NASA railroad reaches the end of its line

CAPE CANAVERAL — The NASA Railroad has reached the end of its line. Last month, the Florida East Coast Railway pulled NASA locomotives No. 1 and No. 3 from Kennedy Space Center on their way to new homes. Their departure closed another chapter in the story of the space shuttle [...]

Senators call for permanent director of PHMSA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators concerned about the potential dangers of oil being transported via rail sent a letter calling on President Obama to nominate a permanent administrator to head the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the agency responsible f [...]

Wash. Gov. Inslee signs oil train safety bill

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law Thursday a measure that attempts to improve the safety of oil transportation as a sharp increase in trains carrying volatile crude oil poses new safety and environmental risks in the state. A compromise reached on th [...]

BNSF furloughing employees, union says

GRAND FORKS — BNSF Railway Co., the largest railroad in North Dakota, is furloughing some employees across its network, including in Mandan and elsewhere in the region. “Customers’ volumes in the near term have come down somewhat from their prior estimates; [...]

Retired former UTU GS&T Dan Johnson dies

Retired former United Transportation Union (UTU) General Secretary & Treasurer Daniel E. Johnson III, 67, passed away early May 21, 2015, according to reports received by the SMART Transportation Division. Johnson, who retired in August 2007 and was living in Lincoln, Cal [...]

With rail traffic down, BNSF furloughs employees

BNSF Railway is furloughing employees in Northwest Montana and across its 32,000-mile system as freight traffic on America’s rails declines. According to the Association of American Railroads, the number of freight car loads moved during the first full-week of May was down 7. [...]