Rail Industry News
AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending April 16, 2022
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 489,801 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.1 percent compared with the same week last year.
Analysis: Let the railroad service blame game begin
Executives from the big four U.S. railroads — BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific — will take turns in the hot seat next week during two days of Surface Transportation Board hearings on widespread service problems.
BNSF, FRA automated track inspection dispute in federal court
BNSF has filed a Petition for Review with the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, naming the Federal Railroad Administration, FRA Administrator Amit Bose and the USDOT, of the FRA’s March 21, 2022 order (Docket Number FRA-2020-0064 – Request to Expand Automated Track Inspection Program) denying BNSF’s request “to expand an existing waiver of certain requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 213.233 to permit BNSF to broaden its implementation of automated track inspection technologies.”
SMART-TD agrees to “advance payments” from CSX
CSX also said it “notified its other labor organization representatives that it intends to reach agreements to provide identical payments to all unionized employees.”
Union Pacific reports first quarter 2022 results
Union Pacific Corporation today reported 2022 first quarter net income of $1.6 billion, or $2.57 per diluted share. This compares to 2021 first quarter net income of $1.3 billion, or $2.00 per diluted share.
Union Pacific says track congestion hurting ability to meet demand
Total operating revenue in the quarter rose to $5.86 billion, from $5 billion last year.
DOJ appeals after federal judge halts mask mandate for transportation
A Florida judge on April 18 struck down a federal mandate requiring mask use on public transportation and at transportation hubs. While railroads were deciding whether to keep the mandate in place until May 3 or make mask-wearing optional, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 20 filed an appeal.
Amtrak dumps its nice guy persona in fight for Gulf Coast trains
Amtrak, which typically speaks in a mild-mannered tone on social media, has reinvented itself as a flamethrower that’s launching snarky missives at the freight railroad companies that it says are blocking passenger train travel on the Gulf Coast.
North American rail volume down through first 15 weeks of 2022
Rail traffic has declined for eight consecutive weeks.
Gulf Coast hearing, round 6: The Port raises a statutory issue
Amtrak is preparing to present its case to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) disputing the amount of new infrastructure that potential host railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern claim must be built before passenger trains can again run between New Orleans and Mobile.
Q1 2022 rail earnings preview: Service metrics, headcount, macro uncertainties
As the Class I railroads gear up for earnings season this week and next, commentary about the first quarter of 2022 will likely include discussion about how the railroads’ recent hiring initiatives will translate into improving service metrics in the second half of the year.
Alarm over box dwell times at West Coast ports: The railroads must help
Concern over lengthening container dwell times at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has caused US transportation secretary Peter Buttigieg to call on the railways to work harder to tackle the backlogs.
More transit agencies drop mask requirements, but some stay in place
More transit agencies determined or clarified their stance on Tuesday in the wake of a Monday court ruling striking down a federal requirement for mask use on public transportation.
CN raises new train count data issues around CP-KCS merger
Canadian National claims it has found additional train count inconsistencies in the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger application and related environmental filings.
Gulf Coast hearing, week 3: Mobile rail executive outlines train movements; Amtrak witnesses criticize randomized data
Switching details and conflicting traffic modeling assumptions dominated discussions at the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing into Amtrak plans to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.
Gulf Coast hearing, round 5: A skirmish over a model
In a nutshell, Mississippi wants the passenger trains while Mobile, and Alabama generally, don’t. CSX, NS, and their allies would be willing to allow the passenger trains to run, but only if CSX gets a lot of infrastructure improvements along its New Orleans & Mobile (NO&M) route and NS gets some on its Back Belt through the Crescent City.
Florida judge voids mask mandate for U.S. mass transit
The judge’s decision freed airlines, airports and mass transit systems to make their own decisions about mask requirements, resulting in a mix of responses.
Freight engineers and conductors are forced to work tired, sick, and stressed
Conditions that result in extreme fatigue are by design in the modern freight rail industry and all too typical of the daily experiences of the people responsible for running trains safely.
Fewer cars, more locomotives: UP, BNSF try to clear congestion
The railroads are also adding locomotives and limiting the number of cars in their networks in a bid to maintain network fluidity. Union Pacific has added 50 locomotives since January and will remove between 2% and 3% of its cars across multiple commodity groups, according to the customer letter. BNSF said in its intermodal update it will add 100 locomotives this month. It will reduce railcar inventory by 2%, according to a letter in response to NGFA.
Analysis: Gulf Coast testimony confirms modeling did not explore operating changes
Two days of testimony that made up the second week of the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service delved into the intricacies of traffic modeling and its data inputs, and made clear both that Amtrak had no role in that modeling, and that consideration of changes to freight operations were not part of the process.
BLET News
RRB cancels Spring 2020 Pre-Retirement Seminars
The Railroad Retirement Board has cancelled all Pre-Retirement Seminars scheduled for March through June 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a March 19 announcement from the Office of the Labor Member.
Teamsters statement on coronavirus pandemic
As the United States responds to the outbreak of COVID-19, we must ensure that working people are able to perform their jobs in a safe working environment and that sick leave is available to all workers. Without adequate sick leave, workers will be forced to continue working in order to provide food and housing for their families, thus potentially exposing others to the virus.
Two-person crew bill awaits Governor’s signature in Washington State
After more than seven years of hard word by the BLET’s Washington State Legislative Board and their counterparts within the SMART Transportation Division, a two-person crew bill has passed both chambers of the state legislature in Washington. The bill is currently on the desk of Governor Jay Inslee awaiting his signature.
BLET to conduct General Chairman training class in June 2020
The BLET Education & Training Department, in conjunction with the BLET Arbitration Department, is offering a General Chairman’s training class from June 2-4, 2020, at the BLET National Division headquarters in Independence, Ohio.
Rail unions urge FRA to act regarding spread of coronavirus
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) jointly petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on March 6 to take action in responding to the rapidly spreading COVID-19 (coronavirus) in the United States.
BLET urges rail industry to address coronavirus pandemic
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is urging the railroad industry to take steps to protect BLET members, their co-workers and the general public from the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
BLET to host Local Chairman training class, May 3-8, 2020
The BLET Education and Training Department will host a Local Chairman training class from May 3-8, 2020, at the BLET National Division headquarters and Training Center in Independence, Ohio. The class is designed to help Local Chairmen develop and hone the skills necessary to provide the best representation possible to our members.
BLET reaches tentative agreement with PATH
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reached a tentative agreement with the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH). Ballots have been mailed to active members of the BLET employed by the PATH who are eligible to vote in the ratification of this agreement.
BLET-backed two-person crew bill advances in Washington state
The BLET Washington State Legislative Board, in conjunction with the SMART-TD Washington Legislative Board, has been lobbying the Washington State Legislature in support of H.B. 1841, a bill that would establish a minimum crew size on certain types of trains. The measure has already passed the House, and members who live in the state of Washington are being urged to call their State Senators and ask them to support the bill.
Pfeifer reelected Chairman of Nebraska State Legislative Board
Pat S. Pfeifer was reelected to his third term as Chairman of the Nebraska State Legislative Board during its quadrennial meeting in Lincoln, Neb., February 24-25, 2020.
