Rail Industry News
Altamont and Voorheesville would feel impact of CSX-Pan Am deal
(Source: The Altamont Enterprise, May 10, 2021) ALTAMONT, N.Y. — A 1.7-mile-long speciality train could be moving daily through the villages of Altamont and Voorheesville this time next year if federal regulators OK a proposed deal currently up for review. Full story:...
NJ Transit wants to test battery powered trains
(Source: www.nj.com, May 10, 2021) NEWARK, N.J. — Battery operated trains are being tested by the Long Island Rail Road as an alternative to the high cost of electrifying rail lines and NJ Transit has a plan to study the same type of project — if it can find the money...
STB action creates more equitable demurrage approach
(Source: Railway Age column by Rob Benedict, May 10, 2021) NEW YORK — Picture a customer who receives a hefty invoice from an auto repair shop with several additional charges and no details regarding the nature of these fees. The customer is left facing the question...
Teamsters applaud first labor complaint filed under USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, May 10, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Teamsters Union applauded the announcement of the first labor complaint filed under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Rapid Response Mechanism. The complaint,...
Amtrak CEO calls on U.S. Congress to support modern, efficient rail network
(Source: Railway-News, May 10, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn has told a Congressional Committee that America needs high-speed rail links as part of its railway infrastructure, as they would not only provide more frequent services, but also generate...
Biden administration backs Amtrak’s return to Gulf Coast
(Source: www.al.com, May 10, 2021) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The confirmation came in a letter from John Putnam, acting general counsel with the U.S. Department of Transportation to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, charged with ruling whether Amtrak can restart a...
CP reports more shipper support for merger with KCS
(Source: Progressive Railroading, May 10, 2021) Canadian Pacific today announced that another 131 stakeholders filed statements with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on May 8 in support of its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern, bringing the total to...
NYPD responds to MTA, union requests for more police
(Source: Progressive Railroading, May 10, 2021) The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Transport Workers Union Local 100 last week called on the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to deploy additional officers and mental health resources to the...
FRA safety inspector charged with lying about inspections
(Source: Press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Northern District of Texas, Department of Justice, May 7, 2021) DALLAS, Texas — A Federal Railroad Administration inspector has been charged with lying on official documents, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the...
UP Big Boy goes back on display at Steamtown
(Source: The Times-Tribune, May 7, 2021) SCRANTON, Pa. — Brendan Munoz and his family planned all along to visit Steamtown National Historic Site to celebrate the little boy's seventh birthday. Full story: Yahoo News
The mishaps that made Promontory and its locomotives famous
(Source: The Herald Journal, May 9, 2021) LOGAN, Utah — As an unprecedented feat of American engineering, the work of completing the nation’s first transcontinental railroad was fraught with challenges, delays and mishaps that are sometimes glossed over in historical...
Federal funding could restore Tucson-Phoenix Amtrak service
(Source: Arizona Daily Star, May 9, 2021) TUCSON, Ariz. — May 1 marked 50 years of Amtrak service, and a recent proposal from the White House could create a stable foundation for it to build on for years to come. Full story: www.tucson.com
Regulators irked after lawmakers don’t make North Dakota rail inspection program permanent
(Source: The Dickinson Press, May 6, 2021) BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Legislature’s decision not to make permanent a railroad inspection program that has identified thousands of train and track defects in the last six years remains a rub for state regulators...
Amtrak CEO voices opposition to proposed maglev train line
(Source: WTOP, May 7, 2021) NEW YORK — Amtrak CEO William Flynn laid out his reasons for opposing the proposed maglev train line in the Northeast Corridor. Flynn told a House subcommittee Thursday that once the maglev is built, it would only serve the wealthy because...
Editorial: Baltimore has a need for Amtrak and maglev, too
(Source: Baltimore Sun, May 7, 2021) BALTIMORE, Md. — In a virtual hearing before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure this week, Amtrak CEO William J. Flynn observed that a proposed magnetic levitation train running between the...
CP doesn’t want to exaggerate fight with CN in the U.S.
(Source: Vaughan Today, May 8, 2021) CALGARY — Canadian Pacific (CP) is not currently exploring the possibility of improving its Kansas City Southern offering, despite stakeholder pressure. “There is no need at this time to look into that as we have an agreement with...
