CLEVELAND — Two unions are suing Norfolk Southern over labor practices, seeking an injunction against what they say is a railroad practice of forcing locomotive engineers to work as conductors and disciplining those who don’t. The Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Union-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and Brotherhood of Lomocotive Engineers and Trainmen announced Thursday they […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific has released its 2020 corporate sustainability report, touting its emission reduction targets, development of a hydrogen-powered locomotive, and fuel-efficiency efforts as part of a report that addresses social programs and safety as well as environmental efforts. “We are proud to publish this report, outlining the achievements we have realized on […]
WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail service will remain at reduced levels through at least Nov. 15, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced at a Thursday board meeting, although the agency will work to increase the number of available cars. WMATA had previously said the reduced service would continue through at least Oct. 31. Under the […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has extended the deadline for its workers to receive COVID-19 vaccinations to Dec. 8, CEO Bill Flynn said today in a message to employees — and is preparing for possible service reductions if workers leave the company rather than receiving the vaccination. The new date aligns Amtrak’s deadline, which previously had been […]
LOS ANGELES — Union Pacific, the Port of Long Beach, and the Utah Inland Port Authority have announced the launch of direct rail service between the Long Beach and Utah facilities to help address ongoing port congestion. The executive directors of the two facilities, Mario Cordero of Long Beach and Jack Hedge of the Utah […]
WASHINGTON — Continuing a pattern that now extends over 10 weeks, U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Oct. 23 showed an overall decrease from the same week a year earlier, with intermodal traffic down and carload moves up. The latest figures from the Association of American Railroads have overall traffic at 510,762 carloads and […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires warned today that the railroad’s train crew shortages may be exacerbated by the federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate that takes effect on Dec. 8. Like CSX Transportation, NS is experiencing higher than normal attrition among its train crews and is having trouble hiring new conductors due to the […]
ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Railroad has rescinded its mandate for employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination following a Tuesday vote by the state-owned railroad’s board of directors. The Anchorage Daily News reports the board voted unanimously to rescind the mandate, announced Friday in an email from CEO Bill O’Leary to employees [see “Alaska Railroad to […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has named Jo-ann dePass Olsovsky to its board of directors, effective immediately. Olsovsky, 56, is executive vice president and chief information officer at Salesforce, and previously spent 12 years at BNSF Railway as senior vice president and chief information officer. Her BNSF experience included overseeing the railroad’s drone inspection operations for […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern set third-quarter records for revenue, profits, and operating ratio despite flat traffic volume, but a shortage of train crews and ongoing supply chain issues had an impact on the railroad’s service levels. Operating income surged 21%, to $1.1 billion, as revenue grew 14%, to $2.9 billion, NS reported today. Earnings per […]
MIAMI — In what company President Patrick Goddard characterizes as “one of the most significant innovations in multimodal mobility,” Florida passenger rail operator Brightline is offering travelers the ability to arrange travel from their point of origin to their ultimate destination, not just buy a train ticket. The first stage of this door-to-door travel will […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — Fatigue on the part of a signal maintainer may have been a factor in a December 2020 collision between a VIA Rail Canada passenger train and a Canadian National hi-rail vehicle, according to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada report released Tuesday. In the Dec. 6, 2020, incident at Les Cédres, Quebec, […]
