Rail Industry News
High-speed rail board completes environmental clearance in Northern California
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) Board of Directors today certified the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIR/EIS) and approved the approximately 43-mile project for the San Francisco to San Jose section.
Canada’s TSB publishes 2021-22 Safety Year in Review
In accordance with subsection 13(3) of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has submitted its Annual Report to Parliament for the period covering April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
Judge rules civil lawsuits can move forward after Amtrak derailment near Mendon, Mo.
A judge has ruled multiple civil lawsuits can proceed in court after the deadly Amtrak derailment near Mendon, Missouri in June.
STB concerned Class I service troubles could impact grain harvest season
In light of recent freight-rail service problems, the Surface Transportation Board is expressing concern about the Class Is’ ability to meet grain shipping demand during the upcoming harvest season.
CSX, NS say new conductors slowly entering service
Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation executives say their railroads are slowly on the mend as more conductors begin active duty and start to ease the crew shortages that have caused widespread service problems.
Americans are ready for high-quality passenger rail
America should always lead the way in technology and infrastructure — and that means Americans shouldn’t have to look abroad to see world-class passenger rail. But for far too long, our country has struggled to maintain our existing railways, let alone prepare for the future.
CSX cancels Santa Train for third straight year
For the third year in a row, the CSX Santa Train, a legacy of predecessor Clinchfield Railroad, will be sidelined — this time because of staffing and supply-chain issues.
STB approval of Uinta Basin Railway challenged
The Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) “inadequate” assessments of the Uinta Basin Railway project’s climate, public health and safety impacts undermine its approval of the project under the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, according to a Colorado County and environmental groups, Law360 reports.
BNSF to end California traffic embargo in September
BNSF Railway on Sept. 4 will end its embargo on certain types of carload traffic bound for California, saying that the restrictions enabled the railway to reduce traffic backlogs on its Southern Transcon.
AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending August 13, 2022
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 502,775 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.3 percent compared with the same week last year.
Iowa town turns down CP offer to address KCS merger traffic concerns
Canadian Pacific offered Camanche $200,000, for closing two of the seven railroad crossings in Camanche to cross traffic.
DOT announces $233 million in grants to upgrade intercity passenger rail service
The U.S. Department of Transportation today awarded over $233 million to 11 projects in 8 states to improve and modernize vital intercity passenger rail service.
Homeland Security allots preparedness grants to public transit, Amtrak
Of the money allotted, $93 million will be provided to owners and operators of public transit systems and $10 million will be provided to Amtrak to “protect critical surface transportation and the traveling public from acts of terrorism and to increase the resilience of transit infrastructure.”
NS to face daily fines if it doesn’t remove soybeans from waterway after derailment
The Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division has ordered Norfolk Southern to remove soybeans from Flat Creek under threat of penalties up to $50,000 per day.
Disqualified for disabilities, railroad workers fight back
Hundreds of Union Pacific employees are fighting back with federal lawsuits after losing their jobs because of health issues.
UP says Q3 2022 volumes up 2% over 2021
U.S. railroad operator Union Pacific’s Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Hamann said on Tuesday the company’s third-quarter volumes were up 2% so far from a year earlier, on improved staffing levels and easing congestion.
Rising Canadian crude output triggering more crude by rail
Canadian crude oil production has exceeded pre-pandemic levels and is poised to hit new records above 5.2 million b/d by the end of 2022, opening up a crude-by-rail arbitrage until pipeline capacity catches up.
North American rail volume down through first 32 weeks of 2022
This is the second consecutive week that total traffic has declined.
Sheng named STB Director
Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman today announced that he has appointed, with the approval of the Board, Janie Sheng to serve as Director of the Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance (OPAGAC).
BNSF intermodal train derails in Texas
Crews were working to clean up the site of a train derailment which took place overnight Wednesday and involved 17 BNSF train cars.
BLET News
Pierce, Wallace and Joynt elected to lead Teamsters Rail Conference
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, March 17 — BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce was reelected by acclamation to his fourth term as President of the Teamsters Rail Conference at the Rail Conference’s Fifth Quadrennial Convention in Chicago on March 17, 2022. BLET National Vice...
President Pierce condemns PSR at House hearing
BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce was highly critical of the so-called “Precision Scheduled Railroading” business model as he testified at a March 8 hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials.
President Pierce’s House testimony now available
The written testimony of BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce, who is testifying today before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials at a hearing titled “Stakeholder Views on Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization,” is now available on the BLET website.
President Pierce to testify at U.S. House hearing on March 8
BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce will testify tomorrow, March 8, before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials at a hearing titled “Stakeholder Views on Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization.”
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).
