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An employee uses a car mover to shift a Milwaukee Road boxcar on a side track. Car movers have hinged spurs that bite into the rail. Pushing down on the handle exerts upward pressure on the wheel to start the car in motion. Advance Car Mover Co. photo […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, unhappy about the results of recent labor negotiations, have apparently opted to make a change in union leadership. The Associated Press and other sources are reporting that challenger Eddie Hall defeated incumbent Dennis Pierce in voting for the union presidency, although the union […]
CHICAGO — Norm Carlson, a former chairman of the Metra board of director who had served on the commuter rail agency’s board since April 2013, retired from the board at its meeting today (Wednesday, Dec. 14). Carlson was the longest-serving member of the current board. In addition to his term as chairman, he served two […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific is ready to launch pilot programs that will test the feasibility of redeploying conductors from locomotive cabs to ground-based positions, the railroad told the Federal Railroad Administration today during a hearing on the agency’s proposed two-person crew rule. UP believes that ground-based conductors — which the railroad dubs expediters — would […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific wants to address sick leave for its unionized employees and provide certainty regarding scheduled days off, CEO Lance Fritz told the Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday. STB Member Robert Primus asked Fritz if he would be in favor of adding sick leave, something that rail labor is seeking through congressional action […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — A hi-rail vehicle parked outside the area specified in its track occupancy permit — reflecting miscommunication between the vehicle’s driver and the rail traffic controller, as well as the driver’s inexperience in requesting such permits — led to a Canadian National train striking the vehicle in a Nov. 28, 2020, accident near […]
WASHINGTON — The independent body that oversees DC Metrorail safety issues has indicated reservations about the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s plan to restore automated operation of Metrorail trains, which was disengaged following a fatal collision in 2009. The Washington Post reports the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission says it will work with WMATA on the […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific’s increasing reliance on embargoes to clear congestion came under fire on Tuesday from shippers, labor unions, and members of the Surface Transportation Board during a daylong hearing. Regulators last month ordered UP to explain why it has significantly increased its use of embargoes. With UP running short of train crews, the […]
MINOT, N.D. — With winter storm warnings in effect across the northern plains from a windy, frigid blast that has already barreled through the Sierra Nevada and Colorado mountains, there is always the possibility that service on Amtrak’s long-distance network will be disrupted. As was the case during a blizzard last month [“Westbound Empire Builder […]
SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s East Link light rail line to Redmond, Wash. — which had been slated to open next year — may not be fully completed until 2025. The transit agency will consider opening a portion of the line in 2024 at an upcoming board meeting. But the delay in opening the East Link […]
RANDOLPH, N.H. — A hiker who fell to his death off the summit of Mt. Willard in Crawford Notch on Saturday, Dec. 10, has been identified as a longtime employee of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. WMUR-TV reports that New Hampshire Fish and Game officials on Monday identified the victim as Joseph “Eggy” Eggleston, 53, […]
BISMARCK, N.D. — BNSF Railway’s plans to replace a more than century-old bridge across the Missouri River took another step forward Monday, while a preservation group’s effort to stop the bridge project sustained another setback. The Bismarck Tribune reports the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality issued the water quality certification necessary for BNSF to […]
