BNSF announced on Wednesday in a letter to employees that three maintenance shops will be closed in Montana and Wyoming, while additional mechanical department job cuts will occur in Alliance and Lincoln, Neb.; Mandan and Minot, N.D.; Topeka, Kan.; and Superior, Wis.
“In total, approximately 19 salaried and 344 craft positions will be impacted,” the carrier stated. “These adjustments come as the result of long-term structural market changes, most notably in the coal and energy sector, and reduced demand for freight transportation services at the impacted locations.”
The Donkey Creek, Wyo., shop is scheduled to close June 5 while the facilities in Glendive, Mont., and Guernsey, Wyo., are scheduled to close July 7.
The Wyoming facility closures will result in 122 jobs lost. In Topeka, 28 jobs will be cut.
“Closing our facilities and reducing jobs in communities where we’ve had a long-lasting presence is a difficult but necessary decision,” the carrier said.
Net Earnings: Decreased 5% to $1.19 billion. Revenue: Decreased 6% to $5.4 billion. Operating Income: Increased 2% to $1.8 billion. Operating Expenses:Decreased 6.7% to $3.6 billion. Operating Ratio: Improved by 4 points to 65.2%.
Net Earnings: Increased to C$1.01 billion from C$786 million. Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 31% to C$1.42 from C$1.08 and adjusted diluted EPS increased by 4% to C$1.22. Revenue: Remained flat at C$3.5 billion. Operating Income: Increased to C$1.215 million from C$1.08 billion. Operating Expenses: Decreased 5% to C$2.33 billion from C$2.46 billion. Operating Ratio: Improved by 3.8 points to 65.7%; Adjusted operating ratio improved 1.5 points to 65.7% from 67.2%.
Net Earnings: Decreased to C$409 million from C$434 million. Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share decreased 4% to $2.98; adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 58% to $4.42. Revenue: Increased 16% to C$2.04 billion from C$1.77 billion. Operating Income: Increased 54% to C$834 million from C$534 million. Operating Expenses: Decreased to C$1.209 billion from C$1.224 billion. Operating Ratio: Improved 1,010 basis points to 59.2%.
Net Earnings: Decreased 8% to $770 million from $834 million. Earnings Per Share: Decreased 2% to $1.00. Revenue: Decreased 5% to $2.85 billion from $3.01 billion. Operating Income: Decreased 3% to $1.17 billion from $1.22 billion. Operating Expenses: Decreased 7% to $1.68 billion. Operating Ratio: Improved to a first quarter record of 58.7% from 59.5%
Net Earnings: Increased to $151.7 million from $102.7 million. Earnings Per Share: Increased to $1.58 per diluted share from $1.02. Revenue: Increased 8% to a record $731.7 million from $674.8 million Operating Income: Increased to $288.8 million from $160.3 million. Operating Expenses: Decreased to $442.9 million from $514.5 million Operating Ratio: Improved 15.7 points to 60.5% from 76.2%; adjusted operating ratio improved 6.5 points to 59.7% from 66.2%
Net Earnings: Decreased 44% to $381 million from $677 million. Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share decreased to $1.47 from $2.51. Revenue: Decreased to $2.63 billion from $2.8 billion. Operating Income: Decreased to $568 million from $966 million. Operating Expenses: Increased to $2.06 billion from $1.87 billion. Operating Ratio: Declined to 78.4% from 66.0%.
Net Earnings: Increased to $1.5 billion from $1.4 billion. Earnings Per Share: Increased to $2.15 per diluted share from $1.93 per diluted share Revenue: Decreased 3% to $5.2 billion from $5.4 billion Operating Income: Increased 9% to $2.14 billion from $1.96 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 10% to $3.09 billion from $3.4 billion Operating Ratio: Improved 4.6 points to 59.0% from 63.6%
Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
All comparisons are made to 2019’s first-quarter results for each railroad.
