Rail Industry News
Firefighters/EMTs in Illinois join Teamsters Local 525
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, March 18, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of 10 firefighters/Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in Illinois have voted unanimously to join Teamsters Local 525. The election was held by mail ballot and...
Editorial: New York and New Jersey need a Plan B for the Hudson rail tunnel
(Source: Editorial in the New York Post, March 18, 2019) NEW YORK — With Team Trump blocking funds for a new cross-Hudson train tunnel, it’s time for New York and New Jersey officials to draw up a Plan B. Full story: New York Post
Union Pacific: Weak rail traffic for sixth straight week
(Source: Market Realist, March 18, 2019) NEW YORK — The weakness in Union Pacific’s rail traffic continued for the sixth straight week. The company recorded an 8.2% year-over-year decline in its rail traffic in week 10 to 155,845 railcars from 169,846 railcars carried...
Teamsters Local 455 mechanics ratify contract with Frontier Airlines
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, March 15, 2019) DENVER — Frontier Airlines mechanics have voted to ratify their most recent contract with the Teamsters by a margin of 96 percent. The agreement will be in effect until March 2023. “We are...
Memorial service held for 20th anniversary of Amtrak tragedy in Bourbonnais, Ill.
(Source: Kankakee Daily Journal, March 18, 2019) KANKAKEE, Ill. — Amtrak’s City of New Orleans, a train of two locomotives, one baggage car, 11 passenger cars and two sleeper cars, was carrying 198 passengers, an Amtrak crew of 17, two off-duty Amtrak employees and...
AFL-CIO’s TTD seeks worker protections against automation impacts
(Source: Progressive Railroading, March 18, 2019) The Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO is asking Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to prepare for the impact that automation is likely to have on the public transportation...
FRA denies KCS request to move brake test to Mexico yards
(Source: Trains, March 18, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administration has denied Kansas City Southern’s request to shift a brake test from the International Railway Bridge in Laredo, Texas, to one of its yards in neighboring Nuevo Laredo, Mexico....
Amtrak employees, friends pay tribute at Boardman funeral
(Source: Trains, March 18, 2019) ROME, N.Y. — More than a hundred current Amtrak employees, political leaders and friends attended Joe Boardman’s funeral service in Rome, N.Y., on Friday, drawn by what his younger brother, David, called the former Amtrak CEO’s...
UE continues talks with Wabtec in Erie, Pa.
(Source: GoErie.com, March 18, 2019) ERIE, Pa. — Representatives of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, former employees of the GE Transportation plant in Erie, sat down last week with negotiators from their new employer, Westinghouse Air...
Nebraska flooding wreaking havoc on railroads
(Source: Lincoln Journal Star, March 18, 2019) LINCOLN, Neb. — Historic flooding is causing huge headaches for both freight and passenger railroads in Nebraska and surrounding states. Full story: Lincoln Journal Star
Midwest flooding grinds rail service to a halt
(Source: Freight Waves, March 18, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Historic, catastrophic flooding continues in the Midwest after major snow melt and heavy rain last week. Some of the worst conditions are in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, including Omaha. People and...
CSX to break ground for N.C. rail hub in April
(Source: Rocky Mount Telegram, March 17, 2019) ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — People are going to start seeing action soon at the site of CSX’s proposed intermodal rail facility across from N.C. Wesleyan College. Full story: www.reflector.com
Netflix agrees to remove Lac-Megantic disaster footage from Bird Box movie
(Source: Canadian Press, March 14, 2019) OTTAWA — After initially refusing, Netflix has agreed to remove images of the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster from the film Bird Box. A spokesperson said in an email to The Canadian Press that the streaming company is sorry for...
CSX train cars derail off Baltimore bridge; no injuries
(Source: Associated Press, March 16, 2019) BALTIMORE — Multiple freight train cars derailed Friday in Baltimore, with at least one empty car tumbling off a bridge, but authorities said no one was injured. Full story: The Star Democrat
Family of NS worker wins $1 million asbestos lawsuit judgment against railroad
(Source: Virginian-Pilot, March 15, 2019) NORFOLK, Va. — The family of a Norfolk man who died after being exposed to asbestos while working for Norfolk Southern Railway’s predecessor recently won a $1 million judgment against the railroad company in Norfolk Circuit...
ExxonMobil delays $1.9 billion Canada project amid oil-sands woes
(Source: Bloomberg, March 17, 2019) CALGARY — ExxonMobil Corp. is delaying a C$2.6 billion ($1.9 billion) oil-sands project in Canada by at least a year as the nation’s energy industry grapples with a shortage of pipeline space and government-mandated production cuts....
Feds rank Gateway project a “medium-low” priority for funding
(Source: Associated Press, March 15, 2019) NEWARK, N.J. — A $13 billion project to build a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey received another blow from federal authorities Friday in the form of a rating that continues to make it ineligible for critical...
New Jersey river restrictions aim to ease Portal Bridge stress, commuting trouble
(Source: Television station WABC, March 15, 2019) SEACAUCUS, N.J. — Senator Bob Menendez announced new restrictions Friday on the Hackensack River aimed at easing the stress on the Portal Bridge. Under the Coast Guard order, all marine traffic on the Hackensack River...
UP vehicles help transport Nebraska flooding evacuees to shelter
(Source: Omaha World-Herald, March 16, 2019) OMAHA, Neb. — LaDonna Myers and Marsha Poole's precarious evacuation journeys from their flooded homes on King Lake in western Douglas County have been via canoe, airboat, auto, heavy-duty military vehicles and on Saturday,...
Flooding impacts Amtrak service in Missouri
(Source: Kansas City Star, March 17, 2019) KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri River Runner train service between Kansas City and St. Louis will have delays up to 5 hours because of flooding and rail congestion, Amtrak announced Sunday morning. Full story: Kansas City...
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