Rail Industry News
City in western Virginia excluded from the state’s latest rail plan
(Source: Bristol Herald Courier, December 27, 2019) BRISTOL, Va. — Virginia’s recently unveiled passenger rail plan includes no provision for expanding service to Bristol, but building a new gateway into Washington, D.C., would allow for future growth. Full story:...
CSX-Virginia rail deal also means good news for North Carolina
(Source: Associated Press, December 24, 2019) RALEIGH, N.C. — A multi-billion-dollar deal between CSX Corp. and Virginia to improve passenger rail service to and from Washington, D.C., also includes good news for efforts to run high-speed trains between Virginia and...
$3.7 billion transportation deal to boost rail service from Richmond to D.C.
(Source: Richmond Free Press, December 27, 2019) RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond would be a major beneficiary of an unprecedented $3.7 billion deal announced by Gov. Ralph S. Northam to boost passenger rail service between Washington and other Virginia cities to avoid an...
FRA launches webpage to report blocked crossings
(Source: Railway Age, December 26, 2019) NEW YORK — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has launched a new webpage for the public and law enforcement to report blocked highway-rail grade crossings. The new FRA Blocked Crossings webpage requests specific...
CP Rail train hit by an avalanche east of Revelstoke
(Source: The Abbotsford News, December 22, 2019) ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — A CP Rail train has been hit by an avalanche in Glacier National Park, east of Revelstoke. According to a statement from CP Rail, there were no injuries to the crew. Full story: The Abbotsford...
After two months in limbo, Amtrak riders will have shelter in Missouri’s capital city
(Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 20, 2019) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — It won’t be like the historic structure that sheltered Amtrak riders for decades, but passengers will at least be out of the cold while they wait for their ride in Missouri’s capital city. Full...
Seattle-Portland Amtrak service to resume Monday after landslide suspension
(Source: Seattle Times, December 22, 2019) SEATTLE — Amtrak will resume train service between Seattle and Portland on Monday, after railway crews cleared a landslide from a set of tracks just south of Tacoma. BNSF Railway lifted a temporary moratorium on passenger...
CP Rail says last of damaged cars from Sask. train derailment should be removed soon
(Source: Canadian Press, December 20, 2019) SASKATOON — Canadian Pacific Railway says it expects the last of its damaged cars will be removed by the end of the week from the site of a fiery derailment in Saskatchewan. Full story: www.cbc.ca
KCS to announce Q4 2019 results on January 17, 2020
(Source: Kansas City Southern press release, December 20, 2019) KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern (KCS) will release its fourth quarter 2019 financial results on Friday, January 17, 2020, before the opening of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. KCS will...
Canadian crude by rail exports dip 15.5% in October, but rebound expected
(Source: S&P Global Platts, December 20, 2019) HOUSTON — Canadian exports of crude by rail fell 15.5% in October from the previous month after the country's heavy oil became too expensive near the source to support increased shipments on train cars. Full story: S&P...
U.S. Steel to idle operations at Zug Island plant, lay off up to 1,545
(Source: Crain’s Detroit Business, December 19, 2019) DETROIT, Mich. — U.S. Steel Corp. plans to indefinitely idle "a significant portion" of its Great Lakes Works production facility in Ecorse and River Rouge and will issue layoff notices to 1,545 workers, the...
UP no longer wants to run lines for Metra
(Source: Chicago Daily Herald, December 20, 2019) CHICAGO — Will 2020 be the year Metra begins operating three Union Pacific Railroad commuter routes in its own right? Freight railroad Union Pacific currently runs commuter trains between the city and suburbs as part...
Experts predict more short line railroad mergers and acquisitions
(Source: Freight Waves, December 23, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The freight rail industry, and short line railroads in particular, will likely continue to be the target of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in 2020 and beyond because private equity firms are recognizing...
