WASHINGTON – The machinists’ union has reached a second tentative agreement with Class I railroads, just under two weeks after the rank and file rejected the union’s first tentative deal. “We are pleased to announce that the nation’s freight railroads have reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM),” […]
PITTSBURGH – In order to attract, hire, and retain conductors – and avoid crew shortages that snarl operations and hurt service – Class I railroads need to make the job more appealing to today’s workers. That was the consensus of shippers, railroaders, and analysts who spoke at the North East Association of Rail Shippers conference […]
NEW YORK – Coal is enjoying a day in the sun amid low stockpiles at power plants and high natural gas prices. Overall railroad coal volumes have improved since the second quarter of 2021 and the trend is expected to continue into next year. But then a wave of coal-fired power plant retirements will put […]
PITTSBURGH — Service on the big four U.S. Class I railroads is improving slowly but remains uneven amid ongoing and sporadic crew shortages, shippers said this week at the North East Association of Rail Shippers conference. One thing that’s helped improve service is the resumption of hump operations at several yards over the past few […]
The two biggest rail unions don’t expect to tally members’ votes on their tentative contract agreements with the Class I railroads until the middle of November. The SMART-TD union that represents conductors and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen that represents engineers both outlined ratification vote timelines this week in updates to their members. […]
CHICAGO — Chicago’s CREATE Program will receive $70 million in federal funding for a $170 million project to modernize a 2-mile stretch of Union Pacific track on the city’s west side, the partners in the Chicago Region Environment and Transportation Efficiency Program have announced. The Westside Gateway or Ogden Junction project, project WA1 on CREATE’s […]
EL PASO, Texas — A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board says a Union Pacific conductor was killed last month when riding on a car that struck a derail during a switching move near UP’s Alfalfa Yard in El Paso. Train ISIEP-29, consisting of a locomotive and 61 cars, was making a reverse […]
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Union Pacific has adjusted the revision of its locomotive paint scheme, changing the American flag decal at the front of the locomotive to a design based on the one introduced on the long hood of the locomotive 20 years ago. UP announced the revision earlier this year, returning “Union Pacific” […]
Union Pacific is booting Canadian Pacific out of the EMP domestic container pool. EMP, which rosters a 44,000-unit fleet of green 53-foot containers, is an interline intermodal partnership between UP and Norfolk Southern. CP, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern, and Florida East Coast also participate in EMP, which allows intermodal marketing companies to book loads […]
Scale: N (1:160) Price: Single car, $36.95; three-pack, $110.85; and six-pack, $221.70 Era: 1976 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Features Separate, factory-applied uncoupling levers, door latch mechanism, and end ladders Detailed Hydra-Cushion underframe Underbody brake rigging Road-number specific […]
WASHINGTON — Details of the negotiations that led to a tentative agreement between railroads and unions began emerging Thursday night, with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh saying he kept the two sides in his office for more than five hours at the end of 20 straight hours of talks. “The unions were very persistent on what […]
The prospect of a disruptive U.S. freight railroad strike was averted thanks to the tentative deal reached overnight between the Class I railroads and the labor unions that represent engineers and conductors, but three key questions remain unanswered. And all of them suggest that railroads, their workers, shippers, and the U.S. economy are not out […]
