NEW ORLEANS — Texas North Western Railway track inspector Raul Guerrero has been honored as Safety Person of the Year, and Austin Milton, director of safety and training at Indiana Rail Road, was named Safety Professional of the Year by the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. Also at the ASLRRA Annual Conference and […]
NEW ORLEANS — Southern California’s Pacific Harbor Line was recipient of two awards Monday — the inaugural Environmental Award and the Veterans Engagement Award — at the American Short Line and Regional Rail Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition. Also, the ASLRRA posthumously awarded its Schlosser Distinguished Service Award to Jack Parliament, retired from the D&I […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation has reached a tentative agreement with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division B&O union to provide trainmen and conductors with paid sick leave benefits. Pending ratification by SMART-TD B&O members, the agreement will increase the number of CSX operating employees with paid sick leave benefits to more […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine today (Friday, March 31) signed Ohio’s $13.5 billion transportation bill, which includes new rail safety requirements as well as a provision crucial to the city of Cincinnati’s plan to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to the Norfolk Southern Railway. House Bill 23 requires two-person crews on freight trains within […]
WASHINGTON — Three Democratic Senators from Pennsylvania and Ohio have called for new rail safety legislation they say is intended to build on provisions of the Rail Safety Act introduced earlier in March by addressing wheel-related failures and enacting new inspection rules, among other provisions. The Railway Accountability Act was introduced Thursday by U.S. Sens. […]
CHICAGO — Union Pacific is working with commuter rail operator Metra to “safely and seamlessly transfer its commuter operation in Chicago, including the employees who perform the work,” UP announced today (Thursday, March 30), setting the stage for an exit from the commuter rail business long sought by the freight operator. UP said Metra will […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Legislation setting the stage for the Cincinnati Southern Railway passed the Ohio House and Senate on Wednesday, sending the bill to Gov. Mike DeWine. HB23, the state transportation bill, passed the state House by a 93-2 vote and the Senate by a 30-1 vote. A conference committee on Tuesday reconciled differences between […]
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas is the latest state to consider a law limiting how long trains can block grade crossings. House Bill 1752, introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Denise Jones Ennett (D-Little Rock) would prohibit trains from blocking a crossing for more than 15 minutes. It sets penalties from $400 to $1,000, escalating to […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. rail traffic slump continued in the week ending March 25, with volume down 7.5% compared to the same week in 2022, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Total traffic was 469,958 carloads and intermodal units. That included 236,526 carloads, down 0.2% from the corresponding week a year ago, […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The city of Cincinnati’s plan to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern — which had been in jeopardy — has been revived by the state legislature. WXIX-TV reports that, after the state House and Senate passed versions of a transportation bill with conflicting language regarding the sale, a conference committee […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joseph Sellers Jr. general president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, or SMART, will retire on May 31. Sellers announced his retirement in January, but the union publicized the news in a Tuesday press release. Sellers will be succeeded by current Assistant to the General President […]
KELSO, Calif. — Union Pacific reopened its Cima Subdivision today less than 26 hours after part of an iron ore train ran away and derailed on the 2.2% Cima Hill grade near Kelso. “Union Pacific crews worked around-the-clock to rebuild the tracks in the Mojave National Preserve, east of Barstow, where 55 railcars and two […]
