Rail Industry News
NJ Transit needs infusion of cash to get back on track, former lawmaker says
(Source: Opinion column by Jim Wisniewski at www.nj.com, November 12, 2019) NEWARK, N.J. — The nation’s largest statewide transit system, the third largest by ridership, is in trouble. It wasn’t always this way and it doesn’t have to be. Full story:...
Money sought to study bringing Amtrak’s Southwest Chief to Colorado Springs
(Source: Colorado Springs Gazette, November 13, 2019) COLORADO SPRINGS — A long-awaited effort to extend an Amtrak line that runs through southeast Colorado could include adding a station in Colorado Springs. Full story: Colorado Springs Gazette
Editorial: CA Governor Newsom is right in saying he will oppose any raid on high-speed rail funding
(Source: Editorial in the Fresno Bee, November 10, 2019) FRESNO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom made it clear in an interview with The Bee’s Editorial Board that he will oppose any attempts by Southern California and Bay Area legislators to take money from the...
Bullet train for Cascadia urged on despite electorate’s anti-tax mood
(Source: Northwest News Network, November 8, 2019) SPOKANE, Wash. — Tuesday's vote in Washington state to roll back car registration fees has scrambled transportation budgets. But Pacific Northwest rail advocates are undeterred in pursuing their vision of a bullet...
Amtrak celebrates record 2019 fiscal year performance
(Source: Global Railway Review, November 12, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak is celebrating its best operating performance in company history this past fiscal year. The company set new records for ridership, revenue, and financial performance, which it says are due to...
Imperial Oil ramping up crude by rail shipments after pipeline outage
(Source: Reuters, November 12, 2019) WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Imperial Oil Ltd is increasing shipments of Canadian crude by rail, after the recent Keystone pipeline outage created more favorable economics, Chief Executive Rich Kruger said on Tuesday. Full story:...
CSX’s stock drops after Deutsche Bank downgrades, cuts price target
(Source: MarketWatch, November 12, 2019) NEW YORK — Shares of CSX Corp. fell 1.2% in premarket trading Tuesday, after Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra downgraded the railroad operator, citing concerns over lower 2020 revenue and margin headwinds resulting from...
Dow transports dragged down by CSX and Norfolk Southern stocks
(Source: MarketWatch, November 12, 2019) NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Transportation Average slumped 12 points, or 0.1%, in morning trading Tuesday, to buck the gains in the broader market indexes, with the shares of East-coast based railroad operators CSX Corp. and...
Commemorative locomotives transported undercover into Canada for big reveal
(Source: CBC News, November 11, 2019) CALGARY — Five locomotives transported across the U.S. border into Canada, wrapped and hidden, sparked curiosity within the train buff community. For a whole week, people were left guessing — until Remembrance Day, shortly after a...
Amtrak wants to compete with planes and roads
(Source: Streetsblog USA, November 11, 2019) NEW YORK — Amtrak could become profitable as soon as next year as it beefs up short-distance service across the country as more Americans explore cost-efficient, less-polluting alternatives to driving and flying between...
CP records best-ever month for Canadian grain transport
(Source: Canadian Pacific Railway press release, November 12, 2019) CALGARY — Canadian Pacific moved more Canadian grain and grain products in October than any month in the company's history, delivering 2.66 million metric tons (MMT) to market. The high-capacity grain...
Amtrak faces lawsuit over “cannibalization” of retired locomotives
(Source: Railway Age, November 11, 2019) NEW YORK — Philip Morris Capital Corp. and HNB Investment Corp. have sued Amtrak in New York federal court in an attempt to recover $92.9 million for what they claim is a breach of contract for long-retired electric locomotives...
NS tracks reopened after Hempfield derailment
(Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 11, 2019) PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Lengthy delays can be expected, but rail service has been restored following a train derailment Friday in Hempfield, officials with Norfolk Southern Railroad announced. Full story: Pittsburgh...
