Rail Industry News
Proposed Washington port to ship Powder River Basin coal would be biggest in North America
(Source: The Daily News, February 24, 2012) LONGVIEW, Wash. — A company is proposing to build a $600 million terminal in southwest Washington to export 44 million metric tons of Powder River Basin coal to Asia each year, a total that would make it the largest such...
SEPTA to spend $100 million on Positive Train Control
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, February 24, 2012) PHILADELPHIA — SEPTA will spend $100 million for a new, federally mandated train-control system designed to prevent the kind of collision that killed 25 people and injured more than 130 in Los Angeles in 2008. The new...
Operating Engineers union sues to stop Indiana right-to-work law
(Source: Reuters, February 23, 2012) INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana union members will ask a federal judge on Friday to block enforcement of a controversial law that allows workers in unionized jobs to opt out of paying dues, according to lawyers involved in the case. The...
Alberta businessman Paul Haggis nominated to CP Rail board
(Source: Calgary Herald, February 22, 2012) CALGARY, Alberta — Bill Ackman has enlisted an Alberta businessman in his bid to oust Canadian Pacific’s CEO, adding Paul Haggis to a proposed slate of directors in the latest manoeuvre between the railway and its largest...
Mudslide hits BNSF railroad tracks in Everett, Wash.; 2nd slide hits equipment clearing 1st slide
(Source: Associated Press, February 22, 2012) EVERETT, Wash. — Amtrak and Sound Transit trains won't travel to Everett until Friday morning as a safety precaution, following two mudslides that hit the railroad tracks early Wednesday in the city. An excavator clearing...
Major intermodal shipper renews contract with Union Pacific
(Source: Journal of Commerce, February 22, 2012) WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to the Journal of Commerce, the NOL Group renewed its contract with Union Pacific for U.S. rail transport of containerized cargo carried by APL, it liner shipping business. APL is the...
California High-Speed Rail Authority elects new chairman
(Source: California High-Speed Rail Authority press release, February 2, 2012) SACRAMENTO – Today, at its regularly scheduled board meeting, the California High-Speed Rail Authority elected Dan Richard to be its chairman, succeeding Thomas Umberg who resigned that...
Durbin: Additional high-speed rail money will be a tough sell
(Source: State Journal-Register, February 23, 2012) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State and local officials face a tough sell when it comes to attracting additional federal money for high-speed trains in Illinois and consolidation of rail traffic in Springfield, U.S. Sen. Dick...
U.S. Class I workforce shrunk slightly in January, STB data shows
(Source: Progressive Railroading, February 22, 2012) As of mid-January, the U.S. Class I workforce contracted slightly from December’s level, but remained considerably larger than the employment roster from a year ago. At 159,333 on or about Jan. 15, the workforce...
SEPTA opposes House GOP transportation bill
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, February 23, 2012) PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — A new federal transportation funding plan could cripple SEPTA's ability to buy vehicles or rebuild stations, general manager Joseph Casey said Wednesday. Casey joined executives from the nation's...
Wisconsin GOP attempts to ram through special interest mining bill
(Source: PR Watch, February 23, 2012) Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald are pushing for radical changes in Wisconsin’s current mining law to benefit a single out-of-state company. Gogebic Taconite, based out of Florida, has...
House transportation bill: Lobbying and lawsuits behind move to strip worker protections
(Source: Huffington Post, February 17, 2012) WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Republicans are trying to pass a transportation bill that would strip certain workers of their minimum-wage and overtime protections. As it turns out, several of the companies that would benefit...
Norfolk Southern calls N.C. rail plan ‘fatally flawed’
(Source: Charlotte Observer, February 21, 2012) CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Norfolk Southern reiterated its opposition to the planned $452 million Red Line Regional Rail project Tuesday, calling it "fatally flawed" and based on invalid assumptions. Full story: Charlotte...
BNSF boasts of economic development in 2010, 2011
(Source: BNSF Railway press release, February 21, 2012) FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway's economic development team worked with customers to locate hundreds of new or expanded facilities in communities across BNSF's network over the past two years, generating $1.7...
Ohio voters may be say on ‘right to work’
(Source: Dayton Daily News, February 21, 2012) DAYTON, Ohio — In the wake of Indiana’s recent passage of a right-to-work law, opposing sides in Ohio are preparing to battle over the same issue. Full story: Dayton Daily News
Indiana unions countering GOP with voter campaign
(Source: Post-Tribune, February 21, 2012) GARY, Ind. — Labor unions are starting new voter education campaigns in response to right-to-work legislation passed by the General Assembly. Full story: Post-Tribune
Hoffa: New battlegrounds in the War on Workers
(Source: Message by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, February 8, 2012) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Already this year, state lawmakers have opened brutal new fronts in the war on workers. And America's workers are fighting back as never before. In Michigan,...
Shipper complaints lead to STB review of Berkshire’s BNSF deal
(Source: Lincoln Journal Star, February 16, 2012) LINCOLN, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s 2010 acquisition of Burlington will be the subject of a Surface Transportation Board hearing on March 22 regarding complaints by railroad shipper that they're being asked to...
15,000 die each year while crossing train tracks in India, safety group says
(Source: Associated Press, February 21, 2012) NEW DELHI — About 15,000 people die every year trying to cross the tracks of India’s mammoth rail network, a “massacre” that a government committee said was being ignored by railway authorities. Full story: Washington...
CN targets $1.75 billion in 2012 capital investments
(Source: CN press release, February 17, 2012) MONTREAL — CN announced today plans to invest C$1.75 billion in 2012 to maintain and upgrade its railway network, support growth and productivity initiatives, and continue to provide customers with a high level of service....
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