Rail Industry News
Utah’s bill to regulate vans and shuttles for railroad crews draws fans and foes
(Source: Standard Examiner, February 23, 2015) SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Legislation to give the Utah Department of Transportation oversight of companies entrusted with transporting railroad crews between jobs barely advanced to a third Senate reading with a 15-12 vote....
Virginia proposes $361,000 fine against CSX over 2014 Lynchburg derailment
(Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, February 23, 2015) RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia is proposing a $361,000 civil fine against the rail company CSX Transportation Inc. in the derailment of a crude-oil tanker car that ruptured and caught fire in the James River in Lynchburg...
Why cold weather wreaks havoc on trains
(Source: Wired, February 24, 2015) NEW YORK — When jammed with ice, mechanical switches can become unmovable. Overhead wires may snap. Amtrak’s electric lines “are like any piece of metal—when they get cold, they get shorter,” says Augustine Ubaldi, a railroad...
Thousands of gallons of oily-water mixture recovered from trenches along Kanawha River
(Source: Charleston Gazette, February 23, 2015) CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Approximately 36,000 gallons of oily-water mixture had been recovered from containment trenches where the Kanawha River meets Armstrong Creek as of Monday morning, after a CSX oil train derailed in...
Why bitumen isn’t necessarily safer than Bakken
(Source: Railway Age, February 23, 2015) NEW YORK — The chain reaction fireballs that attended the Feb. 16, 2015 derailment of a CSX unit oil train in populated West Virginia probably blinded observers to the significance of the concurrent derailment and explosions of...
Feds start full-scale probe into CSX oil train derailment
(Source: The Register-Herald, February 23, 2015) MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. — A week after a 109-car derailment of a CSX train at Powellton Hollow in Fayette County, two federal agencies announced Sunday that they are moving forward with a full-scale forensic investigation...
Feds predict up to 10 fuel-hauling train derailments a year
(Source: Associated Press, February 23, 2015) BILLINGS, Mont. — The federal government predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage and possibly killing...
RRB announces Spring 2015 dates for informational conferences and new pre-retirement seminars
(Source: U.S. Railroad Retirement Board press release, January 22, 2015) CHICAGO — The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has announced a schedule of dates for the agency’s spring 2015 Informational Conferences and Pre-Retirement Seminars. Informational Conferences...
BNSF plans $120 million capital spending in Wisconsin
(Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 19, 2015) MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — BNSF Railway Co. said Thursday that it will spend an estimated $120 million on rail improvements in Wisconsin during 2015. BNSF's planned projects in Wisconsin include constructing 4 miles of...
Kansas City Southern announces Ottensmeyer as President
(Source: Kansas City Southern press release, February 20, 2015) KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern (KCS) announced today that as part of its succession planning process, Patrick J. Ottensmeyer has been appointed president, effective March 1, 2015. He will...
CN threatens lockout as Unifor contract talks fail
(Source: Bloomberg, February 20, 2015) TORONTO — Canadian National Railway Co. will lock out 4,800 Unifor members Monday if the labor union fails to agree to arbitration in contract talks with the country’s largest railroad this weekend. Full story: Bloomberg
Illinois governor’s proposed budget would cut $16 million from Amtrak funding
(Source: Associated Press, February 21, 2015) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Governor Bruce Rauner’s proposed state budget would cut $16 million from Illinois’ funding for Amtrak trains that serve downstate areas. Rauner’s proposal would roll the state’s current $42 million...
CSX oil train accident investigation able to move forward after weather delays
(Source: West Virginia State Journal, February 22, 2015) MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. — After weather issues delayed the investigation of the train derailment, federal investigators announced Sunday afternoon during a news conference they are able to now move forward. Full...
Man outruns CSX oil train derailment: ‘The house was blowing up behind me’
(Source: Charleston Gazette, February 18, 2015) BOOMER, W.Va. — It’s rare a man can say he’s glad his wife is in the hospital, but it’s also not every day a train destroys his home. Full story: Charleston Gazette
Opinion: Railroader fatigue threatening our safety
(Source: Moose Jaw Times Herald opinion column by Mickey Djuric, February 18, 2015) MOOSE JAW, Sask. — When I think about what the Teamsters union wants and them not getting it, it shocks me that more people aren't freaking out. In my eyes, CP Rail is the perfect...
AAR: Total weekly U.S. rail traffic up 3.5 percent over 2014 for week ending February 14
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, February 18, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 14, 2015. Total U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week was 525,224...
Facebook shuttle drivers unanimously ratify Teamster contract
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, February 22, 2015) SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — Shuttle bus drivers who are employed by Facebook contractor Loop Transportation have voted unanimously to ratify a strong first agreement. The 87 members of...
6,000 UPS Teamsters ratify five-year contract
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, February 20, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 6,000 UPS workers represented by Teamsters Local 710 voted to accept a new five-year contract on Thursday. The agreement is retroactive to 2013 and was...
FRA: CSX train going 33 mph in 50 mph zone at time of derailment
(Source: MetroNews, February 19, 2015) FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. — A CSX train hauling Bakken crude oil was traveling well below the 50 mile per hour speed limit when 27 tanker cars derailed near Montgomery in Fayette County Monday, according to the acting head of the...
Gas vapor eyed as factor in West Virginia oil train fireball
(Source: Reuters, February 19, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal investigators will examine whether pressurized gas played a role in the massive blast that followed the derailment of a train carrying crude oil through West Virginia this week, the U.S. Transportation...
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