Category: Transportation
Tribute to military veterans dedicated on their day
Retired Norfolk Southern conductor and U.S. Army veteran Kenneth Rospert has always held military personnel in high regard, and an idea he had four years ago to honor local veterans has finally come to fruition. On Veterans’ Day 2012, nearly 1,000 people gathered in Bellevue, [...]
New Amtrak locomotives unveiled for Northeast
WASHINGTON — Amtrak rolled out three new locomotives on Monday, the first step in the railroad’s plan to modernize its aging fleet of trains. The three are the first of 70 new locomotives the railroad is buying to operate on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Bosto [...]Justice Department weighs in on BNSF appeal
The U.S. Justice Department is weighing in on an appeal by BNSF railroad over a $145,000 judgment to a former employee hurt on the job, saying a judge’s order to pay the full amount without deducting federal railroad retirement taxes could be “harmful to the Unite [...]
SMART, BLET to fight KCS in-cab cameras
During a meeting with the presidents of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the SMART Transportation Division on April 24, 2013, Kansas City Southern Railway announced that it intends to install and begin to use inward facing cameras in all of its locomot [...]Changes to Discipline/Income Protection Program
Effective April 2, 2013, item 12 has been added to the list of exclusions for which benefits under the Discipline/Income Protection Program will not be paid to a participant who is suspended or discharged from employment for disciplinary/decertification reason. Item 12 has be [...]
Are you eligible for death, dismemberment insurance?
Active and retired railroad employees covered under The Railroad Employees’ National Health and Welfare Plan or The NRC/UTU Health and Welfare Plan may be eligible for life and accidental death and Dismemberment benefits from MetLife. For eligible active employees, the death [...]
UTU member murdered during robbery
Norfolk Southern conductor and UTU member Jerrick A. Jackson, 47, was shot multiple times and killed May 7 in an apparent robbery at his home in Atlanta. Jackson was a member of Local 1245 in Atlanta and the local has established a memorial fund to assist his family, Local Se [...]How to prevent America’s next train crash
The evening of Jan. 5, 2005, was dry and cool in Graniteville, S.C. At 6:10, a 12-car Norfolk Southern freight train pulled up to the Avondale Mills textile plant, and Jim Thornton, a conductor with 18 years’ experience, climbed down from the locomotive to open a switch and l [...]