Rail Industry News

(Source: Progressive Railroading, December 11, 2017) The nation's freight railroads have reached tentative labor agreements with four unions, the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) announced late last week. Full story: Progressive Railroading

(Source: Albany Times Union, December 7, 2017) ALBANY, N.Y. — A panel studying restoration of passenger rail service between New York City and Berkshire County, Mass., is considering a route that would take it through the Capital Region. Full story: Albany Times...

(Source: National Public Radio, December 7, 2017) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The country's first private high-speed rail service is opening this month in Florida, promising to transform congested South Florida highways by taking as many as 3 million cars off the road. Full...

(Source: Railway Age, December 7, 2017) NEW YORK — The first ACS-64 electric locomotive for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has left Siemens’ plant in Sacramento, California, bound for Philadelphia. Full story: Railway Age

(Source: www.goerie.com, December 8, 2017) ERIE, Pa. — A local labor leader is helping to organize a network of unions representing General Electric Co. workers worldwide. Scott Slawson, president of Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of...

(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, December 7, 2017) l WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democracy is supposed to function based on majority rule. But increasingly, elected officials are using their powers to draw legislative districts that don’t...

(Source: Occupational Health & Safety, December 8, 2017) WASHINGTON, D.C. — An online article about Union Pacific's use of drones this week says the railroad currently has 80 employees certified to fly drones and hopes to have nearly 250 throughout its 32,100-mile...

(Source: Peoria Journal Star, December 8, 2017) PEORIA, Ill. — A wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. will pay tens of millions of dollars for intentionally cheating its customers with unnecessary repairs and dumping rail car parts into the ocean to cover up...

(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, December 6, 2017) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 2, 2017, as well as volumes for November 2017. Intermodal rail...

(Source: The Bergen Record, December 6, 2017) TEANECK, N.J. — Township officials are considering installing cameras on bridges overlooking the railroads that cut through town and in a tunnel that crosses underneath, to monitor activity along the tracks. The cameras...

(Source: Associated Press, December 7, 2017) CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a Chicago-area man to 12½ years in prison for helping to steal around 100 new guns from a freight train stopped in the city. Full story: www.usnews.com

(Source: New York Post, December 6, 2017) NEW YORK — A New Jersey Transit train packed with passengers got stuck in a tunnel outside Penn Station for about an hour on Wednesday afternoon, officials said. Full story: New York Post

(Source: Syracuse.com, December 6, 2017) SYRACUSE, N.Y. — State transportation officials today said they are working to expand the DeWitt rail yard controlled by CSX into an "inland port,'' a decision that appears to put an end to more ambitious plans put forth in...

(Source: Kentucky Today, December 6, 2017) NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — A central Kentucky railroad company is partnering with the Kentucky Labor Cabinet to begin an apprenticeship program. Full story: Kentucky Today

(Source: Railway Age, December 6, 2017) NEW YORK — MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has issued an RFP (Request For Proposals) to prequalify firms for a minimum of 60 and up to 160 M9A married-pair (A Car – B Car) EMU (electric multiple-unit) railcars, structured as a...

(Source: Logistics Management, December 6, 2017) FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — The joint interline service formally rolled out in October by Class I railroad carriers CN and Norfolk Southern appears to be off to a good start so far. Full story: Logistics Management

(Source: FloridaPolitics.com, December 7, 2017) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Since railroad company CSX embraced a “precision railroading” model that led to staff cuts and an seeming uptick in trains lingering on tracks blocking roadways, citizens in the Jacksonville/Baldwin...

(Source: San Antonio Express News, December 6, 2017) SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Exxon Mobil Corp. is joining Chevron Corp. and other U.S. refiners to supply the newly free Mexico fuel market. Exxon sent two cargoes totaling 120,000 barrel of diesel and gasoline Wednesday...

(Source: Puget Sound Public Radio (KUOW), December 6, 2017) SEATTLE, Wash. — Obama-era regulations required railroad companies to install electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes by 2021. Those new systems were supposed to help prevent fiery crashes, like last...

(Source: Rail Passengers Association press release, November 27, 2017) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following is a statement by Jim Matthews, President and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association: Today, I am pleased to announce the formal introduction of our new brand....