JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation expects to save at least $175 million annually by laying off more than 20 percent of its management employees, the railroad said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The reduction of up to 1,000 management positions, announced last week, is expected to be complete by the middle of March, the […]
A Canadian National worker moves a car using a pole on the pilot of CN No. 6310 in 1958. Gordon B. Mott, Louis A. Marre collection Q When did railroads stop using poling pockets seen at all four corners of freight cars and engines? – John Bronn, Eagle, Alaska A Poling was the once common […]
Federal Railroad Administration WASHINGTON — More than 4 percent of railroad employees involved in accidents in 2016 tested positive for drug use. Trains News Wire sought the information from the Federal Railroad Administration after the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that three Amtrak employees involved in a fatal crash on the Northeast Corridor in April […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration’s proposal to put two crew members in most locomotive cabs has been caught in limbo between two administrations. A senior FRA official speaking on background tells Trains News Wire that the Department of Transportation had forwarded the final proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget for approval […]
WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads says it will fight legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, that would require two crew members on all freight trains. On Jan. 17, the Republican Congressman joined Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers’ Transportation Division officials by re-introducing the Smart Freight Act that would require […]
The side of one car in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Red unit train in April 2010. Chase Gunnoe CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Small town America, the faces of smiling kids, and experiencing the nation’s beauty from a railcar are lifetime highlights for former workers on board the ‘Greatest Show on Earth.’ Trains News Wire […]
A Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus train en route to Hampton, Va., from Louisville, Ky., rolls through St. Albans, W.Va., in August 2011. Chase Gunnoe ELLENTON, Fla. — When the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus drops its big top for the last time in May, the classic passenger cars and equipment […]
A pair of EMD SD50s leads Reading & Northern train SBPI near Scranton, Pa., in October 2015. Michael S. Murray PORT CLINTON, Pa. – Regional railroad Reading Blue Mountain & Northern is raising train speeds across the about 320 miles of track it operates to accommodate growing traffic. But to run trains more than 30 […]
Trains, like this westbound BNSF Railway intermodal train near Oro Grande, Calif., in January 2014, would have a minimum of two-person crews if a bill introduced in Congress is passed. Trains: Jim Wrinn WASHINGTON — A bill that would restrict freight train crews to no fewer than two people has made another appearance in Congress. […]
A Department of Defense train hauling a spent nuclear fuel cask in an undated photo. Association of American Railroad standards require use of electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on nuclear waste trains. U.S. Department of Energy WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads has long required electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on special trains that haul nuclear […]
This coal hopper, seen in Butler, Wis., has a main body built from aluminum and a center sill made of steel. Freight-car makers use non-conductive materials to separate the metals and prevent galvanic corrosion. Steve Sweeney Q There are aluminum-body Talgos and aluminum-body coal cars, both with steel center sills. High school chemistry teaches that […]
NEW YORK — The Federal Railroad Administration will continue to move forward with its proposed rule requiring two-person locomotive crews despite the changing political climate in Washington and mounting criticism from the rail industry. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to reduce government regulations. But elections don’t change the FRA’s mission of improving safety, Robert Lauby, […]