All figures for CN & CP are in Canadian currency, except for earnings per share for CP
4th Quarter 2019 Net Earnings: Increased 4% to $1.42 billion from $1.37 billion Earnings Per Share: n/a – BNSF is not publicly traded Revenue: Decreased 6% to $5.84 billion from $6.21 billion Operating Income: Increased 2% to $2.11 billion from $2.06 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 10% to $3.73 billion from $4.14 billion Operating Ratio: Improved to 62.8% from 65.6%
2019 Annual Earnings Net Earnings: Increased 5% to $5.5 billion from $5.2 billion Earnings Per Share: n/a – BNSF is not publicly traded Revenue: Decreased 1% to $23.5 billion from $23.9 billion Operating Income: Increased 3% to $8.1 billion from $7.8 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 4% to $15.4 billion from $16.1 billion Operating Ratio: Improved to 64.5% from 66.2%
4th Quarter 2019 Net Earnings: Decreased 24% to C$873 million from C$1.14 billion Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share decreased 22% to $1.22 from $1.56 Revenue: Decreased 6% to C$3.6 billion from C$3.8 billion Operating Income: Decreased 16% to C$1.22 billion from C$1.45 billion Operating Expenses: Increased to C$2.36 billion from C$2.35 billion Operating Ratio: Worsened by 4.1 points to 66% from 61.9%
2019 Annual Earnings Net Earnings: Decreased 3% to C$4.2 billion from C$4.3 billion Earnings Per Share: Diluted Earnings Per Share decreased 1% to $5.83 from $5.87 Revenue: Increased 4% to C$14.9 billion from C$14.3 billion Operating Income: Increased 2% to C$4.6 billion from C$5.5 billion Operating Expenses: Increased from C$8.8 billion to C$9.3 billion Operating Ratio: Worsened 0.9 points to 62.5% from 61.6%
4th Quarter 2019 Net Earnings: Increased 22% to C$664 million from C$545 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share improved 26% to $4.82 from $3.83 Revenue: Increased 3% to C$2.07 billion from C$2.01 billion Operating Income: Increased 2% to C$890 million from C$874 million Operating Expenses: Increased 4% to C$1.18 billion from C$1.13 billion Operating Ratio: Worsened 50 basis points to 57.0% from 56.5%
2019 Annual Earnings Net Earnings: Increased 25% to C$2.44 billion from C$1.95 billion Earnings Per Share: Diluted EPS increased 29% to a record $17.52 from $13.61 Revenue: Increased 7% to a record C$7.79 billion from C$7.32 billion Operating Income: Increased 10% to C$3.12 billion from C$2.83 billion Operating Expenses: Increased 4% to C$4.65 billion from C$4.49 billion Operating Ratio: Improved 140 basis points to 59.9% from 61.3%
4th Quarter 2019 Net Earnings: Decreased 9% from $848 million to $771 million Earnings Per Share: Decreased from $1.01 to $0.99 per share Revenue: Decreased 8% to $2.89 billion from $3.14 billion Operating Income: Decreased 8% to $1.15 billion from $1.25 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 9% to $1.73 billion from $1.9 billion Operating Ratio: A fourth-quarter record of 60.0%, down from 60.3%
2019 Annual Earnings Net Earnings: Increased 1% to $3.33 billion from $3.31 billion Earnings Per Share: Increased 9% to $4.17 per share from $3.84 per share Revenue: Decreased 3% to $11.94 billion from $12.25 billion Operating Income: Increased 2% to $4.97 billion from $4.87 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 6% to $6.97 billion from $7.38 billion Operating Ratio: A U.S. Class I railroad record of 58.4%, down from 60.3%
4th Quarter 2019 Net Earnings: Decreased to $127.9 million from $161.8 million Earnings Per Share: Decreased 18% to $1.30 per diluted share from $1.59 per diluted share Revenue: Increased 5% to $729.5 million from $694.0 million Operating Income: Decreased to $236.0 million from $256.4 million Operating Expenses: Increased to $493.5 million from $437.6 million Operating Ratio: Worsened 450 basis points to 67.6% from 63.1%
