Norfolk Southern and BNSF reach tentative agreements with additional labor unions

Norfolk Southern and BNSF Railway have reached tentative five-year contract agreements with additional unions four months before the opening round of national collective bargaining. The Norfolk Southern agreements with five unions, coming on the heels of four tentative agreements announced last week, cover approximately 55% of the railroad’s unionized workforce. The most recent agreements announced […]

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Residents seek to fight BNSF plan for Phoenix-area logistics hub

WITTMANN, Ariz. — Residents of the unincorporated communities of Wittmann and Circle City say they oppose BNSF Railway’s efforts to build a new intermodal and carload logistics hub northwest of Phoenix. BNSF said earlier this year it would build the project on more than 4,300 acres in northwest Maricopa County, 36 rail miles from downtown […]

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Tornado derails cars of BNSF train in North Dakota

BNSF Railway logo

STEELE, N.D. — More than 40 cars of a stopped BNSF Railway train were derailed when struck by a tornado near Steele, N.D., on Wednesday night. A BNSF spokeswoman told KFYR-TV that 43 cars empty coal gondolas were derailed at approximately 8:19 p.m. The train had been stopped because of reported tornado activity in the […]

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FRA releases safety audit of BNSF Railway

Low-angle view of orange locomotives with train of containers

WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway’s safety practices are improving and the company has a commitment to safety, according to a Federal Railroad Administration review. But FRA recommended that BNSF take steps to foster trust between management and labor, better respond to safety concerns fairly and consistently, and to improve training for new employees and maintenance of […]

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Regulators delve into an Amtrak ‘Sunset Limited’ mystery

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has received thousands of pages of documents as part of its investigation into the substandard on-time performance of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited. And yet regulators still have a mystery on their hands. The key question they want answered: Which railroads officially host the easternmost 15.5 miles of the Sunset Limited’s […]

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BNSF donates turntable to Railroad Heritage of Midwest America

Heavy equipment lifts turntable out of pit

SILVIS, Ill. — BNSF Railway will donate the turntable from its Cicero, Ill., yard to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America for use at the group’s Silvis, Ill., shop complex, RRHMA has announced. The 135-foot former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy turntable will become the largest preserved U.S. turntable in the U.S., and is needed to handle […]

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Crew members injured in BNSF derailment in Colorado

BNSF Railway logo

BOULDER, Colo. — Two crew members were treated at a hospital and released after a BNSF train derailed Thursday night, KDVR-TV reports. The incident was originally reported by Boulder police as a collision of two trains, but BNSF subsequently confirmed a single train was involved. At least one report says the train hit a group […]

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NS, BNSF announce tentative pacts with unions

A black locomotive under a silver signal bridge

Norfolk Southern and BNSF Railway said late today (Friday, Aug. 23) they had, in partnership, reached tentative, five-year collective bargaining agreements with a number of their unions. The pacts come four months before the opening of the next round of bargaining and cover approximately 30% of NS’s unionized workforce and 15% of BNSF workers. They […]

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Why a giant coal merger matters to Class I railroads: Analysis

Black and white locomotives with coal hoppers cresting hill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Business resiliency and opportunities for CSX and Norfolk Southern to recraft how they do business with two top coal customers makes the announced merger between Arch Resources and Consol Energy important to railroads. Arch and Consol have been major customers to the four big Class I railroads before announcing their intentions to […]

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