Rail Industry News
Court sides with UP in ongoing dispute with Palestine, Texas
The city of Palestine, Anderson County and local employees of Union Pacific Railroad were recently handed a setback in the long fight of Union Pacific’s attempted exodus from the community.
AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending August 27, 2022
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 511,574 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
NS trains repeatedly block crossings in Ohio, one for 14 hours
Police alerted Norfolk Southern Railway at 10:12 a.m. Aug. 26 a train was blocking several railroad track crossings. Police reported another stopped train at 9:23 a.m. Aug. 25 blocking four railroad crossings.
CSX, NS trains block first responders at crossings in South Carolina
Leaders in Chester County say trains regularly blocking roads are causing public safety concerns. Now, they’re looking for ways to raise awareness, saying it’s not just an inconvenience.
U.S. rail traffic uptick continues
This is the third time in five weeks that a gain in total rail traffic has been reported.
Ridership on Amtrak’s Virginia routes reaches all-time high
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) and Amtrak announced yesterday that ridership on state-supported trains reached 110,256 passengers in July, a 28.9% increase from June’s level and a 19.8% increase compared with pre-pandemic ridership in July 2019.
DOT: $1.4 billion in rail infrastructure grants now available
The U.S. Department of Transportation today issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcing the availability of over $1.4 billion in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) Grant funding.
FTA to MBTA: Additional safety changes needed
The new Special Directives announced today require MBTA to address personnel, deficiencies and inadequate operating conditions, policies, procedures and training that compromised a culture of safety at the agency.
Is STB’s Primus in rail industry’s crosshairs?
The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Sept. 7 on President Biden’s nomination of Democrat Robert E. Primus to a second term on the Surface Transportation Board (STB). This is a preliminary step, requiring a subsequent vote among committee members whether to send the nomination forward to the entire Senate for consideration. The latter could be problematic, as will be explained.
UP conductor killed as train derails in El Paso
A train conductor was killed in a train derailment in El Paso, Texas, late Monday night, officials said. Two train cars derailed, damaging a backyard shed, a fence, and a gas meter and leading to the evacuation of about 50 people from nearby homes, according to the El Paso Fire Department. The victim was identified as 49-year-old Mario Aurelio Navarro, a conductor for Union Pacific, according to a news release from the El Paso Police Department.
Trouble on the Transcon
Earlier this month, Trains drove alongside BNSF Railway’s Southern Transcon from Barstow, Calif., to Belen, N.M., to see how North America’s busiest freight railroad and intermodal corridor is faring amid the crew shortages that have affected operations. BNSF’s California and Southwest divisions have been among the hardest hit in the country as the big four U.S. Class I railroads aim to replenish train crew staffing levels.
A U.S. freight rail crisis threatens more supply chain chaos
Federal regulators and the White House have been scrambling to prevent poor service and a possible strike from jamming up a vital but often overlooked network.
Gallup poll: Support for labor unions highest since 1965
Seventy-one percent of Americans indicated support for labor unions in a Gallup poll released on Tuesday, the highest percentage since 1965. The latest measure is a slight uptick from the 68 percent who supported labor unions when the survey giant polled the question last year.
UPS Teamster who saved a life is praised by state police, ignored by the company
Earlier this year, UPS driver Keith O’Brien was driving his route in Essex, Connecticut when he noticed a young girl sitting out in the cold in front of her house. What O’Brien did next may be the reason the girl’s mother is still alive today.
Critics work along the Mississippi to rally opposition to CP-KCS merger
Critics of a proposed $31 billion merger between the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads are trying to marshal opposition in eastern Iowa, saying the deal would hurt the state and especially the Quad-Cities.
After a decade of hype, Dallas-Houston bullet train developer faces a leadership exodus as land acquisition slows
Ten years ago, a company calling itself Texas Central High-Speed Railway announced plans for a trailblazing bullet train that would whisk passengers between Dallas and Houston in 90 minutes. But a decade on, there are still no new tracks between Dallas and Houston.
KCS set to build $75 million rail bridge in Laredo
The new $75 million rail bridge will parallel Kansas City Southern’s current one across the U.S.-Mexico border, where the Class I railroad already processes about 26 trains a day in a 24-hour period.
CSX, SMART-TD local officer disagree on congestion problems at Selkirk Yard
CSX Transportation is pushing back against allegations a local union official has made regarding operations and safety at the railroad’s hump yard in Selkirk, N.Y.
STB grants request for more mediation time in Gulf Coast dispute
The Surface Transportation Board has granted a request by the parties in the Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute to extend board-sponsored mediation for an additional 30 days.
STB announces new site for CP-KCS public meeting
The meeting set for Sept. 15, 2022, at 6 p.m. CDT will now be held at the Downtown Event Centre, 700 Crockett St., Beaumont, Texas.
BLET News
Petition drive launched to compel action on carrier attendance policies
In conjunction with the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) urge all members to engage in a petition drive to bring attention to the draconian and punitive attendance policies that have forced rail workers to live in constant fatigue.
Open Enrollment for the BLET Short Term Disability Enhanced-Plan Coverage
The Open Enrollment for the BLET’s Short Term Disability Enhanced-Plan and the new Enhanced-Plan Plus, underwritten by Sun Life Financial, has begun. The open enrollment will end on March 31, 2022 and those who enroll will have their coverage take effect on April 1, 2022.
BLET President Pierce and SMART-TD President Ferguson give joint interview on podcast
Attention all SMART-TD and BLET members! Tonight at 7:00 p.m. central standard time, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce will be airing a joint interview on the Rails Tails & Trails YouTube channel, which can be viewed at the...
The Fight for Two-Person Crews
The Fight for Two-Person Crews The following is an advance copy of a message from Dennis Pierce, BLET National President that will be included in the upcoming BLET Journal publication: I recently attended a Town Hall meeting with the membership of Division 28 in...
Coordinated Bargaining Coalition Unions Support BMWED/SMART Mechanical Request For An End To Mediation
By letter dated February 24, 2022, the rail bargaining coalition made up of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters Rail Conference and the Mechanical Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Union petitioned the National Mediation Board (NMB) for a proffer of arbitration, requesting to be released from further mediation sessions. If granted by the NMB, the proffer of arbitration is the next step in the process towards self-help and a potential Presidential Emergency Board to settle their contract dispute with the Nation’s rail carriers.
Judge rules “Hi-Viz” attendance policy court case as a “minor” dispute
Today the judge considering the case between BNSF and the SMART-TD and BLET unions over the carrier’s new “Hi-Viz” attendance policy ruled that the dispute was “minor” under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act (RLA).
BLET members ratify contract with Metra
On February 7, 2022, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Metra (the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, or NIRCRC).
2022 BLET Scholarship Directory
Each year, the BLET National Division compiles a list of scholarship opportunities available to the children of BLET members. Numerous financial aid opportunities are published here in the 2022 BLET Scholarship Directory.
BLET asks members to participate in fatigue research study
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), working in collaboration with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, is asking locomotive engineers and conductors to participate in a confidential survey regarding fatigue.
BLET, SMART-TD file Opposition to Preliminary Injunction in attendance dispute at BNSF
Yesterday, the BLET and SMART-TD filed their oppositions to BNSF’s request for the court to convert the January 25, 2022, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) into a preliminary injunction. The unions each filed for their own preliminary injunctions against BNSF’s implementation of its new Hi Viz attendance policy last week on February 2.