2019 Annual Earnings Net Earnings: Decreased to $540.8 million from $629.4 million Earnings Per Share: Decreased 12% to $5.40 per diluted share from $6.13 per diluted share Revenue: Increased 6% to $2.9 billion from $2.7 billion Operating Income: Decreased to $886.3 million from $986.3 million Operating Expenses: Increased to $1.98 billion from $1.73 billion Operating Ratio: Worsened 540 basis points to 69.1% from 63.7%
4th Quarter 2019 Net Earnings: Decreased 5% to $666 million from $702 million Earnings Per Share: Decreased 1% to $2.55 per diluted share from $2.57 per diluted share Revenue: Decreased 7% to 2.7 billion from $2.9 billion Operating Income: Decreased 11% to $1.0 billion from $1.1 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 5% to $1.7 billion from $1.8 billion Operating Ratio: Worsened to 64.2% from 62.8%
2019 Annual Earnings Net Earnings: Increased 2% to $2.72 billion from $2.67 billion Earnings Per Share: Increased 8% to $10.25 per diluted share from $9.51 per diluted share Revenue: Decreased 1% to $11.3 billion from $11.5 billion Operating Income: Increased 1% to $3.989 billion from $3.959 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 3% to $7.3 billion from $7.5 billion Operating Ratio: Improved to a record 64.7% from 65.4%
4th Quarter 2019 Net Earnings: Decreased 10% to $1.4 billion from $1.6 billion Earnings Per Share: Decreased 5% to $2.02 per diluted share from $2.12 per diluted share Revenue: Decreased 9% to $5.2 billion from $5.8 billion Operating Income: Decreased 5% to $2.1 billion from $2.2 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 12% to $3.1 billion from $3.5 billion Operating Ratio: Increased 1.9 points to a record 59.7% from 61.6%
2019 Annual Earnings Net Earnings: Decreased 1% to $5.91 billion from $5.97 billion Earnings Per Share: Increased 6% to $8.38 per diluted share from $7.91 per diluted share Revenue: Decreased 5% to $21.7 billion from $22.8 billion Operating Income: Stayed flat at $8.6 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 8% to $13.2 billion from $14.3 billion Operating Ratio: Decreased 2.1 points to 60.6% from 62.7%
Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
All comparisons are made to 2018’s fourth quarter and annual financial results respectively for each railroad.
All figures for CN & CP are in Canadian currency, except for earnings per share
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — The team negotiating the next National Rail Contract which will affect more than 40,000 SMART Transportation Division members has been finalized by the union’s leadership.
The team will be led by TD President Jeremy Ferguson with the assistance of Vice Presidents Brent Leonard; John J. Whitaker III; Chadrick Adams; Jamie C. Modesitt; Joe M. Lopez and David B. Wier Jr.
Also part of the team are five General Chairpersons, Mike LaPresta (BNSF); Gary Crest (Union Pacific); Roger Crawford (Illinois Central); Thomas Gholson (Norfolk Southern) and Christopher Bartz (yardmasters).
“We are prepared to do whatever it takes to get the most out of this round of national contract talks,” President Ferguson said. “It will be a challenging process and it could be quite contentious at times. However, we on the negotiating team are confident that as we work through the process we can achieve a positive result.”
The opening meeting of negotiations is scheduled for February 26 and 27 in Washington, D.C., with talks occurring in Cleveland, Omaha, Washington, D.C. and Chicago, as the year progresses.
SMART-TD is part of a Coordinated Bargaining Coalition that consists of it and nine other unions representing rail labor. Carriers BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, Soo Line, Union Pacific and numerous smaller railroads are represented by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) during negotiations.
In related news, CSXT will not be part of national bargaining, except for health and welfare issues. For the wages and rules portion, SMART-TD and CSX have agreed to begin bargaining locally on behalf of trainmen starting Jan. 21, 2020.
A joint meeting for the negotiating parties regarding facilitated bargaining is scheduled in Jacksonville, Fla., on January 22 and 23.
