October 7, 2024 | Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Trains.com, October 2, 2024) A New Jersey state senate committee has approved a bill that would require two-person crews for freight trains and set a maximum length of 8,500 feet for “dangerous hazardous trains.” Full story: Trains.com
October 1, 2024 | CSX, Fatality, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
The BLET continues to expose the dangers of remote control train operations after three tragic pedestrian incidents — including a fatality — in Buffalo, New York. The lead story on Page 1 of the September 22 issue of the Buffalo News says it all: “Driverless trains...
September 25, 2024 | Long Trains, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
The recently-released report confirms what the BLET has been saying all along. Longer trains create a greater risk of overall safety. Photo courtesy of Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659 ____________________ A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and...
September 8, 2024 | BNSF, C3RS, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released the results of its safety culture survey at the BNSF Railway on August 28. The FRA found that company leaders routinely say that safety is a core value, but lower-level managers still prioritize keeping the trains...
September 4, 2024 | C3RS, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
The BLET wasted no time in making working conditions safer for new members at COASTER by securing participation in C3RS. NCTD image _____________________ The BLET has hit the ground running at COASTER and is already making the workplace safer for its newest members....
August 29, 2024 | 2-man Crews, CSX, Fatality, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Remote Control
(Source: Associated Press, August 28, 2024) The CSX worker who discovered his friend run over by a pair of remote-control locomotives in a railyard last year sees a simple solution to preventing similar deaths in the future: two-person crews. But that idea won’t be...
August 28, 2024 | BNSF, C3RS, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Associated Press, August 28, 2024) Freight railroad BNSF is generally striving to improve safety on a consistent basis, but that message doesn’t always reach front-line workers who often don’t feel comfortable reporting safety concerns for fear of being...
August 14, 2024 | News, Railroad Safety, Top News
July was a busy month for the BLET’s Safety Task Force (STF). The BLET has received party status from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to assist with investigations into three serious incidents: a BNSF hazmat derailment and fire in Carrington, N.D.; a...
August 13, 2024 | DOT, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Progressive Railroading, August 9, 2024) U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) on Aug. 1 introduced the Rail Bridge Safety and Transparency Act (S. 4954), which aims to increase the safety of rail bridges in the nation. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) has...
August 9, 2024 | Legislation, News, Paid Sick Leave, PSR, Railroad Safety, Regional Meetings, Top News
The BLET National Division has prepared a video featuring highlights from several speakers at the union’s Eastern Regional Meeting last week in Washington D.C. The 8-minute video features the meeting’s opening ceremony and includes messages from U.S. Senator Bernie...
