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California Energy Commission Grants Conditional Approval to ICB/TABB

October 23, 2014 On June 24, the California Energy Commission determined that the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB—a function of NEMIC) met the requirements in Section 10-103-B(e) of the Standards to be conditionally approved as an authorized Interim Mechanical Acceptance Test Te [...]

Organizing Success

October 23, 2014 ALSTOM On April 22, SMART won an election 5 – 1 to represent the fulltime material handlers at the New Castle, DE, facility for Alstom. These workers sort and deliver parts to our SMART members who work on the Acela Train for Amtrak in Wilmington and Bear, DE. Picture [...]

Pa. legislative board calls members to action

October 22, 2014 Pennsylvania State Legislative Director Paul Pokrowka is asking all SMART Transportation Division members from Pennsylvania to take action and contact the office of Gov. Tom Corbett, requesting he sign House Bill 2354 into law. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA [...]

Tags EPA, House Bill 2354, Paul Pokrowka, Pennsylvania

Class I railroads announce third quarter results

October 22, 2014 In a press release Oct. 14, CSX announced record third quarter profits. The railroad said that operating income increased 16 percent and operating ratio improved 220 points. Operating income came in at $976 million with an operating ratio of 69.7 percent. CSX also saw volume [...]

Tags Class I railroad earnings, CN, CP, CSX, KCS, NS, operating ratio, third quarter, UP

Hotel converts Pullman rail cars into luxury suites

October 22, 2014 Guests at an upscale U.S. hotel can choose to stay in historic train cars that have been transformed into luxury suites and rest on their original tracks. Built within a major rail station, the Crowne Plaza in downtown Indianapolis, Ind., features 13 authentic 1920s Pullman t [...]

Tags Pullman cars

Sheet Metal Local 435 Members Build World’s Largest Jumbotrons

October 21, 2014 Sheet Metal Local 435 members, along with national siding SMACNA contractor Crown Corr, Inc, completed work in August on the world’s largest video/scoreboards. Working in a very compressed 90-day schedule, all the metal siding, standing seam metal roof, associated flashing, c [...]

BNSF ordered to pay $225k to terminated worker

October 20, 2014 KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC wrongfully terminated an employee in Kansas City after he reported an injury to his left shoulder, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company has been found [...]

Tags BNSF, OSHA, Railroad Safety Act, whistleblower

Pressure on the rail industry rises

October 20, 2014 The pictures were impossible to ignore: crumpled rail cars jigsawed in on one another at a road crossing in a small American town. The derailment of a Union Pacific train in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, this month was just one of the latest to hit the U.S. rail industry; the engine [...]

Canadian Pacific ends CSX deal talks

October 20, 2014 Canadian Pacific Railway says it has ended talks with U.S. counterpart CSX about a possible combination and plans no more discussions. The railway operator did not say why it ended talks, but it did note in a brief statement that regulatory concerns appear to be a major deter [...]

Tags Canadian Pacific, CSX, merger

UP boosts inspections in hazardous mountain passes

October 20, 2014 Faced with public concern about the risks of crude oil shipments, the Union Pacific railroad last month boosted its rail inspection program on mountain passes in California and the West, dispatching high-tech vehicles with lasers to check tracks for imperfections. UP official [...]

Tags Union Pacific