SMART-TD requests Emergency Order from FRA to replace, repair tens of thousands of outdated brake valves
(Source: SMART-TD press release, December 12, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president of the SMART Transportation Division, Jeremy Ferguson, is calling on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to issue an emergency order requiring that outdated air brake valves on...
CSX derailment in Cincinnati sends about 20 cars off the tracks
(Source: CNN, December 22, 2019) CINCINNATI, Ohio — About 20 train cars were sent off the tracks Sunday morning in Cincinnati. A CSX train derailed around 5:15 a.m., sending seven to eight cars off the tracks about 10 miles west of downtown along the Ohio River. Full...
CSX train derails into Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, destroys Appalachian Trail walking bridge
(Source: NBC Washington, December 21, 2019) HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — A freight train crossing the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, derailed early Saturday morning, causing two cars to plummet into the water. Seven cars derailed on the bridge, wiping out...
Sound Transit to Washington state Legislature: Let’s reduce car-tab taxes
(Source: Seattle Times, December 19, 2019) SEATTLE — As for car-tab taxes, Sound Transit continues to collect $110 per $10,000 of vehicle value, since the voter-approved Sound Transit 3 tax measure in 2016. Thousands of drivers, seeing annual car-tab fees triple,...
Unanswered questions linger over Mobile’s Amtrak commitment
(Source: www.al.com, December 20, 2019) MOBILE, Ala. — Costly rail line improvements, a new train station and interference with freight trains loomed Thursday as the chief concerns that could derail efforts to bring passenger trains back to Mobile. Full story:...
Cenovus aims to squeeze more oil onto trains with application to build diluent recovery unit
(Source: Financial Post, December 19, 2019) CALGARY — As persistent pipeline delays choke Canadian oil exports, Cenovus Energy Inc. and other energy companies are investing in new technologies to squeeze more crude onto trains bound for refining markets in the U.S....
Editorial: MBTA must get on board with calling CRRC to task for abuses
(Source: Editorial in the Boston Herald, December 20, 2019) BOSTON — Our tax dollars would never be used to support human rights abuses, child labor or market manipulation by a foreign government, right? Wrong! In November, NBC News released findings from its yearlong...
BLET News
UTU seeks sell-out of BNSF engineers
Once again showing its willingness to sell out operating crafts, leadership of the United Transportation Union has proposed eliminating locomotive engineer jobs on BNSF Railway lines in Washington and Oregon.
Franklin P. Greene Fund suspends lending
Don M. Hahs, BLET National President, announced today that the Franklin P. Greene Fund has suspended lending for the time being.
Utah Railway engineers, trainmen OK 5-year contract
Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen represented by the BLET ratified a new contract today with the Utah Railway.
Senate Commerce Committee takes up Amtrak funding
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved S. 1516, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005 by a vote of 17-4.
Inspector General’s Amtrak proposal wrong, BLET says
The Department of Transportation’s Inspector General again claimed that Amtrak could save between $75 million and $158 million annually by doing away with dining, lounge and sleeper cars, checked baggage service and food and beverage service on its long-distance runs.
BLET releases remote control hazard study
Major U.S. railroad corporations should no longer be permitted to operate remote control locomotives free from regulatory oversight by the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”).
Inexperience a factor again in remote control wreck
A serious remote control-related train wreck took place at the General Motors plant in Shreveport, La., on July 23, just one week after the technology was implemented at that location.
Hahs statement on withdrawal from AFL-CIO
As President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the founding member of the Teamsters’ Rail Conference, I respect the decision of General President Hoffa and the Teamsters General Executive Board to disaffiliate from the AFL-CIO.
Statement of James P. Hoffa on the Teamsters’ disaffiliation from the AFL-CIO
I am here today to announce that the General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has unanimously voted to withdraw our membership from the AFL-CIO.
BLET members urged to ask Congress to oppose CAFTA
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are asked to call the House of Representatives and urge their Representative to oppose CAFTA–the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement.
