WASHINGTON – The trade group representing ethanol producers has told federal regulators that its members are experiencing significant rail service delays and disruptions that could lead to higher gasoline prices. “While we certainly understand that a variety of factors have contributed to these rail disruptions, it is imperative that all possible actions be taken by […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have ordered officials from BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific to appear a two-day hearing this month regarding ongoing rail service problems. The Surface Transportation Board announced on Thursday that it will hold the public hearings on April 26 and 27. The announcement comes in the wake of […]
WASHINGTON — Ongoing service problems related to crew shortages on the U.S. Class I railroads are entirely self-inflicted due to the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading, the SMART Transportation Division labor union has told federal regulators. “The freight rail network is at a breaking point,” union President Jeremy Ferguson wrote in an April 1 letter […]
WASHINGTON – BNSF Railway is taking several steps to improve its service to grain shippers, including boosting crew and locomotive availability, CEO Katie Farmer wrote in a letter to the National Grain and Feed Association this week. The trade group representing grain shippers complained to the Surface Transportation Board last week regarding deteriorating service from […]
WASHINGTON — A BNSF Railway employee was killed when he fell from the front of a locomotive he was operating using remote control, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on a Feb. 9, 2022, accident at a Denver rail yard. The incident at BNSF’s Globeville Yard in downtown Denver was originally […]
WASHINGTON — The trade group representing grain producers says severe delays on BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific have forced its members to shut down flour mills as well as feed mills that produce food for livestock. The National Grain and Feed Association outlined the rail service problems in a letter posted to the […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Province of Manitoba has announced an agreement with a major real estate developer for a 665-acre, rail-served industrial park as part of an existing inland port. Focus Equities Inc. will build the CentrePort Canada Rail Park as part of the 20,000-acre CentrePort Canada in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, northwest of […]
CLEVELAND — The two unions who were blocked from striking over new BNSF Railway attendance policies imposed by BNSF Railway seek to overturn those rules through arbitration. In a statement Wednesday, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division said they would “proceed as […]
CHICAGO — A federal judge has brushed off efforts by Cicero, Ill., to block a BNSF Railway lawsuit over a $1 million increase in sewer rates, saying the ordinance targeted at the railroad’s yard “does not simply impact railroads — it effectively holds them hostage.” The Cook County Record reports that U.S. District Judge Steven […]
MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — A Minnesota jury has found a truck driver and BNSF locomotive engineer equally negligent in a suit brought by the engineer over a 2017 collision near Maynard, Minn. The West Central Tribune reports the jury in Chippewa County attributed 45% of the negligence in the accident to engineer William Schmitz, 45% to […]
CHICAGO — Metra will make major changes to the weekday schedule on the BNSF line, historically its most-used route, with a net increase from 86 to 91 trains as the route moves closer to its pre-pandemic level. The new schedule, effective March 28, will include four new trains, restoration of three trains dropped in November […]
CLEVELAND, Ohio — BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern have declared an impasse in negotiations with unions over crew size, one of the unions has informed its members. The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division told its members that the two railroads declared the impasse under Section 6 of the Railway […]
