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To apply for Railroad Retirement or Social Security benefits, you must provide certain information, and it is suggested you begin the process at least three months prior to your anticipated retirement date. You will need the following information to register successfully for [...]

Do not become a victim of fraud

Financial fraud can empty your life savings. Here are 10 steps suggested by best-selling author Charles Murray. Every deal is a potential scam: Recognize that fraud is an act of deceit by one party intended to induce another to part with something of value. Map out your goals [...]

UTUIA helps provide secure retirements

How long will you live after you retire, and will you have enough money to live on comfortably? Good question. That’s why – before you retire – you should think about post-retirement economic security, because few things could be worse than money running out [...]

What is Medicare? How do I get started?

Medicare is the primary health insurance for retirees and their spouses. It is available for those over age 65, those under 65 with certain disabilities, and those of any age with permanent kidney failure. It consists of Parts A, B, C and D. Part A helps cover inpatient care [...]

Conductor certification coming Jan. 1, 2012

WASHINGTON — In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Nov. 10 Federal Register, the Federal Railroad Administration proposes to make Jan. 1, 2012, the effective date for implementation of conductor certification. The rulemaking on principles, elements [...]

UP capital expenditures in 2011 to soar 25%

Union Pacific will increase its capital spending by 25 percent to $3.25 billion in 2011, reports the Journal of Commerce. UP capital exenditures in 2010 totaled $2.6 billion. UP said it will be purchasing as many as 200 new locomotives in 2011, upgrade numerous corridors to a [...]

Intermodal continues to roar for Class I rails

Intermodal traffic (trailers and containers carried atop flatcars) continues to roar for Class I railroads. During October, according to the Association of American Railroads, intermodal traffic soared by 14 percent versus October 2009. Weekly during October, according to the [...]

Congress 2011: How will HSR, rail transit fare?

WASHINGTON — One of first transportation challenges for federal rail transportation-project advocates — Democrats and Republicans — in the new Congress in 2011 will be how to preserve and allocate seed money for rail transit and high-speed rail projects. Bil [...]

Rails bringing T&E workers back to jobs

A ray of sunshine for working families is emerging from otherwise bleak economic news: Many Americans are going back to work. The Labor Department reports that 151,000 jobs were added during October, following four successive months of job losses. On the nation’s railro [...]

BNSF names new exec VP of operations

BNSF has appointed Greg Fox as executive vice president, operations, succeeding Carl Ice, who has been promoted to president and chief operating officer. Fox will be responsible for engineering; mechanical; transportation; safety training and operations support; and resource [...]