Rail Industry News
Mobile to study fares, ridership if Amtrak returns to city
(Source: Associated Press, June 30, 2019) MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobile City Council is delaying a proposal that endorsed the return of passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast through Mobile. Full story: Tuscaloosa News
Oregon passes bill requiring railroads to develop oil train spill response plans
(Source: Freight Waves, June 30, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Oregon Legislature on Saturday (June 29) approved a bill requiring railroads transporting large amounts of crude oil through Oregon to develop spill response plans and submit them to the Department of...
Former CSX exec Kendall joins FRA as deputy administrator
(Source: Progressive Railroading, June 28, 2019) Quintin Kendall is the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) new deputy administrator, the agency confirmed this week. Full story: Progressive Railroading
Norfolk Southern kicks off TOP21 operating plan
(Source: Progressive Railroading, June 28, 2019) Today, Norfolk Southern Railway will begin rolling out its new precision scheduled railroad operating plan known as TOP21, the Class I announced yesterday in a customer service alert. Full story: Progressive...
ExpressJet negotiations break down early as Teamsters file for mediation with NMB
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, June 28, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — ExpressJet Airlines, a carrier in which United Airlines holds a 49 percent stake, sent a clear message to its aircraft mechanics this week by passing a regressive...
FRA seeks further delay of rule on passenger rail safety programs
(Source: Safety & Health Magazine, June 28, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly two years after the Federal Railroad Administration first published a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs, the...
NTSB will meet July 23 to determine cause of fatal 2018 Amtrak crash at Cayce, S.C.
(Source: Occupational Health & Safety, July 1, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board will meet July 23 to determine the probable cause of the Feb. 4, 2018, collision of an Amtrak train with a stopped CSX train near Cayce, S.C. The collision...
NJ governor signs NJ Transit worker bill, highlights agency’s progress
(Source: Progressive Railroading, June 28, 2019) New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this week signed into law a bill that would prohibit New Jersey Transit from asserting sovereign immunity to escape rail worker lawsuits under the Federal Employers' Liability Act...
Crews preparing to pump out sulfuric acid spilled during CN rail tunnel crash
(Source: Times Herald, June 29, 2019) PORT HURON, Mich. — A full day after more than 13,000 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled into the rail tunnel under the St. Clair River, crews were wrapping up efforts this morning to remove the CN Rail cars that had derailed. Full...
40 CN train cars derail inside U.S.-Canada border tunnel near Detroit
(Source: Crain’s Detroit Business, June 28, 2019) DETROIT, Mich. — A Canadian National Railway train derailed early Friday morning inside the Port Huron-to-Sarnia rail tunnel under the St. Clair River, clogging up international train traffic at the border, according...
Genesee & Wyoming being taken private in $6.37 billion deal
(Source: Associated Press, July 1, 2019) DARIEN, Conn. — Railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming is being taken private by Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC in a deal valued at about $6.37 billion. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns 120 short line railroads, mostly in North...
Alaska Railroad pens agreement on rail connection to Lower 48 states
(Source: Must Read Alaska, June 27, 2019) ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Railroad Corporation and the Alaska to Alberta Railway Development Corporation signed a master agreement of cooperation to build a 1,500-mile connection between the Alaska Railroad and Canadian...
Vintage rail cars offer a nostalgic view for Hoosier State Line’s final run on Sunday
(Source: Lafayette Journal & Courier, June 28, 2019) LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Among all the passenger rail fans saying their farewells to the Hoosier State – a four-day-a-week Indianapolis-to-Chicago route doomed by state budget cuts that kick in next week – who knew the...
The Alberta government is trying to get out of the oil-by-rail business
(Source: Edmonton Journal, June 27, 2019) EDMONTON — Attempting to make good on a spring election promise, the government announced Thursday morning it has engaged CIBC Capital Markets to “help oversee the divestment of the crude-by-rail program and its transition to...
Oil production limit increasing, crude by rail capacity growing
(Source: CTV News, June 27, 2019) EDMONTON — The Alberta government announced changes to the oil production limit for August Thursday. Citing the private sector increasing its crude-by-rail capacity, declining inventory levels and improved efficiencies, the production...
PSR and the shipper impact will be focus at Midwest Association of Rail Shippers meeting
(Source: American Journal of Transportation, June 27, 2019) CHICAGO — Freight rail shippers concerned about the impacts of precision scheduled railroading (PSR) will gather July 15-16 for the annual Summer Meeting of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS)....
Two men charged in shooting and attempted robbery of SEPTA regional rail conductor
(Source: Philly Voice, June 20, 2019) PHILADELPHIA — Two men have been arrested for the shooting and attempted robbery of a SEPTA conductor on a Regional Rail train in May, SEPTA police announced Thursday. Full story: Philly Voice
Flooding and transport issues behind month-long grains rally
(Source: Freight Waves, June 27, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Historically heavy rainfall in the Midwest region of the United States has contributed to surging prices of agricultural commodities in more ways than one. Breached levies and flooded fields prevented farmers...
NTSB calls on FRA to stop delaying passenger rail safety rule
(Source: Progressive Railroading, June 25, 2019) Prompted by a fatal Amtrak train derailment in 2017, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to implement a passenger-rail operations safety program...
U.S. rail volumes continue to drop
(Source: Freight Waves, June 27, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Year-to-date U.S. rail volumes fell again amid a loosening truck market, receding floodwaters in the Midwest and overall economic uncertainty. Full story: Freight Waves
BLET News
Editorial: Safety hypocrites?
That other organization today proclaimed that the BLE’s protest of remote control operations was wrong headed and somehow the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) was the proper forum for developing regulations for remote control operations (RCO).
President Hahs statement of support for troops
BLE International President Don M. Hahs today issued the following statement concerning the war in Iraq:
Second Ohio County bans remotes
Huron County, Ohio, has banned remote control locomotives, the second Ohio County to do so in as many months.
TTD urges FRA on RCL rulemaking
In a letter to Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter on behalf of the 35 affiliates of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, Edward Wytkind urged the FRA to “favorably act on a rulemaking submitted by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers on the use of remote control locomotives.”
Editorial: It’s about safety
This is in response to Clayton Boyce’s editorial titled “Big Lie,” which was dated March 17 on the Traffic World website but posted on the United Transportation Union’s website on March 14.
Woodbridge, N.J., bans remote control
On March 4, the Township of Woodbridge, N.J. became the 11th U.S. city to take action against remote control locomotives. The Township adopted a resolution citing safety risks associated with remote control locomotives and demanded the risks be eliminated before the technology is implemented in Woodbridge.
Bakersfield, Calif., passes remote control resolution
Bakersfield, Calif., became the 10th American city to pass a resolution calling for improved safety of remote control locomotives.
Senator Kennedy ‘deeply concerned’ about remote control safety
U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy said he is “deeply concerned about the growing threat to worker and public safety from the use of remote control technology” in a March 11 letter to Allan Rutter, Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.
More than 300 attend BLE-IBT remote control rally
Carrying picket signs and chanting “remote control has got to go,” more than 300 union members rallied in Washington D.C. yesterday to protest lax federal oversight of remote controlled locomotives.
IBT/BLE rally in front of FRA on remote control
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers joined forces with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters against the use of remote control locomotives today. The BLE/IBT held a rally in front of the Federal Railroad Administration building in Washington, D.C. to draw attention to the dangers of remote control locomotives.