Additional meeting dates for these negotiations are currently under discussion, and a tentative schedule will be set in the near future. Neither the SMART-TD nor CSX have exchanged any proposals, and an agenda for the subjects to be discussed during these contract talks, which are separate from the National Rail Contract negotiations, has yet to be finalized.
Net Earnings: $1.466 billion, a slight increase from the $1.4 billion in 2018’s third quarter Revenue: $6.021 billion, a decrease of 2% from the same period in 2018 Operating Income: $1.9 billion, an increase of 3.3% from the same period in 2018 Operating Expenses: $3.809 billion, a decrease of 4.9% from the same period in 2018 Operating Ratio: Improved to 63.3%
Net Earnings: Increased to C$1,195 million from C$1,134 million Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased 8% to $1.66 from $1.44 Revenue: Increased 4% to C$3.830 million from C$3,688 million Operating Income: Increased 8% to C$1,613 million Operating Expenses: Increased 1% to C$2,217 million from C$2,196 million Operating Ratio: Improved 1.6 points to 57.9% from 59.5%
Net Earnings: Decreased 1% to C$618 million from C$622 million Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased 3% to $4.46 from $4.35 Revenue: Increased 4% to a record C$1.98 billion from C$1.90 billion Operating Income: Increased 10% to C$869 million from C$790 million Operating Expenses: Increased to C$1.11 billion from C$1.10 billion Operating Ratio: Improved 220 basis points to a record-low 56.1% from 58.3%
Net Earnings: Decreased 4% to $856 million from $894 million Earnings Per Share: Increased 3% to $1.08 per share from $1.05 per share Revenue: Decreased 5% to $2.98 billion from $3.13 billion Operating Income: Stayed flat at $1.29 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 8% to $1.69 billion from $1.84 billion Operating Ratio: Improved 1.9 points to a record 56.8% from 58.7%
Net Earnings: Increased to $180.6 million from $174 million Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased 6% to $1.81 from $1.70. Adjusted Diluted EPS increased 24% to a record $1.94 from $1.57 Revenue: Increased 7% to a record $747.7 million from $699.0 million Operating Income: Increased to $282 million from $265.4 million. Adjusted Operating Income increased 15% to a record $294 million Operating Expenses: Increased to $465.7 million from $433.6 million Operating Ratio: Worsened 0.3 points to 62.3% from 62.0%
Net Earnings: Decreased 6% to $657 million from $702 million Diluted Earnings Per Share: Decreased 1% to $2.49 from $2.52 Revenue: Decreased 4% to $2.8 billion from $2.9 billion Operating Income: Decreased $24 million to $1.0 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 4% or $82 million to $1.8 billion from $1.9 billion Operating Ratio: Improved to a third quarter record 64.9% from 65.4%
Net Earnings: Decreased 2% to $1.55 billion from $1.59 billion Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased 3% to $2.22 from $2.15 Revenue: Decreased 7% to $5.5 billion from $5.9 billion Operating Income: Decreased 2% to $2.2 billion from $2.3 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 10% to $3.3 billion from $3.7 billion Operating Ratio: Improved 2.2 points to a quarterly record 59.5% from 61.7%
Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
All comparisons are made to 2018’s third quarter results for each railroad.
