Rail Industry News
“It was not anything the crew did:” Canada’s Transportation Safety Board says CP Rail train began rolling on its own before derailment that killed 3 crew members
(Source: Calgary Herald, February 5, 2019) CALGARY — The Canadian Pacific Rail train that derailed and crashed near Field, B.C., killing three crew members, accelerated out of control after its brakes released without warning, investigators with the Transportation...
Editorial: Amtrak should drop opposition to W.Va. New River train
(Source: Herald-Dispatch, February 5, 2019) HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Amtrak has a base of loyal customers that many other businesses would love to have. Unfortunately for Amtrak, that base is too small. On top of that, much of its equipment is outdated. And the nation's...
FRA refuses blame for NJ Transit woes
(Source: www.nj.com, February 4, 2019) NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit doesn’t need federal approval to resume service on three suspended rail lines that were sidelined for months to install Positive Train Control, Federal Railroad Administration officials said. The...
Hostile shirtless man hops on moving Amtrak train and tries to stop it
(Source: Sacramento Bee, February 4, 2019) SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Northern California man was shirtless, under the influence and “exhibiting hostility” Monday when he hopped on a moving train, putting passengers and workers in jeopardy, deputies said. Amtrak train...
NTSB publishes its 2019-2020 Most Wanted List
(Source: National Transportation Safety Board press release, February 4, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Most Wanted List, the NTSB’s premier advocacy tool, identifies the top safety improvements that can be made across all modes to prevent accidents, minimize injuries,...
NTSB says “no more extensions” for PTC
(Source: CNN, February 4, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Railroad accident investigators are warning that further delays in installing crash prevention technology will continue to put travelers at risk of deadly accidents caused by human errors. The National Transportation...
Union leaders say UP cuts affect 118 employees at Bailey Yard
(Source: North Platte Telegraph, February 4, 2019) NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Furloughs and other job cuts over the past two weeks have affected 118 employees at the Union Pacific Railroad’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, according to interviews with several local union...
CP Rail identifies workers killed in B.C. derailment
(Source: Calgary Herald, February 4, 2019) CALGARY, Alberta — The three Canadian Pacific Rail workers killed in a train derailment near the Alberta-B.C. border on Monday have been identified as a Calgary-based crew. Conductor Dylan Paradis, engineer Andrew Dockrell...
150th anniversary celebration of transcontinental railroad to recognize Chinese laborers
(Source: Salt Lake Tribune, February 3, 2019) SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — They’re extraordinary pieces of history — three gleaming ceremonial spikes that helped celebrate the completion of the transcontinental railroad, now reunited in Utah for the first time in 150 years....
Chicago electric train lines open post-Arctic freeze
(Source: Associated Press, February 4, 2019) CHICAGO — Electric-powered commuter trains in the Chicago area are getting back to normal operations after Arctic cold played havoc with overhead powerlines and forced the shutdown of two major lines. Full story: Miami...
Court sides with BNSF in medical examiner’s fight for video of train death
(Source: Tacoma News Tribune, February 1, 2019) TACOMA, Wash. — A fight between Pierce County’s medical examiner and Burlington Northern Santa Fe over access to video of a pedestrian being struck by a freight train has been resolved in the railroad’s favor. Full...
Trump busts federal union
(Source: UComm Blog, January 29, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — A little-known federal agency charged with protecting the right of government workers to organize is refusing to recognize its own union. Full story: www.ucommblog.com
While everyone was focused on the shutdown, the White House rolled back worker safety rules
(Source: Fortune, January 30, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump may have run his 2016 campaign as a champion of the working class, but his administration seems to be chipping away at worker protections. During the president’s 35-day partial shutdown of...
Sen Manchin: Amtrak created financial hardship for W.Va. historical railroad group
(Source: West Virginia Gazette Mail, February 1, 2019) HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin says Amtrak has created a financial hardship for the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, causing its employees to be laid off and the organization to close...
Two billionaires want to restore glory of U.S. passenger railroads
(Source: Bloomberg, February 1, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — When American industrialist Henry Flagler decided to add Miami as a stop on his east coast Florida railway in the 1890s, the watery settlement had just a few hundred inhabitants. More than a century later, the...
Utah museum to show how photography and transcontinental railroad merged in the 1860s
(Source: KSL.com, January 31, 2019) SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The accounts vary as to exactly how many people attended the merging of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads at Promontory Summit in northern Utah on May 10, 1869, but the National Park Service...
Sen. Manchin urges Amtrak to re-examine its private train policies
(Source: Metro News, January 31, 2019) CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is asking Amtrak to re-examine its policies due to the negative effects on the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society. Full story: www.wvmetronews.com
Welder working on tracks sues Amtrak, BNSF after being struck by train
(Source: Cook County Record, January 31, 2019) CHICAGO — A couple is suing two railway companies, citing alleged negligence and loss of consortium. According to the complaint, on Jan. 16, 2016, Todd Dekeyrel was in the course of his work as a welder and under the...
New trial ordered for BNSF retaliation case after faulty jury instruction
(Source: Business Insurance, January 31, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal appeals court has reinstated retaliation charges filed by a railroad worker on the basis of an incorrect jury instruction. Full story: Business Insurance
Canadian railroads re-write drug policies for workers in light of cannabis legalization
(Source: CBC News, February 1, 2019) OTTAWA — As of Feb. 1, Go Train drivers in southern Ontario are forbidden from ever consuming cannabis, but that's not the case for their northern Ontario counterparts. However, a union leader representing workers at CP, CN and VIA...
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