Rail Industry News
NS targeting 5 percent employee reduction for 2016
(Source: Reuters, May 17, 2016) NEW YORK — Norfolk Southern says it is targeting a 5 percent railroad employee reduction for the year 2016. Full story: Reuters
Editorial: Congressional inaction also to blame for Amtrak train 188
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer editorial, May 18, 2016) PHILADELPHIA — The most effective precaution against lapses such as Bostian's has been so clear for so long that the NTSB has been pushing it for more than 45 years. A technology known as positive train control...
Amtrak victims react to NTSB findings
(Source: Associated Press, May 18, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Victims of last year's deadly Amtrak derailment aren't buying the findings of federal investigators that the train's engineer likely lost his bearings because he was distracted by an incident with a nearby...
Who threw the rock?
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, May 17, 2016) PHILADELPHIA — There's someone out there who threw the rock. On May 12, 2015 someone threw a projectile that hit a SEPTA train. Officials are now saying that act may have set in motion a hideous Rube Goldberg-like chain of...
Amtrak crash went from ‘distraction to disaster’ in seconds
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, May 17, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — he engineer who derailed an Amtrak train lost his bearings shortly before he accelerated into a dangerous Philadelphia curve last year, likely because he was distracted by radio talk about a SEPTA train...
NTSB: Engineer’s loss of situational awareness led to Amtrak train 188 derailment; PTC could have prevented fatal accident
(Source: National Transportation Safety Board press release, May 17, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The May 2015 derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia was the result of a loss of situational awareness by the train’s engineer after his attention was diverted to an...
Phillips 66 crude by rail project continued
(Source: Pacific Coast Business Times, May 16, 2016) SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Phillips 66 proposal to expand its crude-by-rail project was continued until September. The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission rejected a motion to deny the project at its...
BNSF would serve resin export facility planned for Fort Worth
(Source: Plastics News, May 16, 2016) FORT WORTH, Texas — Three Texas-based firms plan to build a massive resin export facility in Fort Worth. In a news release from Hillwood, officials said the facility will be part of a new global supply chain route that enables...
Study: Manufacturing workers deserve better pay
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, May 16, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Manufacturing jobs used to be considered the backbone of the middle class. But since the onslaught of terrible trade deals like NAFTA and the reduction in union density,...
Witnesses say driver killed trying to beat Metra train
(Source: Chicago Tribune, May 16, 2016) CHICAGO — A 30-year-old Wisconsin man died Sunday night when he drove around railroad crossing gates and his vehicle was struck by a Chicago-bound Metra train on the city's southwest side, authorities said Full story: Chicago...
Amtrak passenger found dead after jumping from moving train
(Source: The Hutchinson News, May 16, 2016) HUTCHINSON, Kan. — An Amtrak passenger died near Main Street in Stafford after jumping from the moving train early Monday morning. Stafford Police Chief Doug Brown said the 74-year-old man started acting strangely around 2...
Metro-North to develop new track inspection vehicle
(Source: www.railway-technology.com, May 16, 2016) NEW YORK — MTA Metro-North Railroad in New York has decided to enter a contract with US-based engineering company Ensco to design, build, and deliver an advanced track-inspection vehicle. It will be equipped with...
Railroad car manufacturer lays off 60 in N.C.
(Source: Associated Press, May 15, 2016) WILMINGTON, N.C. — A company that makes railroad cars in Wilmington is laying off about 60 workers as it switches over from making hopper cars that carry sand to making freight cars. Local media outlets report that Vertex...
Hoffa walks picket line with US Foods Teamsters in MD
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, May 16, 2016) SEVERN, Md. — Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa this afternoon met and walked the picket line with some 50 members of Locals 355 and 570 engaged in an unfair labor practices strike...
BNSF whistleblower case begins in federal court
(Source: Seattle Times, May 16, 2016) SEATTLE — More than six years after his dismissal, former BNSF Railway conductor Curtis Rookaird is facing off this week in U.S. District Court with his former employer over a civil claim that he was illegally fired after relaying...
NTSB to detail probable cause of Amtrak train 188 crash later today
(Source: CBS New York, May 17, 2016) NEW YORK — The National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to meet Tuesday to detail the probable cause of last year’s deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia. The cause won’t be determined officially until the NTSB votes...
Switzerland is opening the world’s longest-ever rail tunnel
(Source: City Lab, May 13, 2016) NEW YORK — Next month, Switzerland is opening the longest railway tunnel ever constructed. At a length of 35.5 miles, the new Gotthard Base Tunnel burrows deep beneath the mountains to connect Switzerland’s German- and Italian-speaking...
UP steam locomotive 844 returns to tracks this summer
(Source: Associated Press, May 15, 2016) CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific's No. 844 steam locomotive will return to the tracks this summer as part of the special Denver-to-Cheyenne train for Cheyenne Frontier Days. Full story: Greenfield Daily Reporter
Generating electricity with a rock-filled train on a hill
(Source: Wired, May 16, 2016) NEW YORK — Rail energy storage is about to get its grand debut. In April, the Bureau of Land Management approved an ARES—that’s Advanced Rail Energy Storage—project, conceived by a Santa Barbara-based energy startup called, well, ARES. By...
UP to make Kansas infrastructure improvements
(Source: Union Pacific press release, May 12, 2016) OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific plans to invest $70.9 million in 2016 to improve Kansas' transportation infrastructure. The company's multi-million dollar private investment will enhance employee, community and customer...
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