Rail Industry News
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...
Union Pacific train traffic halted in Nebraska due to flooding
(Source: Grand Island Independent, March 18, 2019) GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Because of eastern Nebraska’s continuing unprecedented flooding, Union Pacific rail traffic east of Gibbon has been at a standstill since Friday. Stranded trains have been sitting on the main line...
Heavy weather impacting BNSF operations
(Source: Railway Age, March 17, 2019) NEW YORK — BNSF is engaged in service recovery efforts in multiple areas across its network in the northern and central Plains following another major winter storm. Blizzard conditions, with wind gusts to near 70 mph in Colorado,...
Amtrak’s 2017 accident in DuPont, Wash., subject of NTSB meeting
(Source: National Transportation Safety Board press release, March 14, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday its intention to hold a board meeting May 21, 2019, 1 p.m. (ET), to determine the probable cause of the Dec. 18,...
Long, slow CSX train rolls through O’Fallon, Illinois
(Source: O’Fallon Weekly, March 14, 2019) O’FALLON, Ill. — Drivers should be watching this afternoon for a very long, very slow train to roll through O’Fallon. CSX is clearing their track near Shattuc and Aviston of stored train cars. The company sent a single engine...
Despite risks, Canada’s tar sands industry is betting big on oil trains
(Source: DeSmog Blog, March 14, 2019) NEW YORK — Last year, Canada exported a record amount of tar sands oil to the U.S., despite low oil prices leading to major losses once again for the struggling tar sands industry. That achievement required a big bump in hauling...
BNSF testing double-length grain trains
(Source: Railway Age, March 14, 2019) NEW YORK — BNSF is experimenting with the process of combining two empty unit grain trains into one and sending the double-length train east out of Auburn, Wash., over Stampede Pass. On March 13, BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas told...
Aftermath of Bourbonnais accident brought improvements
(Source: Kankakee Daily Journal, March 14, 2019) KANKAKEE, Ill. — A pair of cement barriers block off the roadway. The first is marked by a vibrant orange traffic cone and a yellow piece of caution tape that spreads to a nearby tree. Overgrown trees overshadow the...
1999 Amtrak tragedy in Bourbonnais a turning point for survivors
(Source: Kankakee Daily Journal, March 14, 2019) KANKAKEE, Ill. — The clock read 9:48 p.m. on Monday, March 15, 1999. Time stood still for one brief moment, and then, everything changed. Darkness engulfed the frozen landscape of the northern edge of Bourbonnais on...
AAR reports rail traffic for week ending March 9, 2019
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, March 13, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 9, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 508,958...
FRA rejects KCS scheme to outsource brake inspections to Mexico
(Source: AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department press release, March 14, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Larry I. Willis, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued the following statement in response to the Federal Railroad Administration...
Food service workers in Idaho and Oregon join Teamsters Locals 483 and 670
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, March 13, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, March 8, a group of 34 drivers in Idaho and Oregon working at Food Services of America, Inc., which US Foods is in the process of purchasing, voted to become...
NJ Transit chief gives update on training of engineers, Hudson River tunnel project
(Source: www.njbiz.com, March 13, 2019) NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Transit Executive Director Kevin Corbett called training and hiring engineers a priority on Wednesday during a Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey forum called “Roads, Rails, and...
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