Rail Industry News
CN reports Q4 and full-year 2019 results
(Source: CN press release (PDF), January 28, 2020) MONTREAL — CN today reported its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019. “We remain focused on executing our strategy of long-term sustainable growth at low incremental...
CP Rail reports Q4 and full year 2019 results
(Source: Canadian Pacific Railway press release, January 29, 2020) CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway Limited today announced its fourth-quarter results, including record revenues of $2.07 billion, an operating ratio ("OR"') of 57.0 percent, improved diluted earnings...
Norfolk Southern reports fourth quarter and full year 2019 results
(Source: Norfolk Southern press release, January 29, 2020) NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corporation today reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results. Net income was $666 million and diluted earnings per share were $2.55 for the fourth quarter and...
Derailed locomotive removed from Kootenai River
(Source: Bonners Ferry Herald, January 27, 2020) MOYIE SPRINGS, Idaho — Trains traditionally use a bridge to cross a river. But last weekend, aided by numerous air bags attached by divers, the final BNSF locomotive that remained in the Kootenai River after the New...
Democrats ask Amtrak to review policies after wheelchair riders quoted $25,000 ticket price
(Source: The Hill, January 27, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Illinois Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Richard Durbin joined Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D) in calling on Amtrak to review its policies on disability accessibility after a group of wheelchair users was...
Mississippi cities encourage Mobile to commit to Amtrak return
(Source: www.al.com, January 27, 2020) MOBILE, Ala. — Officials in coastal Mississippi are encouraging the Mobile City Council to vote Tuesday in support of bringing Amtrak back to the Gulf Coast. Full story: www.al.com
U.S. Class I employment dipped in December
(Source: Progressive Railroading, January 27, 2020) As of mid-December 2019, Class Is employed 131,486 people, down 1.31 percent since November's level and down 11 percent from December 2018's count, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data. All six...
Train safety investigator wants RCMP to probe fatal CP mountain crash
(Source: www.cbc.ca, January 27, 2020) MONTREAL — The lead safety investigator looking into the fatal runaway crash of a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train last February at the Spiral Tunnels near Field, B.C., says the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) should...
Teamsters Canada calls for independent police investigation into Field derailment
(Source: Teamsters Canada press release, January 27, 2020) MONTREAL — Following allegations of a cover-up by the Canadian Pacific Police Service (CPPS) in relation to the Field derailment, the Teamsters are calling for an independent RCMP investigation into the deadly...
Agriculture coalition says BNSF and UP need to support competitiveness of U.S. West Coast ports
(Source: American Journal of Transportation, January 24, 2020) LOS ANGELES — Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Washington, D.C. Agriculture Transportation Coalition, says better and cheaper rail service will help U.S. West Coast ports and agricultural...
Amtrak train hits maintenance truck in Conn.; 6 are slightly injured
(Source: Associated Press, January 24, 2020) NEWINGTON, Conn. — An Amtrak train collided Friday with a maintenance truck working on the tracks in Connecticut, resulting in minor injuries to six people on the train, officials said. Two workers were inside the truck...
As California’s homeless people camp along railroad tracks, train-related deaths are rising
(Source: Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2020) BERKELEY — California’s railroad tracks are now lined with men and women sleeping in tents or under cardboard boxes, from the underpasses of Oakland and L.A. to the farmlands of the Central Valley. As a result, train...
NJ Transit to build storm-resilient power substation
(Source: Progressive Railroading, January 24, 2020) New Jersey Transit yesterday began construction of a new power substation at the Bay Head rail yard on the North Jersey Coast Line. The project — funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) — involves...
Class Is to serve new auto terminal at Alabama port
(Source: Progressive Railroading, January 24, 2020) The Alabama State Port Authority and AutoMOBILE International Terminal (AIT) earlier this week signed a concession agreement for a $60 million automobile roll on/roll off terminal now under construction at the Port...
