Rail Industry News
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:...
Three Norfolk Southern trains involved in derailment in western Pennsylvania
(Source: Railway Age, November 10, 2019) NEW YORK — Three Norfolk Southern freight trains were involved in a Nov. 11 derailment in Hempfield, Pa., about three miles east of Greensburg, Pa. (near Pittsburgh), on the high-density Pittsburgh-Philadelphia double-track...
Carbondale gets $14 million federal grant for regional transit hub
(Source: Associated Press, November 9, 2019) CARBONDALE, Ill. — The city of Carbondale is receiving a federal grant to build a downtown transit hub that will service more than 30 counties. The Southern Illinoisan reports the city will receive $14 million from the U.S....
Amtrak ridership hits record highs on two Illinois lines
(Source: State Journal-Register, November 10, 2019) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Amtrak routes that connect Chicago to St. Louis and Milwaukee saw record numbers of riders in the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 while the national passenger rail system turned in its...
Amtrak reports record ridership, but still losing money
(Source: Associated Press, November 10, 2019) NEWARK, N.J. — Amtrak on Friday reported record ridership and revenue figures for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, leading officials to predict the heavily subsidized railroad could eliminate operating losses as soon...
Congress to examine controversial Amtrak policy
(Source: Radio station WDEL, November 10, 2019) WILMINGTON, Del. — Congress has scheduled a hearing on a policy change implemented by Amtrak that requires passengers with complaints to go directly to arbitration with the government-controlled railroad. Full story:...
Amtrak’s new ticket rules won’t let passengers sue in a crash
(Source: Politico, November 8, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Passengers and their survivors won a $265 million court settlement with Amtrak after a 2015 derailment in Philadelphia killed eight people and injured hundreds more. But if such a crash happened today, the...
CN Rail workers could strike in Canada
(Source: Western Producer, November 7, 2019) SASKATOON, Sask. — About 3,000 workers at Canada’s largest railway company could go on strike as early as Nov. 19. Last month, members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) including conductors, trainpersons and...
NJ Transit “Innovation Challenge:” How to move crowds in and out of new mega-mall
(Source: www.nj.com, November 8, 2019) NEWARK, N.J. — Now that the American Dream mall has partially opened, NJ Transit has begun its search for new ways to get people to and from the Meadowlands mega-complex and events at neighboring MetLife Stadium. Full story:...
DOJ, EEOC at odds in Supreme Court case over BNSF medical testing of job applicant
(Source: Reuters, November 7, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice is backing BNSF Railway’s bid to have the U.S. Supreme Court overturn a federal appeals court ruling that said it unlawfully refused to hire a job applicant who would not pay for a...
Judge says BNSF can’t use federal law to cut out on biometrics class action over trucker handprint scans
(Source: Cook County Record, November 8, 2019) CHICAGO — A federal judge has rejected a railroad’s attempt to escape a class action lawsuit filed by a truck driver over the railroad's rules requiring drivers to scan handprints to verify their identity when entering...
Metro-North chief “extremely confident” railroad will meet PTC deadline
(Source: Journal News, November 8, 2019) NEW YORK — Positive Train Control (PTC) now covers nearly 90% of the Hudson Line, from Marble Hill north to Poughkeepsie, a distance of 67 miles that includes track used by Amtrak and CSX, Metro-North President Catherine...
Oil shippers turn to rail amid Keystone pipeline shutdown
(Source: Bloomberg, November 7, 2019) NEW YORK — The shutdown of one of Canada’s largest crude pipelines has shippers turning to rail to move their oil. Demand to transport crude by rail has picked up over the past week as TC Energy Corp. works to return its Keystone...
Genesee & Wyoming’s net profit falls during 3Q 2019
(Source: Freight Waves, November 7, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Net profit for short line operator Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) slipped in the third quarter amid lower revenues and rail volumes. Third-quarter net income attributable to G&W totaled $66.8 million, or...
AFL-CIO TTD: Precision Scheduled Railroading threatens to gut America’s freight rail system
(Source: Policy Statement by the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department (TTD), October 29, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since the first U.S. freight trains departed from Baltimore nearly 200 years ago, the freight rail industry has served as the backbone of domestic...
BLET News
Security threat looms over nation’s railroads
The following letter to the editor by IBT General President James P. Hoffa was published in the January 26, 2005 issue of USA Today.
BLET to conduct Local Chairman Workshop in March
The BLET Education & Training Department will conduct a Local Chairman Workshop on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill, starting on Sunday, March 20, and ending the evening of Thursday, March 24.
2005 BLET Scholarship Directory
The BLET National Division is pleased to release its 2005 Scholarship Directory to assist the families of BLET members in obtaining their goals of higher education.
BLET Job Bank: Pacific Harbor Line
The Pacific Harbor Line, Inc., a BLET-represented property headquartered in Wilmington, Calif., has immediate openings for experienced engineers and/or conductors/switch foremen.
BLET gets first contract at IC&E
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainman, a division of the Teamsters’ Rail Conference, announced today that it has obtained a first contract for its 300 members working at the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (IC&E).
Teamster Women’s Conference
We invite all Teamster women to this year’s Teamster Women’s Conference. It will be held in Niagara Falls, Canada, March 31 through April 3.
BLET Job Bank: Amtrak (Spokane, Sacramento and Oakland)
Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., has openings for re-entry locomotive engineers in Spokane, Sacramento and Oakland.
Space remains for February 6 Secretary-Treasurer Workshop in Kansas City
Space is still available for members interested in attending the Education & Training Department’s Secretary-Treasurer Workshop in Kansas City from February 6-9.
Paper: “Social Factors Reflections on Railroaders’ Quality of Life”
Frederick C. Gamst of the University of Massachusetts presented the following paper on railroader fatigue at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C., on January 9
Statement by BLET National President Don M. Hahs on King Holiday
The following is a statement from BLET National President Don M. Hahs.
