Rail Industry News
Amtrak to span the Gulf Coast after Mobile votes to allow rail service
(Source: www.al.com, February 4, 2020) MOBILE, Ala. — With a 6-1 vote Tuesday, the Mobile City Council hopped on board with its support of Amtrak service by committing around $3 million starting in the year 2023 so that passenger trains can run between the Port City...
AAR: PTC implementation for freight railroads almost finished
(Source: Transport Topics, February 4, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Implementation of automatic braking technology for freight railroads is nearly complete, an industry group indicated recently. As of 2019, 98.5% of positive train control, or PTC, technology was...
Two-person crew bill introduced in Oklahoma
(Source: Television Station KOKH, February 4, 2020) OKLAHOMA CITY — State Rep. David Perryman has filed a bill aimed at protecting Oklahomans from railroad-related accidents. House Bill 2874 would require all freight trains running in the state to be operated by a...
Project will make Picayune train station more accessible
(Source: Associated Press, February 2, 2020) PICAYUNE, Miss. — Amtrak is set to begin construction on a $4 million project to make a train station in south Mississippi more accessible for people with disabilities. Full story: Houston Chronicle
Georgia freight commission plans more reliance on rail, money yet to roll in
(Source: Georgia Recorder, January 30, 2020) ATLANTA, Ga. — A joint state House-Senate study commission agreed Thursday that Georgia should spend money to try and speed freight trains more effectively around the state. Full story: Georgia Recorder
Oldest locomotive at NJ Transit is older than the agency itself
(Source: www.nj.com, February 2, 2020) NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit engine 4100 is a microcosm of state commuting history. At age 50, 4100 began its career as one of 13 boxy GP-40P passenger engines, built by General Motors and purchased by the New Jersey Department of...
CSX urges judge to reject reinstatement of lawsuit stemming from Hyndman derailment
(Source: Altoona Mirror, February 2, 2020) ALTOONA, Pa. — The CSX Transportation Co. is urging a U.S. district judge to reject a request for the reinstatement of a class-action lawsuit by Hyndman residents who were evacuated from their homes following an Aug. 2, 2017,...
Norfolk Southern to pay $350,000 to settle age discrimination lawsuit
(Source: JD Supra, February 3, 2020) NEW JERSEY — Norfolk Southern Corporation, a transportation company that operates a 19,500-mile freight railroad system in 22 states and the District of Columbia, has agreed to pay $350,000 and take substantial non-monetary action...
Union Pacific sued over alleged contamination of Houston neighborhood, resulting in cancer cluster and toxic groundwater plume
(Source: Press release from The Gibson Law Firm, February 3, 2020) HOUSTON — Over 80 residents in the Houston neighborhoods of the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens in Houston have sued Union Pacific Railroad Company alleging more than $100,000,000.00 in damages for...
Rural Texas counties to hold public hearing on high-speed rail project
(Source: Dallas Business Journal, February 1, 2020) DALLAS — The Federal Railroad Administration has agreed to hold a public hearing to seek comments from rural Texas county landowners and local officials that would be impacted by a proposed high-speed rail project...
Rail disaster video surfaces on anniversary of CP crash amid controversy over police probe
(Source: CBC News, February 4, 2020) CALGARY — A metal CP Rail car ripped in half. An orange tarp shrouding the overturned locomotive. A dusting of snow covering the site while heavy machinery removes 99 derailed grain cars, most of them lying smashed along a...
Service resumes after power outage derails commute for NJ Transit, Amtrak riders from NYC’s Penn Station
(Source: Television station WABC, February 4, 2020) NEW YORK — Service is back to normal at New York's Penn Station after an outage caused rolling delays during the Monday evening rush. Major delays impacted New Jersey Transit and Amtrak customers as commuters tried...
Two railroad workers rescue 5-year-old girl who wandered away from home in St. Paul
(Source: Television station Fox 9, February 3, 2020. BLET Editor’s Note: Angie Knutson is a member of BLET Division 369 in Minneapolis, Minn.) ST. PAUL, Minn. — Two railroad workers for Union Pacific are being hailed as heroes after they saved the life of a little...
Amtrak popular in polling, but is that enough to sway vote in Mobile?