All figures for CN & CP are in Canadian currency, except for earnings per share
Net Earnings: Increased 9.4% to $1.25 billion Revenue: Increased 2.5% to $5.57 billion Operating Income: Increased 2.3% to $1.78 billion Operating Expenses:Increased 2.5% to $3.79 billion Operating Ratio: Improved by 2 points to 66.5%
Net Earnings: Increased 6% to C$786 million from C$741 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 8% to C$1.08 from C$1.00 and adjusted diluted EPS increased by 17% to C$1.17 Revenue: Increased by 11% to C$3.5 billion from C$3.2 billion Operating Income: Increased 5% to C$1.08 billion from C$1.03 billion Operating Expenses: Increased 14% to C$2.5 billion from C$2.2 billion Operating Ratio: Worsened by 1.7 points to 69.5%; Adjusted operating ratio improved 0.6 points to 67.2%
Net Earnings: Increased 25% to C$434 million from C$348 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 28% to $3.09 from $2.41; adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 3% to $2.79 from $2.70 Revenue: Increased 6% to C$1.77 billion from C$1.66 billion Operating Income: Increased 1% to C$543 million from C$540 million Operating Expenses: Increased 9% to C$1.2 billion from C$1.1 billion Operating Ratio: Worsened 180 basis points to 69.3% from 67.5%
Net Earnings: Increased 20% to $834 million from $695 million Earnings Per Share: Increased 31% to $1.02 from $0.78 per share Revenue: Increased 5% to $3.01 billion from $2.9 billion Operating Income: Increased 17% to $1.22 billion from $1.04 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 2% to $1.79 billion from $1.83 billion Operating Ratio: Improved to a first quarter record of 59.5% from 63.7%
Net Earnings: Decreased to $103.2 million from $145 million Earnings Per Share: Decreased 27% to $1.02 from $1.40; adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 18% to $1.54 from $1.30 Revenue: Increased 6% to a record $675 million from $639 million Operating Income: Decreased to $160.3 million from $219 million; adjusted operating income increased 10% to a record $242 million Operating Expenses: Decreased to $514.5 million from $515 million Operating Ratio: Worsened 10.4 points to 76.2% from 65.8%; adjusted operating ratio improved 1.6 points to 64.2% from 65.8%
Net Earnings: Increased 23% to $677 million from $552 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 30% to $2.51 from $1.93 Revenue: Increased 5% to a first-quarter record of $2.8 billion from $2.7 billion Operating Income: Increased 16% to a first-quarter record of $966 million from $835 million Operating Expenses: Decreased by $8 million to $1.874 billion from $1.882 billion Operating Ratio: Improved to a first-quarter record 66.0% from 69.3%
Net Earnings: Increased 6% to $1.4 billion from $1.3 billion Earnings Per Share: Increased 15% to $1.93 per diluted share from $1.68 per diluted share Revenue: Decreased 2% to $5.4 billion from $5.5 billion Operating Income: Increased 1% to $2.0 billion from $1.93 billion Operating Expenses: Decreased 3% to $3.4 billion from $3.5 billion Operating Ratio: Improved 1.0 point to 63.6% from 64.6%
Net Earnings: Decreased to $38.8 million from $76.0 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share decreased 42.9% to $0.68 from $1.19 Revenue: Increased 2.1% to $332.4 million from $325.6 million Operating Income: Decreased 5.3% to $69.3 million from $73.2 million; adjusted operating income decreased 4.2% to $70.3 million from $73.4 million Operating Expenses: Increased to $263.1 million from $252.5 million Operating Ratio: Worsened to 79.1% from 77.5%; adjusted operating ratio worsened to 78.9% from 77.5%
Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
All comparisons are made to 2018’s first-quarter results for each railroad.
Figures for G&W are for North American operations only, with the exception of Net Earnings & Earnings Per Share, which includes all G&W operations, as solely North American figures were unavailable in these categories.