Missouri owes Amtrak millions
(Source: News Tribune, January 25, 2020) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — For the last decade, Missouri hasn't paid its full contract for the Amtrak River Runner service, leaving the state with several million dollars in overdue bills. Missouri Department of Transportation...
Railroad mergers less likely in age of PSR, CN CEO says
(Source: Supply Chain Dive, January 21, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Railroads are less likely to merge now that the majority of North American Class I's have adopted the principles of precision scheduled railroading (PSR) said Jean-Jacques Ruest, CEO of the Canadian...
Union Pacific seeks to eke out efficiencies
(Source: Freight Waves, January 24, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Longer trains and headcount reductions are among the initiatives that Union Pacific expects to deploy to improve its operating ratio in 2020. Executives said UP is planning to achieve about $500 million in...
Union Pacific predicts more headcount cuts and yard consolidation in 2020
(Source: Supply Chain Dive, January 24, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Union Pacific is not yet at the 50-yard line when it comes to improving the efficiency and profitability of the railroad, COO Jim Vena said on an earnings call Thursday. Further headcount reduction and...
Families of CP Rail workers killed in B.C. mountain crash demand investigation be reopened
(Source: CBC News, January 25, 2020) CALGARY — When a two-kilometer grain train ran away downhill, smashing into a B.C. mountainside last February and killing three crew, Transportation Safety Board officials quickly announced the crash wasn't caused by anything the...
Passenger rail advocates await BNSF’s study of expansion costs
(Source: Leavenworth Times, January 23, 2020) LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The challenge of stretching Amtrak passenger service from Oklahoma City to the central Kansas community of Newton boils down to scoring federal investment for construction of railroad infrastructure...
BLET News
Meany Center announces 2006 hazmat workshops
The Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program will conduct hazardous materials transportation/chemical emergency response training programs at the George Meany Campus in Silver Spring, Md., on the following dates: May 7-12, 2006; June 4-9, 2006; and July 16-21, 2006.
ATDA files to represent UP Dispatchers
The American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) has launched a representation election to organize approximately 550 train dispatchers at Union Pacific Railroad.
BLET to conduct LM-2 GCofA S-T Workshop
The BLET Education and Training Department will conduct a workshop for all Secretary-Treasurers who file an LM-2. The workshop will be held at the School for Workers, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Pyle Center, Madison, Wisc., February 19–22. The class will start at 7 p.m. on Sunday, February 19, and conclude at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22.
Resolutions to change bylaws due February 17
The deadline is quickly approaching for BLET Divisions planning to submit resolutions to change the Bylaws of the BLET National Division.
BLET to conduct 2006 Local Chairman Workshop
The BLET Education & Training Department will conduct a Local Chairman Workshop on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., from March 19-23.
Rail Labor secures positive Family and Medical Leave Act ruling
Rail Labor secured a major court victory for its members in a decision released by the U.S. District Court in Chicago on January 3 regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
One year after Graniteville tragedy, rails still unsafe
Today marks the first year since the tragic rail crash in Graniteville, S.C., that claimed nine lives. Despite this horrific rail accident, in which deadly chlorine gas was emitted into the community, rail corporations have done little to address the numerous security and safety gaps along our nation’s railroads.
NMB to NCCC: Return to bargaining
The National Mediation Board (NMB) rejected the National Carrier Conference Committee’s (NCCC) request for a release from mediation and ordered the NCCC to return to the bargaining table with the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC).
Bush bypasses Congress and re-appoints Amtrak board members
President George W. Bush has again showed the American people that who you know is much more important than what you know in reappointing Enrique Sosa and Floyd Hall to the Amtrak board. The administration has shown its contempt for qualified individuals and its preference for rewarding donors by circumventing the traditional appointment process again, while at the same time doing a disservice to the hardworking employees of Amtrak and its riders.
New Year 2006
The year 2005 was marked by many gains and positive achievements by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and its membership. As the year draws to a close, let us look back on those accomplishments so that they may inspire us to even greater things in 2006.
