Hard edge emerges in Amtrak wage talks

Amtrak maintenance-of-way employees say they want a new wage package at least equivalent to what is paid on the highly profitable freight railroads, reports Angela Greiling Keane for Bloomberg. But unlike profitable freight railroads, Amtrak loses about $1 billion annually, s [...]

Dehydrated spuds a slippery scoundrel

When you think you have heard it all, along comes this one. Union Pacific, according to the Associated Press, has filed a lawsuit against an Idaho food processor, alleging its processed dehydrated mashed potato flakes stuck to the wheels of some freight cars and caused a 2009 [...]

3 die when hit by Amtrak near Los Angeles

COMMERCE, Calif. — Hundreds of pedestrians and drivers are killed on railroad tracks and at highway-rail grade-crossings each year, but a triple fatality near Los Angeles Dec. 13 was especially horrific. The Los Angeles Times reports three young men — perhaps all [...]

Furloughed with novel twist: Reduced days

Unlike prior years, where railroads cut loose employees during lean times, leaving them without benefits, Union Pacific during this recession has attempted to keep many on a reduced schedule, allowing them to retain health care benefits, reports the Topeka Capital-Journal. A [...]

Close calls pilot tests positive on UP

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Union Pacific is four years into its five-year pilot Confidential Close Calls Reporting System (C3RS) and participants are giving it high marks for improving safety culture. C3RS encourages engineers, conductors, trainmen and yardmasters to report c [...]

Congress to consider upping federal fuel tax

WASHINGTON — Truckers won’t be happy when the new Congress, with John Mica (R-Fla.) chairing the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, looks at raising the federal motor fuels tax. Mica told the Florida Times-Union that he supports raising the feder [...]

NS CEO named Railroader of Year

Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman has been named Railroader of the Year by Railway Age magazine. “In addition to performing solidly, controlling costs, improving productivity and continuing to invest in growth capital in a recessionary economy, Norfolk Southern has exce [...]

Alert commuter rail crew saves life near Boston

STOUGHTON, Mass. — An alert and ever vigilant Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad crew — that recognized the difference between a bag of clothes between the tracks and a human being — saved a life in this Boston suburb last week. The MBCR crew, with engineer [...]

FRA to fine railroad for safety violations

WASHINGTON — Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) faces a fine from the FRA for alleged failure to report an injury and for underreporting of days lost by an injured employee and failure to maintain complete and timely records of injuries to other employees [...]