April 27, 2023 | CP-KCS Merger, CPKC, East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Reckon Media, April 26, 2023) What is known is that the CPKC merger will drastically increase rail traffic in dozens of U.S. neighborhoods from Chicago to Texas’s border with Mexico. Traffic is expected to at least quadruple as the trains haul anything from...
April 25, 2023 | FRA, Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Railway Age column by Grady C. Cothen Jr., April 23, 2023) The June 2022 White Paper supplemented here was devoted to “management of in-train forces.” This is an issue for trains of virtually all lengths and tonnages, but longer trains present special...
April 20, 2023 | 2-man Crews, East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Columbus Dispatch, April 18, 2023) Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has embraced some rail safety measures in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment, but he remains opposed to a rule requiring at least two crew members to be on board. Full story:...
April 20, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: www.mlive.com, April 17, 2023) Michigan Senate Democrats are working to put more regulations in place for the state’s roughly 3,600 miles of railways as a way to increase public safety after numerous reports of blocked traffic and train derailments. Michigan...
April 13, 2023 | 2-man Crews, East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Press release from the office of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, April 12, 2023) COLUMBUS, Ohio — Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined local business owners, rail union workers, and officials to call for swift passage of his bipartisan Railway Safety...
April 13, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Legislation, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Open Secrets, March 2, 2023) The influence of rail companies on policymaking was thrust into the spotlight after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 while carrying toxic chemicals that could pose long-term health risks to...
April 13, 2023 | FRA, Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Trains Magazine, April 11, 2023) Rail labor leaders welcomed the safety advisory that the Federal Railroad Administration issued last week that encourages railroads to take steps to reduce the in-train forces that can cause long trains to derail. Full story:...
April 13, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: National Public Radio, April 10, 2023) A ProPublica report on a railroad cost-cutting approach called Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) concludes that a strategy that employs longer trains with fewer employees puts profits ahead of safety in the freight...
April 13, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Technology
(Source: Ideastream Public Media, April 13, 2023) The February train derailment in East Palestine has raised questions about the safety of freight rail companies. Now, the U.S. Congress is considering two pieces of legislation that would address the use of wayside...
April 11, 2023 | Headlines, Paid Sick Leave, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Editorial in the Seattle Times, April 9, 2023) State and federal governments recently have focused on ways to make the nation’s railways safer after a series of derailments, from East Palestine, Ohio, to Swinomish, left communities concerned about their own...