All figures for CN & CP are in Canadian currency, except for earnings per share for CP
Net Earnings: Increased 18 percent to C$1,134 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 21 percent to C$1.54 Revenue: Increased 14 percent to a record C$3,688 million Operating Income: Increased 8 percent to C$1,492 million Operating Expenses: Increased 19 percent to C$2,196 Operating Ratio: Increased 2.3 points to 59.5 percent
Net Earnings: Increased 22 percent to C$622 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 24 percent to a record C$4.35 Revenue: Increased 19 percent to a record C$1.9 billion Operating Income: Increased 27 percent to C$790 million Operating Expenses: Increased 14 percent to C$1,108 million Operating Ratio: Decreased 270 points to a record low of 58.3 percent
Net Earnings: Increased 106 percent to $894 million Earnings Per Share: Increased to $1.05 per share from $0.51 per share Revenue: Increased 14 percent to $3.13 billion Operating Income: Increased 49 percent to $1.29 billion Operating Expenses: Declined 2 percent to $1,84 billion Operating Ratio: Improved 970 basis points to a record 58.7 percent
Net Earnings: Increased to $174 million from $129 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 38 percent to $1.70 Revenue: Increased 6 percent to a record $699 million Operating Income: Increased 14 percent to $265 million Operating Expenses: Increased to $433.6 million from $422.8 million Operating Ratio: Improved 2.4 basis points to 62 percent
Net Earnings: Increased 39 percent to $702 million Earnings Per Share: Diluted earnings per share increased 44 percent to a third quarter record of $2.52 Revenue: Increased 10 percent to $2.9 billion Operating Income: Increased 14 percent to a third quarter record of $1.0 billion Operating Expenses: Increased 9 percent to $1.9 billion Operating Ratio: Declined 1.1 basis points to a record 65.4 percent
Net Earnings: Increased from $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion Earnings Per Share: Increased 43 percent from $1.50 to a record $2.15 per diluted share Revenue: Increased 10 percent to $5.9 billion Operating Income: Increased 9 percent to $2.3 billion Operating Expenses: Increased 10 percent from $3.3 billion to $3.7 billion Operating Ratio: Stayed flat at 61.7 percent
Net Earnings: Increased to $69.6 million from $50.2 million Earnings Per Share: Increased 45 percent to $1.16 Revenue: Increased 11.5 percent to $355.7 million from $318.9 million Operating Income: Increased 24.7 percent to $102.5 million, up from $82.2 million Operating Expenses: Increased to $253,225 from $236,724 Operating Ratio: Improved 3 points to 71.2 percent from 74.2 percent
Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
Figures for G&W are for North American operations only with the exception of Net Earnings & Earnings Per Share, which includes all G&W operations, as solely North American figures were unavailable in these categories.
Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
All comparisons are made to 2017’s second quarter financial results.
The Trump administration’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has declined a request made by SMART Transportation Division to address the safety concerns of excessively long trains.
In an April 25, 2017, letter from National Legislative Director John Risch to Robert Lauby, FRA’s associate administrator for safety, Risch referenced a pair of trains – one CSX train consisting of 234 cars and exceeding 2 ½ miles in length and a BNSF train that had 246 cars that also exceeded 2 ½ miles.
Risch said in the letter that such “incredibly long” trains pose challenges to crew radio communications and maintaining brake pipe pressure, block more rail crossings and that crews are not adequately trained to handle these dangerously long trains.
But those concerns were simply brushed aside by Lauby.
“FRA does not have sufficient data or evidence to justify an Emergency Order limiting the length of trains,” he wrote in his March 7, 2018, response, saying also that the carriers were lengthening trains in an attempt “to enhance service delivery and operational efficiencies.”
“The letter signed by Lauby looked like it was written by some railroad lobbyist,” Risch said. “Anyone who has ever dealt with a 2-mile-plus-long train knows they are anything but efficient. They tie up the railroad because sidings and rail yards can’t handle them.”
This testimony plus derailments and other safety concerns, such as blocked crossings, did cause members of the House Transportation Committee to take notice.
WASHINGTON (Jan. 11, 2018) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued four railroad related safety recommendations in concert with the agency’s publication of two railroad accident briefs Thursday, Jan. 11.
Recommendation to Union Pacific concerning employee fatality
A Union Pacific Railroad (UP) foreman died after being struck by a remote-control train during switching operations at the east end of Armourdale Yard, Kansas City, Sept. 29, 2015. The NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident was the foreman being in the gage of the track, for unknown reasons, while a train switching movement was being performed by another crew. The report also states inadequate radio communications and inadequate work coordination between crews working in the yard contributed to the accident.
In the course of the investigation the NTSB learned Union Pacific employees received frequent, non-critical, man-down alarms which the NTSB believes likely reduced the attention and reaction crewmembers made to actual critical alarms.