(Source: www.al.com, February 3, 2020) MOBILE, Ala. — Could polling become a factor when the Mobile City Council meets Tuesday to determine whether it wants to move forward on a resolution committing future resources for Amtrak’s return to the Port City? The council...
Mobile City Council likely to vote on Amtrak today
(Source: Television station WKRG, February 4, 2020) MOBILE, Ala. — Members of the Mobile City Council face a deadline this morning to approve the first steps in passenger rail service. The council is poised to vote on a letter of agreement with the US Department of...
STB: Class I fuel surcharge revenues total $1 billion in Q4 2019, down 8% on quarter
(Source: S&P Global Platts, February 3, 2020) HOUSTON — Fuel surcharge revenue for the seven Class I railroads totaled roughly $1 billion in the fourth quarter, down 8% from the previous quarter and down 25% from the year-ago quarter, Surface Transportation Board data...
Longtime trackman sues railroad for cancer diagnosis
(Source: Elkhart Truth, February 1, 2020) ELKHART, Ind. — A longtime railroad employee has filed a lawsuit claiming the company allowed him to work with material that caused him to develop cancer. Full story: Elkhart Truth
Heavy storms wash away CN rail line, cause power outages across Fraser Valley
(Source: Coast Mountain News, February 1, 2020) BELLA COOLA, B.C. — Heavy rainfall has caused significant flooding in the mountains, closing sections of Highway 5 and washing away the ground beneath a section of CN rail. The section of damaged rail line is located...
Georgia’s most-expensive train wreck was just seconds from toxic catastrophe
(Source: Television station WMAZ, January 31, 2020) MACON, Ga. — It was a more than $5 million derailment--Georgia's most expensive train wreck on record, according to Federal Railroad Administration reports that begin in 1975. Nobody was hurt, but 13WMAZ has learned...
Four more state legislatures introduce two-person train crew bills
(Source: Freight Waves, February 3, 3030) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Virginia, Missouri, New York and Wyoming state legislators are considering whether to require freight trains to have a minimum train crew size, which they say would make operations safer. Full story:...
BLET News
UHC introduces cost savings program
UnitedHealthcare is offering a new health discount program that helps members save up to 50 percent on health care purchases that are not covered by UnitedHealthcare benefit plans.
‘Voluntary standards are not enough’ for rail security
Democratic Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security blasted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for its failure to issue mandatory security standards for the nation’s railroads to safeguard the transportation of toxic chemicals.
Labor, Congress slams Bush administration’s voluntary rail security ‘suggestions’
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) today expressed outrage over the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement today that it was issuing voluntary security guidelines for railroad companies that transport the most hazardous chemicals in the United States.
Divisions must be ‘square on the books’ to seat delegates at Convention
With the upcoming First Quadrennial Convention of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen scheduled for June 19-22, all BLET Divisions are reminded that their secretary-treasurers must file their monthly dues reports in a timely fashion in order to seat their delegates at the convention.
BLET helps members get back to work
Two locomotive engineers are on their way back to work at the Kansas City Southern thanks to the efforts of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
BLET applauds appointment of Jo Strang to the FRA
The BLET commends the Department of Transportation for its appointment of Jo Strang as Associate Administrator for Safety of the Federal Railroad Administration.
NMB backs BLET on shortline election interference
The National Mediation Board (NMB) is conducting a second representation election at the Stillwater Central Railroad after ruling that the carrier violated the Railway Labor Act by improperly influencing workers during the original election process.
Improved monthly audit form available for BLET Divisions, SLBs, GCAs
A new interactive spreadsheet that makes monthly auditing easier for State Legislative Boards, General Committees and Local Divisions is now available from the BLET’s Education & Training Department.
LM-30 deadline moved to May 15
The Form must be received by the DOL within 90 days after the end of the officer’s or employee’s fiscal year, typically December 31. Therefore, the 2005 filing must be completed on or by March 31, 2006. Although the DOL has no authority to grant extensions of the statutory filing deadlines, the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) recently granted a grace period so that reports filed on or before May 15, 2006 will be considered “on time.” The OLMS will not take any enforcement action unless the report is received after this date.
Representative King supports continued negotiations
Representative Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has thanked the National Mediation Board for its handling of contract negotiations between rail labor and rail carriers.
