MONTREAL — Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have gone on strike against Canadian National Railway in Canada. The 750 signal and communications workers walked out as of 11 a.m. local time on Saturday, a union official confirmed to the CBC. The union had previously given the railroad a 72-hour notification of its […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its final annual statistics on transportation accidents for 2021, with rail figures showing an increase from 2020 while remaining below the 10-year average for reported accidents. Air, marine, and pipeline accidents were also below 10-year averages, according to a TSB press release. In all, […]
LYTTON, British Columbia — An estimated 15 cars of a coal train derailed Saturday afternoon on Canadian National tracks near Lytton, the website Castanet reports. No injuries were reported; a minor fire was extinguished. The accident occurred about 10 miles east of Lytton along the Thompson River. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific lines in this […]
Alco RS27 failure: It’s tough when professional engineers create a decent locomotive that builds on successes, and pitfalls, of the past and still nobody really wants it. That was the Alco RS27, also referred to as the DL640. Its 16-cylinder, 251B prime mover pushed out 2,400 hp. Coincidentally, only 27 were built between December 1959 […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has received a 72-hour strike notice from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. CN said the union, which represents about 750 signals and communications employees in Canada, notified the railroad of its intent to strike as of 11 a.m. Eastern Time this Saturday, June 18. “CN has negotiated with the union […]
BIG VALLEY, Alberta — The Canadian Northern Railway Society, which is commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Canadian National predecessor with a series of events, will hold its marquee commemoration with a celebration on July 9, 2022, in the community of Big Valley. The event from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. will include tours of […]
OTTAWA — Canada is lifting its COVID-19 vaccination requirement for travel and federally regulated forms of transportation as of June 20, meaning railroads will no longer be required to mandate vaccinations for workers and rail passengers are no longer required to have been vaccinated. Visitors to Canada will still have to be fully vaccinated or […]
HAMILTON, Ontario — Railcar manufacturer National Steel Car, the target of worker protests last week after a third employee death in 21 months, is also facing charges over two “critical injury” cases, the Hamilton Spectator newspaper reports. Welder Quoc Le, 51 died June 6, reportedly after the fall of a 2,000-pound metal bulkhead. That led […]
THOROLD, Ontario — An agreement with shortline holding company GIO Rail has returned rail service to an industrial park in Thorold, near Niagara Falls, for the first time in more than two decades. GIO Rail’s switching agreement with HOPA Ports — the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority — and Bioveld Canada, owner of the Thorold Multimodal Hub, […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration could soon rule on a petition that would allow a pair of freight railroads to use wayside wheel temperature detectors for inspections currently performed by workers. But a union representing railroad employees says granting such a request would be dangerous. Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific jointly petitioned the FRA […]
HAMILTON, Ontario — Workers at a railcar manufacturing plant in Hamilton staged a protest on Thursday, seeking a police investigation after the third workplace death at the factory in 21 months. The CBC reports members of United Steelworkers Local 7135 led the rally outside the National Steel Car plant in response to Monday’s death of […]
MONTREAL — Ontario and Quebec announced plans on Wednesday to lift their mask requirements on public transit later this month. The CBC reports Ontario will lift most mask requirements on Saturday, including those in hospitals, provincial chief medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore said. They will still be required in long-term care and retirement homes, and […]