A man-down alarm is an audible warning transmitted of the yard’s radio channels from a remote-control unit (used to remotely control locomotives in the yard) indicating the remote-control unit is not in a vertical position and its operator may be in danger. As a result of the investigation the NTSB issued a safety recommendation to the Union Pacific Railroad to develop and implement a modification to the man-down alarms that would allow workers to differentiate between legitimate and non-critical alarms.
Recommendation to BNSF concerning derailment
A broken wheel led to the derailment of six of the 107 loaded tank cars carrying crude oil in a Burlington Northern Santa Fe crude (BNSF) oil unit train May 6, 2015, near Heimdal, N.D. No injuries or fatalities were reported in connection with the derailment, however five of the derailed tank cars breached, releasing about 96,400 gallons of crude oil. A fire ensued, forcing the evacuation of about 30 people from Heimdal and the surrounding area due to the smoke plume.
The NTSB determined the left wheel, in the second position on car 81 was broken due to a vertical split rim which led to catastrophic failure of the wheel due to multiple overstress fractures.
As a result of the investigation the NTSB issued two safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to research and evaluate wheel impact load thresholds and to mandate remedial actions for railroads to avoid or identify mechanical defects identified by wheel impact load detectors.
A third recommendation was issued to both the FRA and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) seeking collaboration in evaluation of safe peak vertical load thresholds to determine remedial actions for suspected defective wheel conditions in high-hazard flammable train service.
By a margin of nearly four to one, SMART Transportation Division members have voted to APPROVE the new National Rail Contract. The voting was conducted by BallotPoint Election Services, who certified the following results for each craft eligible to vote:
CRAFT
ACCEPT
REJECT
Conductors
79.89%
20.11%
Brakemen
78.98%
21.02%
Engine Service
76.58%
23.42%
Yardmen
79.97%
20.03%
Yardmaster
86.68%
13.32%
Combined
79.57%
20.43%
The approved contract will have an effective date of December 1, 2017, with implementation of new pay rates and employee healthcare cost-sharing modifications planned for January 1, 2018. Employees’ monthly healthcare contributions will remain frozen at $228.89 for the life of the contract.
The term of the agreement is for five years, from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2019. In addition to a 3% increase previously negotiated and already implemented on January 1, 2015, the contract provides for full retroactive pay of 2% from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, and 4% from July 1, 2017, until implementation of the new rates. Thereafter, affected members will receive a boost in wage rates of 2.5% on July 1, 2018, and 3% on July 1, 2019.
The ratified contract will cover over 35,000 SMART TD members employed by BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific and numerous smaller carriers, all of whom were represented in this round of bargaining by the rail industry’s National Carriers’ Conference Committee.
The SMART TD negotiating team was led by President John Previsich, who was assisted in the negotiations by Vice Presidents David Wier, John Lesniewski, Troy Johnson, John England, Doyle Turner and Jeremy Ferguson, along with General Chairpersons Danny Young (BNSF), Mark Cook (NS), Brent Leonard (UP) and Steve Mavity (CSX), all four of whom are nationally elected TD officers in addition to serving as General Chairpersons.
For this round of bargaining, SMART TD joined forces with five other unions to form the Coordinated Bargaining Group. The other unions in the CBG are the American Train Dispatchers Association; the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters); the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU.
President Previsich commented: “I believe that our negotiating team, along with the teams from the other unions in the CBG, are to be commended for staying the course during a long and tedious round of negotiations. The easy thing for them to do when the going got tough was to declare defeat and walk away from the negotiating table, as others have done, but our team never wavered. By rejecting the carriers’ unreasonable demands while staying at the table and continuing to negotiate, the team was successful in obtaining an agreement that achieved an approval rate of 79.57%.”
###
The SMART Transportation Division, formerly the United Transportation Union, is the largest rail union in the United States representing members in all operating crafts, including engineers, conductors, trainmen, switchmen and yardmasters.
WASHINGTON (Jan. 11, 2018) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued four railroad related safety recommendations in concert with the agency’s publication of two railroad accident briefs Thursday, Jan. 11.