Rail Industry News
Amtrak’s Hiawatha line to get new trains for Milwaukee-Chicago route
(Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 31, 2019) MADISON, Wisc. — The Legislature's budget committee approved spending $13.2 million on new passenger train cars Thursday for Amtrak's Milwaukee-to-Chicago line. Full story: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Houston-Dallas high-speed rail project may hold lessons for San Antonio
(Source: Rivard Report, November 1, 2019) SAN ANTONIO, Texas — While a San Antonio-to-Austin rail line remains an unrealized dream, a high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas is much closer to connecting the state’s two largest cities. Full story: Rivard...
Residents in this Alabama community are fed up with blocked railroad crossings
(Source: Times Daily, November 1, 2019) BARTON, Ala. — Residents of Pride Estates in eastern Colbert County are used to stopping at the railroad crossing near U.S. 72 for a passing Norfolk Southern freight train, but over the past few years, they've been frustrated by...
Virginia residents cry foul after Norfolk Southern train blocks only crossing into their neighborhood for four and a half hours
(Source: Television station WDBJ, November 1, 2019) BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. — People in one Botetourt County neighborhood are fed up after stuck trains have left them stranded for hours at a time. Wednesday night, people who live off of Davis Road in Blue Ridge had to...
Railroad proposes shipping 500 million gallons of Minnesota groundwater a year to the Southwest
(Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 1, 2019) ST. PAUL, Minn. — Could Minnesota water end up in the thirsty southwestern United States? In what is believed to be a first for Minnesota, the state has received a request from a small Lakeville railroad company...
Union Pacific reports PTC progress
(Source: Union Pacific press release, October 31, 2019) OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific implemented Positive Train Control (PTC) on 1,113 route miles in the third quarter of 2019, bringing required PTC-operated route miles to 15,791 or 93 percent, including all required...
Union Pacific reports PTC progress
(Source: Union Pacific press release, October 31, 2019) OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific implemented Positive Train Control (PTC) on 1,113 route miles in the third quarter of 2019, bringing required PTC-operated route miles to 15,791 or 93 percent, including all required...
Dow transports suffer unanimous decline; biggest drags are Union Pacific and FedEx stocks
(Source: MarketWatch, October 31, 2019) NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Transportation Average 159 points, or 1.5%, to underperform the broader stock market by a wide margin for a second-straight day. All 20 components of the transportation sector tracker lost ground. On...
AAR: Rail traffic down 8.8% from 2018 for week ending October 26, 2019
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, October 30, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending October 26, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 513,147...
CN sponsoring transportation of a historic piece of Canadian military history
(Source: CN press release, October 31, 2019) DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia — CN is proud to announce today that it is sponsoring the transportation by rail of the last known Centurion tank in Canada to be on the front lines during the Korean War. The Centurion was loaded...
Judge blocks Oklahoma’s attempt to enforce its blocked crossing law
(Source: Television station KOCO, October 30, 2019) OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Two cities and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission are temporarily banned from enforcing the state's new blocked railroad crossing law after a federal judge issued an injunction on it. The...
Report: Alberta will let producers hike oil output if companies add rail shipments
(Source: Calgary Herald, October 31, 2019) CALGARY, Alberta — Following months of discussions, the Alberta government will allow petroleum producers to increase their oil output levels above current provincial quotas, under certain conditions. Full story: Calgary...
FRA publishes $24 million notice of grant funding for Maglev
(Source: Railway Age, October 30, 2019) NEW YORK — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently published a Notice of Grant Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a shade over $24 million for the Magnetic Levitation Technology Deployment Program (Maglev Grants Program)....
BNSF asks Montana Supreme Court to shield it from liability in Libby asbestos case
(Source: Television station KRTV, October 30, 2019) GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, facing hundreds of asbestos-related damage claims related to the defunct Libby vermiculite mine, told the Montana Supreme Court Wednesday that its liability...
J.B. Hunt to pay $44 million in arbitration case with BNSF
(Source: Talk Business & Politics, October 30, 2019) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. is expected to pay $44.2 million as a result of an arbitration case between the carrier and Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF Railway Co.,...
AAR: U.S. rail traffic not improving
(Source: Railway Age, October 31, 2019) NEW YORK — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) recently reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ended Oct. 26, 2019, and for this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 513,147 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.8%...
Grammy winner Marty Stuart to hand out gifts on 2019 CSX Santa Train
(Source: Associated Press, October 30, 2019) NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country star and Grammy winner Marty Stuart will be the celebrity guest on the annual CSX Santa Train, which visits towns in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia in November to hand out gifts for families....
Florida fast train to connect Miami cruise port with Orlando
(Source: Associated Press, October 30, 2019) MIAMI — Florida's new high speed rail system is building a station at PortMiami, giving theme park tourists the opportunity for a car-free vacation by connecting them to the cruise capital of the world. Full story:...
Slippery leaves on tracks lead to Metra delays
(Source: Chicago Tribune, October 29, 2019) CHICAGO — Autumn leaves are lovely to see, but they cause delays for Metra commuters. Slippery rail conditions caused by snow and leaves on the tracks led to 13- to 20-minute delays Tuesday morning on Metra’s Union Pacific...
Court rules ADA did not apply to obese BNSF applicant’s future risk of impairment
(Source: Reuters, October 29, 2019) NEW YORK — A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said BNSF Railway Co did not violate the federal law prohibiting disability discrimination by barring an obese worker from a “safety-sensitive” job because of his heightened risk of...
BLET News
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).
Rail labor opposes NMB fees
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, along with other rail labor unions, has been actively opposing a National Mediation Board proposal to impose fees on rail employees seeking arbitration services from the NMB and, in certain cases, restrict payment to the neutral arbitrators appointed by the board.
Division 194 enters website in international competition
BLET Division 194 in Houston, Texas, has entered its website into a competition with 43 other unions from around the world to win the title “Labor Website of the Year 2004.”
UTU spreads falsehoods regarding seniority maintenance timeline
Once again, the United Transportation Union has chosen to skew the facts in its continued smear campaign against the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
Hoffa urges AFL-CIO to refuse UTU reaffiliation
International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa recently wrote to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the behalf of the 1.4 million members of the Teamsters to convey his opposition to the United Transportation Union’s request to reaffiliate with the AFL-CIO.
Employees must stay vigilant during December and January switching operations
The Switching Operations Fatality Awareness working group is urging employees to stay vigilant in the coming weeks. December and January have the highest switching fatality rates when compared to the other months of the year.
2005 BLET Time Books coming soon
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is currently mailing 2004 Time Books to all active BLET members.
BLET fights to stop UTU double dues
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has filed a lawsuit to halt the United Transportation Union’s attempt to implement a seniority maintenance and seniority retention agreement reached with the nation’s railroads. The implementation of this agreement could require BLET members to pay double dues if they desire to retain their BLET membership while working in train service.
Crewmember dead in CSX head-on collision
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Safety Task Force is helping to investigate a fatal head-on collision between two CSX freight trains this morning near Vitis, Fla.
