Rail Industry News
NS launching operational plan for intermodal and bulk
Norfolk Southern is preparing to launch the next stage of its streamlined operational plan, with improving intermodal and bulk moves being the target, executives said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday morning.
NS reports Q1 2022 results
First-quarter railway operating revenue was $2.9 billion, income from railway operations was $1.1 billion, net income was $703 million, and diluted earnings per share was $2.93.
CN Rail profit dips amid supply chain snarls, cuts outlook
Canada’s largest railroad operator said net income for the first quarter dropped to $918 million from $976 million in the first three months of 2021. Revenues rose five per cent year over year to $3.71 billion compared with $3.54 billion a year earlier.
CN reports Q1 2022 results
CN today reported its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022. CN delivered sound operating and financial performance across the board, with adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of C$1.32, up 7%.
Growing impatient with Class I carriers, STB proposes to change emergency service rules
According to the STB, part of the proposal is to make it clear that it has the authority to direct emergency rail services and establish a faster process to deal with acute service emergencies.
NTSB takes action on Most Wanted List, closes recommendations on preventing rail worker fatalities
The National Transportation Safety Board has closed recommendations to reduce rail worker fatalities, one of 10 issues on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Safety Improvements for 2021-2022.
CN paid top executives big bonuses last year, first time since 2018
CEO JJ Ruest received a bonus of $2.32-million in 2021 as part of a total compensation package of $13.55-million.
Indiana fire chief calls out NS, says blocked crossings a safety issue
Elkhart County Commissioner Brad Rogers and Jackson Township Fire Chief Bill Dunlap issued a joint statement Monday and said the issue of blocked crossings has become a very real public safety hazard as emergency vehicles are now forced to divert around blocked crossings on an increasing basis.
Rail unions refusing advance payments in favor of a new deal
All the major railroads now plan to offer their employees up to $600 a month in advance of raises they expect to pay once the current two-year-old national contract talks are eventually settled. But a coalition of unions that represents more than 105,000 railroad workers said Monday they’ll refuse the payments partly because workers would be on the hook to repay some of the money if the eventual raises aren’t big enough to cover the payments. The unions want the National Carriers’ Conference Committee that represents more than 30 railroads to negotiate a contract instead.
UP defends PSR amid service struggles
Service issues Union Pacific experienced in the first quarter weren’t due to precision scheduled railroading but to crew shortages, executives told investors during UP’s first-quarter 2022 earnings call Thursday.
STB eyes emergency service rules revision
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is seeking comments by May 23 on a proposal to amend its emergency service regulations “to provide relief for shippers in situations that require immediate relief.”
U.S. Supreme Court to weigh states’ jurisdiction over out-of-state companies
The court on Monday granted a petition for review by Virginia resident Robert Mallory, who is seeking to revive a lawsuit against his former employer, Virginia-based Norfolk Southern Railway Co, claiming he developed colon cancer because of asbestos exposure on the job.
Houston businesses say blocked train crossings are costing them money and customers
The problem is so dire that on Thursday evening, the East End Chamber organized a community meeting bringing together representatives from Union Pacific, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and lots of upset residents as well as business owners.
Union Pacific EVP Rocker sells $1 million in company stock
Union Pacific Co. EVP Kenyatta G. Rocker sold 4,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 21. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,004,500.00.
Lawsuit takes aim against Union Pacific after cancer-causing chemicals found in Houston’s Fifth Ward
A draft to take a company to court brings mixed feelings to Kashmere Gardens neighbors looking to break the cycle of health problems.
Q&A: Railroad Retirement age reductions
While railroad employees with less than 30 years of service may retire at age 62, their railroad retirement benefits are subject to early retirement (“age”) reductions if they retire before attaining their full retirement age.
BLET ad takes aim at BNSF, UP leadership ahead of stockholder meetings
In a reflection of escalating tension between Class I railroads and their union workers — both as national contract negotiations drag on and because of friction arising from Precision Scheduled Railroading — the BLET has taken out a newspaper ad aimed at shareholders of Union Pacific and BNSF Railway parent Berkshire Hathaway.
CSX Q1 2022 earnings soar despite lower volume
CSX’s first-quarter 2022 financials included whopping increases of 21% in net earnings and 26% in diluted earnings per share, despite a drop in volume.
CSX announces Q1 2022 financial results
Revenue reached $3.41 billion for the quarter, increasing 21% year-over-year, as an overall revenue-per-unit increase of 24% more than offset a 2% decline in volume.
UP, CSX aim to solve workforce woes to move petroleum, coal and more
Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz said: “Shame on us. We did not have the crew availability for when something went wrong.”
BLET News
Two-person crew bill becomes law in Washington State
After more than seven years of hard work by the BLET’s Washington State Legislative Board and their counterparts within the SMART Transportation Division, a two-person crew bill was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee on March 27, 2020.
Union leaders demand clarification from FRA on waivers
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) President Dennis R. Pierce and SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy R. Ferguson sought clarification from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) after the agency granted 60-day emergency waiver requests to railroads on March 25, ostensibly to maintain their operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
RRB: Coronavirus Relief Act impacts railroad workers
The following is a Railroad Retirement Board press release: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, signed into law by President Trump on March 27, boosts unemployment and sickness benefits for railroad workers impacted by the pandemic.
What we always knew: Engineers and Trainmen are Essential to the American Economy
By Dennis R. Pierce, BLET National President Many American workers have seen their jobs vanish, but as with all railroad workers, BLET members have seen their jobs become increasingly more important to the nation. We move the products that power our nation and the food that feeds our citizens. We play an integral role in our nation’s economy, and without us, our nation would collapse. In many ways, BLET members are the nation’s ultimate essential workers.
Railroad workers to benefit from coronavirus stimulus package
The needs of railroad workers and their families — including improvements to railroad unemployment benefits — are included in the new coronavirus stimulus package, which was signed into law today.
Deadline extended to April 14 for 2020 Hoffa scholarship program
Due to the national coronavirus emergency, the deadline for the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund has been extended to April 14, 2020. The program offers college and vocational scholarships for the sons, daughters and financial dependents of Teamsters.
RRB Labor Member message to Rail Labor
By John Bragg, Labor Member of the Railroad Retirement Board The purpose of this notice is to update you on how COVID-19 is impacting operations at the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). Be assured, while it is not business as usual, the agency remains open for business.
Rail Conference seeks Railroad Retirement improvements in coronavirus stimulus bill
In a letter to Congressional leaders today, the Teamsters Rail Conference urges Congress to improve Railroad Retirement unemployment and sickness benefits as it votes on a stimulus package to provide economic relief to Americans who are not able to work during the coronavirus pandemic. The letter is part of a larger effort by all of Rail Labor and Rail Carriers to persuade Congress to extend to railroad workers the relief already granted to workers in other industries.
SMART TD and BLET petition FRA for emergency protocols regarding COVID-19 for passenger rail
On their heels of their joint petition to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting an Emergency Order (EO) to address employee safety conditions in response to the national COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, the SMART Transportation Division and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers are Trainmen (BLET) are now asking for a similar EO for Amtrak and passenger/commuter lines.
SMART TD and BLET petition FRA for emergency protocols regarding COVID-19
The SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) today filed a joint request urging the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to issue an Emergency Order (EO) to address employee safety conditions in response to the national COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
