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Grain elevator, BNSFA record corn and soybean harvest is predicted for this year, and managers at South Dakota elevators and railroads say they’re prepared.

There’s been a recent effort to invest in railroad infrastructure statewide, thanks in part to a push from political delegates at the federal level. At the same time, many companies are adding grain storage facilities and other upgrades to make for a smooth harvest season at the elevators this year.

What is perhaps the state’s largest grain storage facility will be fully operational for this season in Emery, S.D. Last year, Cargill built a 5.2 million-bushel grain storage facility just south of town. The conveyor system wasn’t ready for harvest season last fall, but Cargill still used the building for storage, filling it to about half capacity with portable conveyers.

Read more from Tri-State Neighbor.

BNSF_loco_K.D.McLaughlinBNSF Railway Co. reported to its customers yesterday that it is experiencing an operational impact due to a track outage caused by wildfires in Essex, Mont.

The Class I informed customers in an Aug. 31 service advisory that the railroad’s main track though the area was open, but fires continue to burn, which may cause intermittent track closures.

In an Aug. 28 service advisory, BNSF said wildfires in northwestern Montana affected normal train operations through the area, which was evacuated due to the looming danger of the Sheep Fire. The fire had been advancing along BNSF’s Hi-Line Subdivision and came within 200 yards of its mainline. As a result, the railroad suspended traffic that night, according to the advisory.

Read more from Progressive Railroading.

BNSF_Color_LogoLA CROSSE, Wis. — BNSF Railway says a temporary court injunction against use of its new track through the La Crosse River marsh would damage the railroad and disrupt the economy of the northern part of the country.

In documents filed this week, attorneys for BNSF challenge an order issued earlier this month by La Crosse County Circuit Judge Scott Horne, which allowed the railroad to continue construction of a second track through the marsh but restricted use of the track until legal challenges are settled in late September.

That order would have “a serious impact on interstate rail transportation, with effects that will be felt by thousands of rail customers across the northern United States,” the railroad argues.

Read more from LaCrosseTribune.com.

BNSF_loco_K.D.McLaughlinWith thick smoke impeding visibility and foiling aircraft operations over the past couple of days, BNSF Railway trains have been shuttling fire crews and heavy equipment into the Sheep Fire at the southern edge of Glacier National Park.

There firefighters have been working to build containment lines during a lull in fire activity.

Fire management team spokesman Greg Dinetto said Wednesday that three feller bunchers and a skidder have been railed in to help created a shaded fuel break downwind of the fire.

Read more from Daily Inter Lake.com.

BNSF_loco_K.D.McLaughlinNine years ago, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company embarked on a campaign to improve its freight service in and out of the coal-rich Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming.

Times were good, the coal industry was booming and BNSF was getting political pressure to beef up its Powder River Basin infrastructure to help meet the nation’s seemingly endless appetite for fossil-fuel energy.

“The administration and Capitol Hill strongly believed that our investment in our coal network was insufficient and that much more investment was needed if we were to meet the forecast of demand going forward,” Matthew K. Rose, the BNSF executive chairman, recalled the other day at the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s annual conference in Washington. “We invested heavily, and now the capacity and the operations of the Powder River Basin lines are very, very impressive.”

Read more from Missoula Independent.

Minnesota_mapIn light of the recent furloughs by BNSF and Union Pacific railroads, and since many locals are experiencing difficulty reaching the members who have been furloughed and dislocated, the SMART TD Minnesota State Legislative Board is hosting, in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Education and Economic Development (MN DEED) a free informational meeting to assist those furloughed workers on Monday, August 17, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Minneapolis United Labor Center, Room 218 (located at 312 Central Avenue, S. E., Room 218, Minneapolis, MN 55414). Parking is free.

MN DEED will be offering many free services at the meeting including: emergency assistance (mortgage help) for those who need it, job training, job counseling, help with updating your computer skills and much more.

The Minneapolis Labor Center is also the location of your SMART TD Minn. Legislative Board. The board has activated the Brakemen’s Register with the names of SMART TD members who are looking for work. If you have been impacted by these furloughs, it is highly recommended that you consider attending this meeting.

FRA_logo_wordsThe Federal Railroad Administration said Wednesday that train companies must continue reporting crude oil routes and volumes to state authorities concerned about derailments and fires. The interim regulation requiring notification will become permanent.

Oil-hauling railroads include Omaha-based Union Pacific and Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF Railway.

Read more from Omaha.com.

osha-logo_webSEATTLE, Wash. – North America’s second-largest freight railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC, must reinstate a train conductor and pay the man $536,063 in back pay, damages and attorney’s fees after a federal investigation found the rail operator retaliated against its employee after reporting a knee injury.

BNSF filed disciplinary charges against the conductor after he reported the injury, which occurred in November 2010 while en route from Vancouver to Pasco. The employee filed a Federal Railroad Safety Act anti-discrimination complaint with OSHA in February 2011. Company officials fired him in August 2011 despite knowing that his injury report was protected by law.

U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators determined the railroad violated federal laws protecting whistleblowers. After an investigation, OSHA ordered the reinstatement and financial compensation.

“Disciplining an employee for reporting an injury is illegal,” said Ken Atha, regional administrator for OSHA’s Seattle office. “Those who do so face negative repercussions. Retaliatory actions can discourage other workers from speaking up, which may result in an unsafe work environment.”

In addition to paying punitive and compensatory damages, OSHA ordered BNSF to rehire the employee and expunge his record of all charges and disciplinary action. The company must also conduct training for supervisors and managers on employee whistleblower rights and post a notice to employees of their whistleblower rights.

Both the employee and the railroad have 30 days from receipt of OSHA’s findings to file objections and request a hearing before the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.

With 38,000 employees, BNSF operates more than 7,000 locomotives and 32,500 miles of track.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.

Under laws enacted by Congress, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor for an investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed employee rights information is available online at http://www.whistleblowers.gov.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

oil-train-railIf you want to carry crude oil in an older railroad car, it’s going to cost you.

Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway, the largest U.S. crude-by-rail carrier, is offering lower rates to lug oil in cars that meet the latest federal specifications issued in May. That means the vast majority of cars riding the rails today, known as DOT-111 and CPC-1232, will cost more to haul.

The new rates are part of a plan by the railroad, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, to push older cars off the tracks as regulators scrutinize the industry over a series of high-profile derailments and explosions. To that end, BNSF published higher rates for older cars relative to more advanced models, such as the DOT-117, said spokesman Michael Trevino.

 Read more from Star-Telegram.  

BNSF_loco_K.D.McLaughlin_150pxGRAND 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; as a result we are having to adjust our workforce demand numbers down to match volume and the work required to move that volume,” BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth wrote in an email. “As part of that, we are reducing the hiring plans for the next several months and are, unfortunately, having to temporarily furlough some of our employees at different locations across our network.”

McBeth said BNSF expects to call the furloughed employees back “as soon as business needs require,” though she didn’t have any specific figures on affected employees by region.

Read more from The Bismarck Tribune.