Rail Industry News
STB adds three days to CP-KCS hearing
The three-day Surface Transportation Board hearing on the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger has ballooned to a six-day hearing. The board will hold mostly virtual hearings on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 3-4, with remaining witnesses. CP and KCS will appear on Thursday, Oct. 6, to rebut comments made throughout the hearings.
A railroad megamerger could be a boon to Canada’s dirty oil industry
Canadian Pacific is eying an even bigger prize — with a potential payoff from connecting Canada’s uniquely dirty oil fields to U.S. refineries on the Gulf of Mexico and creating what analysts say could be an attractive new backup route for crude producers if pipelines shut down.
BNSF to build $1.5 billion facility in Barstow to handle container traffic
BNSF Railway has announced plans for what it is calling the first master-planned rail facility built by a Class I railroad — costing more than $1.5 billion and including a rail yard, intermodal facility, and warehouses for transloading from international to domestic containers.
Class I railroads’ chemical carload growth continues amid economic uncertainty: analysis
U.S. Class I railroads continue hauling more chemicals than before, an area of growth even though higher interest rates are raising fears that the U.S. economy could begin contracting.
BNSF derailment in Montana leads to 31,000-gallon gasoline spill
A BNSF freight train derailed late Friday night outside of Bridger, and dozens of crew members have been onsite around the clock clearing the debris. Although neither of the two people onboard the train were harmed, an estimated 31,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from damaged cars.
Georgia lawmakers respond to NS trains blocking crossings, delaying first responders
Norfolk Southern says the train blocks the Juliette crossing for a number of reasons, like mechanical issues, staffing shortages, and even for crews to take “mandated rest times” of up to four hours. Some Georgia lawmakers are now trying to hold the railroad accountable.
Railroad executives want to eliminate conductors — and exhausted rail workers are terrified
What scares conductor Brian Raleigh the most about the idea of one-person train crews is that trains hauls chemicals, coal and other hazardous materials through towns each day. “It’s not just about saving my partner,” Raleigh said. “It’s about saving my community.”
CN warns regulators that CP-KCS merger could hurt service and competition
Canadian National, which lost the battle for Kansas City Southern to rival Canadian Pacific last year, tried to plant seeds of doubt about the CP-KCS merger in lengthy testimony before federal regulators on Thursday.
Class I railroads’ focus on efficiency, simplicity likely to phase out the piggyback era: analysis
Class I railroads’ focus on efficiency and simplifying service is making trailer-on-flatcar service obsolete.
Teamsters back bill toughening antitrust law as way to crack down on big business
The Teamsters are joining a coalition of more than 35 public interest, labor, and civil society organizations in urging passage of legislation that would raise merger fees on gigantic corporations to beef up funding for antitrust enforcement agencies.
UP train slammed into empty rail cars but unclear why, NTSB says
The collision that killed two Union Pacific employees earlier this month in Southern California happened when the train slammed into 92 empty railcars that had been stored on a side track for nine months, NTSB investigators said Thursday.
AAR reports rail traffic for week ending September 24, 2022
Total carloads for the week ending September 24 were 231,258 carloads, down 3.2 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 257,853 containers and trailers, down 5.4 percent compared to 2021.
Q&A: Disability Annuities for Railroad Employees
The Railroad Retirement Act provides disability annuities for railroaders who become totally or occupationally disabled. Medicare coverage before age 65 is also available for totally disabled employees and those suffering from ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or chronic kidney disease.
CP and KCS tout and defend their merger on first day of regulatory hearings
On September 28’s first day of public hearings regarding their proposed merger, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern sought to blunt criticism of their $31 billion combination by preemptively addressing concerns raised by other Class I railroads, Chicago-area commuter railroad Metra, and lineside communities in the Midwest.
Whistleblower questions CP police force powers in U.S. after KCS merger
While much of the focus on the proposed merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern has been on keeping cross-border gateways open to competing railroads, a Canadian attorney is asking whether there will be national security consequences if a corporate police force run by a foreign entity is operating on U.S. soil.
At STB hearing, Quad Cities mayor testifies against CP-KCS merger
The Surface Transportation Board is holding hearings where, on Wednesday, former Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba spoke out against the CP-KCS merger.
Machinists union strikes improved tentative deal with U.S. railroads
The agreement, that covers 4,900 members, will now be put for a vote by members, a division of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said in a statement.
IBEW members approve new railroad labor contract
Rail workers with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have voted to ratify the union’s labor contract with U.S. freight railroads. IBEW joins two other unions, the Transportation Communications Union/IAM and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, that voted to ratify their contracts. IBEW has nearly 4,000 members working for member carriers of the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC), the group representing the railroads in labor negotiations.
Man who assaulted locomotive engineer charged with attempted hijacking
A man from Sauk Rapids is charged with attempted hijacking of a BNSF train and assaulting the engineer.
CSX, NS stocks sink to near two-year lows after analysts cite “deteriorating outlook”
Shares of CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. both sank toward the lowest levels in nearly two years Tuesday, after UBS analyst Thomas Wadewitz backed away from his long-time bullish stances on the railroad operators, citing a “deteriorating” economic outlook.
BLET News
BLET, SMART-TD reach tentative agreement with railroads
For immediate release, September 15, 2022 Statement by Jeremy Ferguson, President, SMART Transportation Division and Dennis Pierce, President, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen on Tentative Agreement Reached Early This Morning Between Unions...
SMART-TD, BLET Joint Statement on Rail Embargo
The railroads are using shippers, consumers, and the supply chain of our nation as pawns in an effort to get our Unions to cave into their contract demands knowing that our members would never accept them. Our Unions will not cave into these scare tactics, and Congress must not cave into what can only be described as corporate terrorism.
BLET, SMART-TD joint statement on Labor Day 2022
As we approach Labor Day 2022, our Unions stand at a crossroads. While our normal messages heading into one of the most important days for Organized Labor would be about Labor’s proud history of improving the lives of working-class Americans, we are embroiled in the ongoing effort to obtain a National Freight Agreement worthy of our members’ consideration.
Ballots to be mailed in tentative BNSF-MRL implementing agreements
“I encourage all of our MRL members to participate in this important balloting process,” President Pierce said. “Membership ratification is a core principle of our Union.”
Update on PEB 250 recommendations to national agreement negotiations
On Monday, August 22, the SMART TD and BLET, along with the other remaining United Rail Unions, met with the Rail Carriers via Zoom to determine if PEB 250’s recommendations could serve as a basis for a tentative agreement. In-person meetings were then held on Thursday and Friday in Chicago, Illinois. Unfortunately, the meetings did not result in any tentative agreement language that operating crafts would accept, or that could be presented to our members for ratification.
Make your voice heard on FRA’s proposed two-person crew rule
FRA needs to hear from you; we encourage members to post comments from your perspective as a locomotive engineer or conductor.
PEB 250 issues recommendations
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, August 17 — The recommendations of Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) No. 250 were published on Tuesday, August 16. Officers of the BLET National Division, along with legal counsel and the BLET Wage Team, are continuing to analyze the report and...
Runion reelected Wyoming SLB Chairman
The BLET’s Wyoming State Legislative Board (WYSLB) convened its triennial meeting on June 13, 2022, at the Wyoming AFL-CIO Labor Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
In the Line of Duty: Ryan M. Jones
Brother Ryan M. Jones, a member of BLET Division 103 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, passed away while on duty on July 28, 2022. He was 33 years old.
Sean Simon joins BLET National Legislative Office
BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce has appointed Brother Sean P. Simon of BLET Division 226 (Newark, New Jersey), to serve the BLET as Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, effective July 25, 2022.
