New website is gateway to rail health benefits

A new and improved site – www.yourtracktohealth.com – replaces the previous Railroad Information Depot (www.rrinfodepot.com). Bookmark the new website address for easy future access: www.yourtracktohealth.com. The new yourtracktohealth.com is your online gateway to informatio [...]

170 Furloughed NS employees called back to work

ROANOKE, Va. – According to Robin Chapman, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern (NS), 170 furloughed NS employees are headed back to work. Of those hired back, 60 were hired back permanently to train services and 70 were transferred to temporary positions that are guaranteed u [...]

Two-man crews limited damage in 1996 train wreck

MONTREAL — Nearly two decades ago, the fiery derailment of a Wisconsin train became a rallying point in a union fight to make the state the first in the United States to require two-person crews on locomotives. The 1996 wreckage of the train, which sent fireballs exploding 90 [...]

Member pinned, loses legs in accident

In an early morning accident Tuesday, July 9, Local 794 member Kevin Beggs was trapped under a BNSF boxcar, causing him to lose his legs. Currently, Beggs is listed in critical condition at Via Christi on St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kan., where he was flown via helicopte [...]

Win trip to Washington through UTU PAC contest

The SMART Transportation Division’s Legislative Office in Washington has announced a contest for SMART TD members, with a three-day, two-night, all-expenses-paid trip to our nation’s capital as the grand prize. The SMART TD member who raises and returns the largest amount of [...]

Amtrak foe Mica meets his match

I just sat through a pretty boring hearing on rail financing. But I’m glad I stuck it out, because the fireworks came at the end, when Rep. John Mica picked a fight with the wrong man. John Robert Smith is familiar face in transportation reform circles. The former Republican [...]