Rail Industry News
Trespassers make up largest portion of Pa. rail fatalities
(Source: Lancaster Online, April 10, 2016) LANCASTER, Pa. — An average of 28 people die in train-related incidents in Pennsylvania each year, but very few of them are rail workers or passengers. Most victims are pedestrian “trespassers” on the tracks, or motorists at...
BNSF may scrap plans for LA-area yard after judge’s ruling
(Source: Long Beach Press Telegram, April 8, 2016) LONG BEACH, Calif. — BNSF Railway said Friday it may scrap plans altogether to build a new rail yard near the Port of Los Angeles following a recent court ruling in which a judge found serious flaws in the project’s...
Officials to consider latest California high-speed rail proposal
(Source: My News LA, April 10, 2016) LOS ANGELES — Some of the longest rail tunnels in North America would be used to bring California’s High-Speed Rail tracks from Northern California into the San Fernando Valley, under the latest plan to go before officials on...
Railroad layoffs mean long trains, long waits
(Source: Toledo Blade, April 10, 2016) TOLEDO, Ohio — To many in northwest Ohio, the trains just seem to keep getting longer and longer. And it’s a direct result of a near standstill with business for some rail companies. Rail traffic has tailed off in recent months,...
Railroads hope to get earnings back on track
(Source: MarketWatch, April 10, 2016) NEW YORK — There may be a light at the end of the tunnel for railroads. Maybe. After months of sagging stock prices, some analysts are predicting a bit of relief for the group as certain cargo groups hit bottom and the economic...
Amtrak, BNSF sue Kansas feed yard over Cimarron derailment
(Source: CBS News, April 10, 2016) WICHITA, Kan. — Amtrak has filed a federal lawsuit against a southwest Kansas feed yard, accusing it of gross negligence in relation to a train derailment that injured 28 passengers last month. In the suit filed Friday by Amtrak and...
Justice Department urges rejection of CP, NS voting trust
(Source: Reuters, April 8, 2016) NEW YORK — The Department of Justice on Friday urged a regulator to reject a voting trust that Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. has proposed as part of its takeover bid for Norfolk Southern Corp, saying it could hurt competition and would...
Canadian Pacific pulls the plug on efforts to merge with Norfolk Southern
(Source: Canadian Pacific Railway press release, April 11, 2016) CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. today announced that it has terminated efforts to merge with Norfolk Southern Corp. (NS), including the withdrawal of a resolution asking NS shareholders...
Africa’s $30 billion rail renaissance holds ticket for trade
(Source: Bloomberg, April 7, 2016) NEW YORK — On a sweltering Kenyan morning on the outskirts of a national wildlife park, Chinese and local workers maneuver a massive concrete rail-bridge structure onto towering support piers. In the distance, trucks loaded with...
China developing railroad to span the continent to Europe
(Source: Reuters, April 7, 2016) LONDON — China is pioneering a trans-continental rail service carrying cargo between the Far East and Western Europe with the aim of capturing some of the freight that currently moves by sea and air. Full story: Reuters
Big investment needed in Western Canada’s rail, ports to handle commodities
(Source: Canadian Press, April 7, 2016) MONTREAL — Big investments in both rail and marine infrastructure will be required to accommodate an acceleration in commodities shipments, particularly oil, over the next decade, says the Conference Board of Canada. Full story:...
Riders’ group pans Amtrak cutbacks west of Rensselaer
(Source: Albany Times Union, April 7, 2016) ALBANY, N.Y. — An Amtrak plan to temporarily suspend one of the four daily round-trips west of Rensselaer for track maintenance has drawn criticism from the Empire State Passengers Association. Full story: Albany Times...
NTSB: Amtrak train crashed on bent tracks in Kansas
(Source: USA Today, April 7, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Amtrak derailment in Kansas last month that sent 28 people to the hospital occurred where track damage was traced to a grain truck, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. Full story: USA...
Employer accountability is essential for workers
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, April 7, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Donald Blankenship, the former CEO of Massey Energy, knew everything there was to know about the company’s West Virginia mines. He even received production updates every...
Minnesota legislators want railroads to open books on emergency response
(Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 7, 2016) MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The emergency management director for St. Paul held up a sheet of paper covered with a large black square. It was a redacted record he had requested to learn how railroad companies would respond to...
Mechanical workers furloughed at UP’s Bailey Yard
(Source: North Platte Bulletin, April 8, 2016) NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Union Pacific is furloughing workers in the mechanical departments at Bailey Yard in North Platte and at South Morrill, as the affects of the decline in coal use across the country hits central and...
AAR: First quarter 2016 rail traffic down 6.5 percent from 2015
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, April 6, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported weekly U.S. rail traffic, as well as volumes for March 2016. Carload traffic in March totaled 1,196,167 carloads,...
U.S. military: CP, NS merger could adversely affect defense
(Source: Reuters, April 7, 2016) NEW YORK — The U.S. military on Thursday raised concerns with a federal rail regulator over the voting trust Canadian Pacific has proposed as part of its takeover bid for Norfolk Southern and said the deal could adversely affect the...
Proposal aims to tighten airport, train security after Brussels attacks
(Source: USA Today, April 6, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Travelers would see tightened airport and train station security, including additional armed officers and better training for law enforcement, under a proposal endorsed by the secretary of Homeland Security on...
Hoffa: It gets worse if TPP is enacted
(Source: Statement by Teamsters International President James P. Hoffa published in the Detroit News, April 6, 2016) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Teamsters and many other pro-worker allies have written repeatedly about the devastating lasting effects of bad trade deals in...
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