Rail Industry News
U.S. rails plan $12 billion in 2011 capital spending
(The following appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on March 9, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The largest U.S. railroads will spend an estimated $12 billion on capital improvements this year, easily outpacing the record capital expenditures of $10.7 billion they...
FRA to scale back Positive Train Control regulation
(The following appeared on the Journal of Commerce website on March 7, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administration, in a legal settlement with the Association of American Railroads, agreed to issue new regulations that could scale back the amount of...
Opinion: Michigan Senate attempting ‘backdoor approach’ to what’s going on in Wisconsin
(The following column by Jonathan Oosting appeared at www.MLive.com on March 10.) ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Senate on Wednesday approved controversial legislation giving broad powers to emergency financial managers, individuals appointed by the state to oversee...
Labor makes statement at Indianapolis rally
(The following appeared on the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette website on March 11, 2011.) INDIANAPOLIS — Fort Wayne union member Jeremy Penrod, 21, gave up a paycheck Thursday to protest what he calls an anti-union movement alongside thousands of other Hoosier workers who...
Unions frame bargaining as civil rights issue
(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 11, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Labor unions at the heart of a burning national disagreement over the cost of public employees want to frame the debate as a civil rights issue, an effort that may draw more sympathy...
Opinion: To union protesters in Indiana and all other states, job issues are deeply personal
(The following column by Matthew Tully appeared on the Indianapolis Star website on March 11, 2011.) INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — I waded into the crowd of Carhartt-wearing, sign-carrying union protesters outside the Statehouse on Thursday and came across Bernie Schwartz, a...
Wisconsin could help launch counterattack on GOP
(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 11, 2011.) MADISON, Wis. — leaders plan to use the setback to fire up their members nationwide and mount a major counterattack against Republicans at the ballot box in 2012. Wisconsin's measure stripping public...
Operation Lifesaver notes rise in 2010 U.S. grade crossing collisions, pedestrian-train incidents
(Operation Lifesaver, Inc., issued the following press release on March 10, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — An improving economy may have contributed to an increase in vehicle-train and pedestrian collisions, deaths and injuries in 2010, according to Operation Lifesaver,...
UP’s PRB coal train loadings lagged in February
(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on March 9, 2011.) Last month, Union Pacific Railroad loaded 925 coal trains in the Southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) compared with 943 trains in February 2010. For the month, the Class I logged 147...
U.S. Sens. Lautenberg, Menendez ask for $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail funds rejected by Florida
(The following appeared at www.nj.com on March 9, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez have joined three Democratic colleagues from Northeastern states today in asking for $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail money that Florida...
Several freight roads pursue maintenance-of-way projects
(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on March 9, 2011.) Union Pacific Railroad has budgeted $12.9 million to upgrade a 76-mile line between Watsonville and San Lucas, Calif. Part of the Class I’s $3.2 billion capital spending budget for 2011,...
Amtrak marks 16 straight months of ridership growth
(Amtrak issued the following press release on March 9, 2011.) WASHINGTON, D.C. — February marked 16 consecutive months of Amtrak ridership growth and was the best February on record with 2,099,010 passengers. “The ridership increase shows the continued popularity of...
Opinion: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Tea Party are faces of GOP overreach
(The following column appeared on the U.S. News and World Report website on March 10, 2011.) Congratulations to whoever had "less than two months" in the "conservative overreach" betting pool. There was never a question about whether the Republican Party, awarded huge...
Thousands of union members set to rally at Statehouse in Indianapolis today
(The following appeared on the Indianapolis Star website on March 10, 2011.) INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — David Frye wants the lawmakers who want to change Indiana's collective bargaining rules to know that this fight hits home. It's a message Frye, a Laborers International...
Ohio GOP gives tax break to petroleum companies, slashes public transit spending
(The following appeared at www.OhioBudgetWatch.com on March 8, 2011.) The House Finance Committee passed a substitute version of HB114, the transportation budget bill, on Monday. Included among the many amendments was a provision “clarifying” that when the Commercial...
Ohio GOP hopes to fast track vote on Senate Bill 5
(The following appeared on The Columbus Dispatch website on March 9, 2011.) COLUMBUS, Ohio —House Speaker William G. Batchelder now says he hopes to bring the collective-bargaining bill to the floor for a vote next week, after indicating for the past several days that...
‘Pearl Harbor of workers’ rights:’ Unions launch morning protests across Wisconsin
(The following appeared on the Huffington Post website on March 10, 2011.) In the wake of the Wisconsin Senate's end-run to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights, thousands of angry protesters descended again on the state capital. And the top labor...
In Wisconsin, ‘political thuggery’ as GOP passes anti-union legislation
(The following appeared on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website on March 10, 2011.) MADISON, Wisc. — With Democrats still in Illinois, the state Senate abruptly voted Wednesday night to eliminate collective bargaining provisions for most public workers that have...
Applying for a Railroad Retirement Annuity
(The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board issued the following on February 10, 2011.) Railroad employees who are planning to retire should be aware of what steps to take and what documents are required when applying for an annuity from the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)....
BNSF helps to reduce CO2 emissions in 2010
(BNSF Railway issued the following press release on March 8, 2011.) FORT WORTH, Texas — Customers shipping on BNSF realize major fuel efficiency and emissions reductions by shipping via rail instead of by truck. In 2010, BNSF customers reduced emissions by more than...
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