Older rail tank cars may be phased out

The oil industry and the railroads that haul its crude have offered U.S. regulators a joint plan to phase out a type of older tank car tied to a spate of fiery accidents, according to two people familiar with the proposal. The plan also calls for slightly thicker walls for ne [...]

Local 1701, city at odds over pension pay

MONTEBELLO, Calif. – The city and its transit union are at odds over who pays for the employees’ share of pension costs. During the last year the city has paid its nontransit employees’ share of their pension costs but not for bus drivers, mechanics and service operators. The [...]

Influence game: Shaping railroad safety rules

WASHINGTON – A string of fiery train derailments across the country has triggered a high-stakes but behind-the-scenes campaign to shape how the government responds to calls for tighter safety rules. Billions of dollars are riding on how these rules are written, and lobbyists [...]

Cuomo: LIRR strike is 'just not an option'

A potential strike by the unions representing Long Island Rail Road workers would be a “terrible failure by both the unions and the MTA,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Wednesday. MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast was in Washington on Wednesday to meet with t [...]

SMART announces convention deadlines

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers General Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Sellers has announced the following important deadlines for the union’s First SMART General Convention Aug. 11-15 in Las Vegas. Duplicate credentials must be mail [...]

U.S. carload traffic hits 6-year high in June

In June, U.S. Class Is originated 1,177,655 carloads, up 3.6 percent compared with June 2013’s total, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR). U.S. carloads averaged 294,414 per week – the highest weekly average for a June since 2008, AAR officials said [...]