring efforts, their pace of service improvements, and the industry’s safety record in a filing with the Surface Transportation Board. Full story:...
December 4, 2023 | News, Railroad Safety
From left: BLET’s Andrew Arias, NJ State Senator Patrick Diegnan, and BLET’s Ray Vigil at the New Jersey State Senate’s hearing to consider a rail safety bill on November 27, 2023. ____________________ Members of the BLET’s New Jersey State Legislative Board (NJ SLB)...
