Rail Industry News
Transport Canada, CP Rail mum on “minor non-compliances” found on track near Guernsey oil train derailment
(Source: CBC News, February 13, 2020) SASKATOON, Sask. — Transport Canada says the section of Canadian Pacific Railway track marked by two recent oil train derailments was inspected by regulators three times in the last year. But it won't say what kind of "minor...
Two CSX crew members hospitalized after train hauling ethanol crashes in Elkhorn City, Ky.
(Source: Television station WYMT, February 13, 2020) ELKHORN CITY, Ky. — Officials confirm two CSX employees have been taken to the hospital following the Thursday morning derailment in the Ratliff Bottom/Draffin area of Pike County. In a post from the Kentucky...
Woman’s truck hit by UP train after GPS leads her to railroad tracks
(Source: Television station KSAT, February 12, 2020) SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A woman narrowly avoided being hit by a train after her truck’s GPS system led her to some railroad tracks early Wednesday morning, San Antonio police said. According to police, the driver of...
Private terminal purchases nearby Talleyrand property from Norfolk Southern
(Source: Florida Times-Union, February 11, 2020) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Keystone Terminals has acquired a 39.5-acre industrial waterfront parcel from Norfolk Southern Corp., according to Colliers International Northeast Florida, which brokered the $8 million sale. The...
KCS mulls response to Mexican agency’s claims
(Source: Freight Waves, February 11, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Kansas City Southern is considering what legal options it has available to challenge a report by a federal agency in Mexico claiming a lack of rail market competition to haul chemical and petrochemical...
Amtrak ridership in Virginia increases
(Source: The Roanoke Star, February 11, 2020) ROANOKE, Va. — Amtrak Northeast Regional routes that operate in Virginia achieved record ridership of 100,511 customers in December, a 27% increase from the same month in 2018. Holiday travel helped drive the increase in...
Amtrak service from Chicago to Rockford and the Quad Cities is on the horizon
(Source: Streetsblog Chicago, February 11, 2020) CHICAGO — Terrific news for people who love malt-crust pizza cut into strips with scissors, and the rock band Cheap Trick. Plans for Amtrak passenger rail service to the Quad Cities and Rockford seem to be moving along...
One NJ regional rail project inches forward, another remains in neutral
(Source: NJ Spotlight, February 12, 2020) TRENTON, N.J. — The push to replace a century-old rail bridge in the Jersey Meadowlands that regularly gets stuck and snarls train traffic leading to New York has received a long-sought boost from Washington. But tempering the...
It’s deja vu all over again for Amtrak funding
(Source: Railway Age, February 12, 2020) NEW YORK — Color it neither Democratic nor Republican. It’s Amtrak—or, more precisely, the Amtrak déjà vu. Since its 1971 creation by Congress as America’s national intercity passenger railroad, Amtrak’s survival has been a...
Alberta agrees to sale of crude by rail contracts
(Source: Calgary Herald, February 12, 2020) CALGARY, Alberta — After months of delay, the Alberta government has sold off $10.6 billion worth of crude-by-rail contracts to the private sector — and Premier Jason Kenney announced Tuesday the cost of divesting the...
Latest CP oil train derailment spilled 5 times as much oil as Husky pipeline leak in 2016
(Source: CBC News, February 11, 2020) SASKATOON, Sask. — The Saskatchewan government says an estimated 1.2 million liters of oil leaked from a Canadian Pacific Railway train that derailed near the hamlet of Guernsey last week. That's less than the estimated 1.5...
Cleanup continues at CP oil train derailment near Guernsey, Sask.
(Source: GlobalNews.ca, February 11, 2020) GUERNSEY, Sask. — The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada says it is too early to speculate what caused a fiery derailment of a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train near Guernsey, Sask. The TSB said Monday that four...
CN could shut down significant parts of its network because of pipeline protests
(Source: CN press release, February 11, 2020) MONTREAL — CN announced that it will be forced to shut down significant parts of its Canadian network imminently unless the blockades on its rail lines are removed. A public statement from the individuals blocking the...