CP gets procedural OK in bid for KCS
(Source: Associated Press, May 7, 2021) OMAHA, Neb. — Regulators have approved Canadian Pacific's plan for acquiring Kansas City Southern if that railroad picks CP's $25 billion bid over rival Canadian National's $33.7 billion offer. Full story: www.wdio.com
High-speed debate continues in Congress
(Source: Railway Age, May 7, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The long-simmering controversy over high-speed rail (HSR) continued during a May 6 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. Its theme: “When Unlimited Potential Meets...
CN purchasing 1,000 new high-capacity hopper cars to boost grain shipments
(Source: Canadian National Railway press release, May 7, 2021) MONTREAL — As it moves ahead towards its vision of becoming the first truly North American railway, CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) today announced it has placed an order for 1,000 new generation, high-capacity...
Passenger rail returning to Virginia’s New River Valley
(Source: Railway Age, May 6, 2021) NEW YORK — The Commonwealth of Virginia and Norfolk Southern (NS) have reached a $257.2 million agreement that will increase existing Amtrak service to Roanoke and expand service to the New River Valley. Full story: Railway Age
BLET News
New Health FSA debit card introduced for 2014
When you enroll in the health FSA for 2014, you will be able to use a special debit card to easily pay for eligible FSA expenses. The debit card is connected to your flexible spending account so there’s no need to write checks or submit claim forms. Look for more information in the future that explains how your debit card may help you manage your out of pocket expenses.
Important open enrollment announcement for Medicare-eligible BLET members and retirees
If you are a BLET member, retiree, spouse or dependent, and entitled to Medicare Part A and/or enrolled in Medicare Part B, you are eligible for the TEAMStar Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program (PDP). You are eligible for this program regardless of your health history or the drugs you are currently taking.
Ballots mailed in tentative BLET, Terminal Railroad-Alabama State Docks agreement
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reached a tentative contract agreement with the Terminal Railroad-Alabama State Docks (TR-ASD), BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce announced. Ballots are being mailed today to active members of the BLET employed by TR-ASD who are eligible to vote in the ratification of this agreement.
Dehart elected General Chairman of NS-Northern Lines/W&LE GCA
Dewayne L. Dehart was elected General Chairman of the BLET’s Norfolk Southern-Northern Lines/Wheeling & Lake Erie General Committee of Adjustment at the GCA’s quadrennial meeting in Cleveland from September 30-October 2, 2013.
Teamsters Rail Conference fighting to restore full railroad unemployment and sickness benefits
Beginning October 1, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will reduce railroad unemployment and sickness insurance benefits by 7.2 percent — instead of 9.2 percent — due to federal budget cuts first implemented in March 2013. Since that time, these benefits had been reduced by 9.2 percent.
Health FSA open enrollment began October 1; Enrollment must reach 5% or benefit may be lost
As a reminder, open enrollment is currently running until midnight November 2, 2013, for the Health Flexible Spending Account Plan (Health FSA). The Health FSA plan is available to BLET represented engineers working on participating railroads, and all train service employees of Texas Mexican Railway.
RRB informational conferences suspended during government shutdown
Labor Member of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Walter A. Barrows has announced that the informational conference program conducted by his office will be suspended during the lapse in Federal funding for certain Government operations, which began October 1.
Railroad Retirement Board offices remain open during government shutdown; National Mediation Board to close
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) announced that ongoing benefit payments will continue and all RRB offices are expected to remain open during the lapse in Federal funding for certain Government operations, which began today. The National Mediation Board, on the other hand, announced that it would be closed indefinitely due to lack of funding.
BLET Safety Task Force dispatched to scene of BNSF derailment near Amarillo, Texas
The BLET Safety Task Force has been dispatched to the scene of a collision involving three BNSF Railway trains near Amarillo, Texas, which occurred at approximately 4:30 this morning. According to media reports, four crew members suffered non life-threatening injuries.
Today is National Voter Registration Today
The Teamsters 2013 Voter Registration campaign is in full swing. Teamster activists all across the country are working hard to meet our goal of registering thousands of our Brothers and Sisters to vote.
