Rail Industry News
Facebook, Teamster shuttle drivers approve contract
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, March 12, 2015) SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — Drivers for Facebook contractor Loop Transportation are now covered under a Teamsters Local 853 contract, providing for wage increases, health care benefits and a...
Union Pacific struggles with Midland traffic
(Source: Midland Reporter-Telegram, March 11, 2015) MIDLAND, Texas — Railroad companies recently are having issues with Midland traffic as trains pass through the Permian Basin. As regional traffic increases along the roadways and railways, Union Pacific Railroad Co....
Crude oil shipments dwindle in California, for now
(Source: Sacramento Bee, March 11, 2015) SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A year ago, California officials nervously braced for an influx of milelong trains carrying volatile crude oil to refineries in the Valley and on the coast – trains similar to the one that exploded two...
Why an oil-patch slowdown could make it easier to toughen crude by rail rules
(Source: Financial Post, March 9, 2015) OTTAWA — Recent derailments have raised fresh questions about the safety of the tank cars used to ship crude by rail, putting pressure on the government to speed up the introduction of new standards. And there may be no better...
More rail inspectors needed, Canada’s House of Commons Transport Committee says
(Source: Ottawa Citizen, March 12, 2015) OTTAWA — Transport Canada must ensure it has an “adequate” number of safety inspectors to oversee the rail transportation of dangerous goods, a House of Commons committee said Thursday. Full story: Ottawa Citizen
N. Dakota loading facility sanctioned in oil train leak discovered at BP Cherry Point
(Source: McClatchy News Service, March 12, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a violation against a North Dakota loading facility over a leaking oil car in northwest Washington state that initially wasn’t reported to state...
Pipelines vs. trains: Which is better for moving oil?
(Source: CBC News, March 10, 2015) OTTAWA — For some, recent oil train derailments have raised questions about rail safety, train speeds and length, tanker-car standards and stabilizing the oil within the tankers. For others, it has meant that we should be talking...
Washington state legislation would mandate larger crew on oil trains
(Source: Seattle Times, March 10, 2015) OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington’s Republican-controlled Senate could set a national precedent with a bill passed Monday night that would require up to two railroad workers in the rear of trains carrying crude oil and other hazardous...
Heavy and light crude both susceptible to rail explosions
(Source: Toronto Star, March 12, 2015) TORONTO — Train derailments provide ideal conditions for an oil explosion, say chemists and engineers from across North America, calling into question rail’s ability to transport hydrocarbons safely and to prevent catastrophe in...
Inspector General: Border protection at railroads vulnerable to dangerous cargo
(Source: Washington Times, March 12, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — High-risk rail cargo shipments might have crossed into the U.S. without being properly checked out by border patrol agents, a watchdog said Thursday. Full story: Washington Times
FRA: Metro-North put punctuality ahead of safety
(Source: The Hill, March 12, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — An “overemphasis of on-time performance” contributed to a series of accidents on New York’s Metro-North commuter railway that has raised questions about public transportation safety, the Federal Railroad...
AAR: Total weekly rail traffic up slightly over 2014 for week ending March 7
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, March 11, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Mar. 7, 2015. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 522,383...
Senator Coats asks FRA to reconsider rail carrier status for states
(Source: Indianapolis Star, March 12, 2015) INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indiana Department of Transportation announced last week that the Indianapolis-to-Chicago four-days-a-week train will stop running April 1. The agency says the federal rail agency’s insistence that...
Shippers say railroads should hand over more info
(Source: Electric Co-op Today, March 10, 2015) ARLINGTON, Va. — Electric cooperatives say they can get a better grip on potential rail delivery problems if federal regulators require freight railroads to hand over more data. Full story: Electric Co-op Today
USDA pegs rail losses at $570 million
(Source: Agriculture.com, March 12, 2015) Upper Midwest farmers lost about $570 million on sales of soybeans, wheat, and corn last year because of painful rail delays that began with the bumper 2013 harvest and persisted into fall 2014. The snarl-up could lead to...
Canada tracking grain transportation after rail backlogs
(Source: Canadian Press, March 13, 2015) SASKATOON — Prime Minister Stephen Harper says it’s not in Canada’s economic interest to have two railway companies with “extraordinary market power” dictating terms of the transportation industry. The Prairies experienced...
Crude oil train wrecks raise questions about safety claims
(Source: Los Angeles Times, March 13, 2015) LOS ANGELES — Four accidents in the last month involving trains hauling crude oil across North America have sent flames shooting hundreds of feet into the sky, leaving some experts worried that public safety risks have been...
CP Rail has been found guilty of multiple violations of Canadian Labor Code
(Source: Teamsters Canada Rail Conference press release, March 5, 2015) OTTAWA — On February 20, 2015 CP arbitrarily changed the working conditions and imposed their new ideas on how to allow elected Union officers leave to conduct their duties. The TCRC immediately...
Rig involved in Amtrak derailment was hauling load from N.C. to N.J.
(Source: News & Observer, March 13, 2015) RALEIGH, N.C. — The tractor-trailer rig that caused a train crash Monday in Halifax County was hauling a shipment from Clayton. The rig was carrying a power equipment center built by PCX Corp. at its plant on Pony Farm Road....
TCRC: Could the Gogama derailment have been prevented?
(Source: Teamsters Canada Rail Conference press release, March 12, 2015) OTTAWA — The Teamsters Union once again raises concerns following the third train derailment in Northern Ontario in less than a month. For years, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) —...
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