Fate of Amtrak’s return to Mobile falls to county commission
(Source: www.al.com, February 10, 2020) MOBILE, Ala. — Amtrak’s return to Mobile could hinge on support from the three-member Mobile County Commission, which could be asked to pony up public money to improve train tracks or to help finance a new train station for a...
KCS disagrees with Mexico panel’s report on competition in Veracruz
(Source: Progressive Railroading, February 10, 2020) Kansas City Southern confirmed late last week that the panel of the Mexican Federal Competition Commission (COFECE) has published an extract of its final report on effective competition conditions in the...
Will slower trains impact crude by rail capacity in Canada?
(Source: Freight Waves, February 10, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — As the rail industry awaits the preliminary investigation findings on what caused the derailment of a Canadian Pacific crude oil train, observers also are mulling how a temporary federal mandate to slow...
CN Rail says nearly 200 trains affected by Wet’suwet’en protests
(Source: CKPGToday.ca, February 20, 2020) NEW HAZELTON, B.C. — CN Rail is stagnant in two areas across the country with Wet’suwet’en protesters blocking access to railways. In an update from CN Rail today (Feb.10) CN Rail says they are experiencing disruptions in New...
Feds clear Gateway bridge for funding — but not tunnel
(Source: Politico, February 10, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration announced late Monday that it has deemed the Portal North Bridge project eligible to receive federal funding, while again ruling that the related Hudson River rail tunnel had not met the...
Trump budget proposal would cut Amtrak funding, boost infrastructure spending
(Source: Reuters, February 10, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House budget released on Monday proposed cutting funding for the U.S. government-owned passenger rail carrier Amtrak while calling for a significant hike in infrastructure spending and killing a clean...
NS train derails in Columbia, S.C., causing 3 engines and 8 cars to leave the tracks
(Source: Television station WLTX, February 8, 2020) COLUMBIA, S.C. — Several trains cars derailed in Columbia after a train struck a tree that had fallen on the tracks. Norfolk Southern officials say around 1 p.m. Friday, the train hit the tree on a set of tracks near...
BLET News
Worthington new Utah Legislative Board Chairman
Jeff Worthington was elected as the new Chairman of the Utah State Legislative Board at their Quadrennial meeting in Salt Lake City on May 19.
‘Thank you’ from the Cassidy family
Words are simply insufficient to express our thanks and gratitude for the kindness, support and well-wishing that we received from every quarter in this great organization.
DOL workshop: “How to examine your internal union records”
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), is sponsoring a one-day workshop for local union Trustees and Audit Committee Members in Colorado.
Memorial Day 2006
For many Americans, Memorial Day is often thought of as the unofficial start to summer, but it is so much more than that. Memorial Day is the day that Americans have set aside to honor and remember those who have died serving our country.
SMA deadline extended to June 1
The deadline for making hotel reservations has been extended to June 1 for BLET members planning to attend the Southeastern Meeting Association in Chattanooga, Tenn., from June 4-9.
BLET reaches 5-year tentative pact with MRL
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative contract agreement with the Montana Rail Link (MRL) that applies to approximately 400 BLET-represented operating employees.
President Bush nominates three to Amtrak Board
President Bush nominated three individuals to the Amtrak Reform Board, including Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta to five year terms. Also nominated are R. Hunter Biden, of Delaware, and Donna R. McLean, of the District of Columbia.
Workers at Huron & Eastern say yes to BLET
Approximately 30 operating employees at the Huron & Eastern Railroad, a subsidiary of RailAmerica, selected the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen as their designated collective bargaining representative on May 11.
Wife of former BLE VP Cassidy dies
Dorothy Cassidy, the wife of former BLE International Vice-President Joe Cassidy Jr., passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on May 11.
Tim Smith reelected Chairman of Calif. State Leg. Board
Tim Smith of BLET Division 415 was reelected Chairman of the BLET’s California State Legislative Board on May 2 at the Board’s Fifth Quadrennial Session in San Diego. Smith was reelected by acclamation.
