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. [...]

SMART TD, BLET Statement On Amtrak Derailment

(The following is a joint statement by John Previsich, President, SMART Transportation Division and Dennis R. Pierce, National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, regarding questions that have arisen since the fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadel [...]