Rail shippers seek transload sites even as volumes remain weak
(Source: Freight Waves, November 11, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Transloading, the process of moving product from one mode of transportation to another, is critical to freight shipping across the entire transportation network. Interest in transloading is tied to...
How an Israeli cybersecurity start-up plans to keep trains safe from hackers
(Source: CNBC, November 12, 2019) NEW YORK — Railroads are operating on ancient technology platforms that were created long before today’s cyberthreats, says Amir Levintal, CEO of rail-focused cybersecurity start-up Cylus. The problem affects only a small niche of...
Unions criticize PSR, high rate of furloughs in the rail industry
(Source: Freight Waves, November 11, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Some rail unions are becoming more vocal about the rail industry’s practice of furloughing employees, saying the cuts in staffing that have resulted because of precision scheduled railroading (PSR) are...
Amtrak mechanical worker dead after industrial accident
(Source: CBS Chicago, November 11, 2019) CHICAGO — An Amtrak mechanical worker died in an industrial accident over the weekend. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said the unidentified worker died of multiple blunt force injuries in an industrial accident. Full...
UP locomotive No. 4141 to be permanently displayed at Bush Library
(Source: Bryan-College Station Eagle, November 9, 2019) BRYAN, Texas — Union Pacific has announced that it is donating the No. 4141 George Bush Locomotive for permanent display at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Full story: www.theeagle.com
NJ Transit still working on improvements cited in audit
(Source: www.nj.com, November 10, 2019) NEWARK, N.J. — It’s been over a year since the results of an audit of NJ Transit, ordered by Gov. Phil Murphy, were delivered in a train station in Metuchen last October. What’s been checked off since that day, when North...
Record ridership on Amtrak lines in Milwaukee, St. Louis
(Source: Crains’s Chicago Business, November 10, 2019) CHICAGO — Amtrak regional service out of Chicago got a sizable bump in the year ended Sept. 30, with record ridership on lines to Milwaukee and St. Louis, and a near record on service to Detroit. Full story:...
BLET News
LIRR risks safety, passenger service
The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) is under fire by locomotive engineers for taking unnecessary risks with safety and jeopardizing service to tens of thousands of commuters.
Help tsunami disaster victims
Over 60,000 and counting is the death toll, not including the ones who are yet to be found and the ones who will get sick later on as an indirect cause of this disastrous tsunami and earthquake.
UTU at it again
The recent posting on the UTU website titled, “BLET members face huge legal fees,” is nothing more than an attempt by UTU leaders to divert attention from their own embarrassing predicament.
FRA denies UP request to inspect trains in Mexico
The Union Pacific’s request to inspect safety critical equipment on its trains in Mexico was denied today by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
Mother of former Vice-President Cassidy passes away
Miriam Cassidy, the mother of former International Vice-President Joseph Cassidy Jr. and grandmother of BLET New York State Legislative Board Secretary-Treasurer Kelly Cassidy, passed away on December 15, 2004. She was 84 years old.
How UTU dues are spent
When legal proceedings begin in the BLET’s lawsuit regarding “double dues” against the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC), the UTU will be paying the legal fees of the Union Pacific Railroad.
‘Safe Rail, Secure America’ campaign continues
The Teamsters Rail Conference is continuing its “Safe Rails Secure America” campaign, which is designed to obtain firsthand information about the true condition of safety and security along our nation’s railroads.
In the Line of Duty: Kenneth Leonard
Brother Kenneth Leonard of BLET Division 5 (Los Angeles, Calif.) was killed in a head-on collision between two Union Pacific freight trains on December 10. Brother Leonard joined the BLE on November 1, 1992.
GC Koonce: Clarifying UTU misinformation
BLET General Chairman John Koonce mailed the following letter to BLET National President Don Hahs on December 13.
BLET Job Bank: Amtrak (Florence, S.C.)
Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., is recruiting a Locomotive Engineer to work between Florence, S.C., and Richmond, Va. (eight hours).
