Transportation News

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2 pacts reached on Florida East Coast

Two tentative four-year agreements have been reached between the UTU and Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). One of the tentative four-year agreements covers FEC conductors, engineers, trainmen and yardmen represented by the UTU. The second tentative four-year pact covers FEC y [...]

Senate failed to act on NMB, STB nominees

WASHINGTON — Two Obama administration nominations of Republicans to key transportation regulatory positions — one to the National Mediation Board; the other to the Surface Transportation Board — were returned to the White House by the Senate this week withou [...]

Payroll tax cut will NOT weaken trust funds

The 2 percentage point reduction in payroll taxes for railroad workers covered by Railroad Retirement, and bus and aviation workers covered by Social Security, will NOT have a negative impact on either the Railroad Retirement or Social Security trust funds, as has been wrongl [...]

SS, Rail Retirement benefits go electronic

Come May 1, Social Security and Railroad Retirement checks for new recipients no longer will be mailed. The Social Security Administration and the Railroad Retirement Board are going paperless — sending payment electronically (direct deposit) to those receiving retireme [...]

Former McCain operative nominated to STB

WASHINGTON — A former John McCain operative has been nominated by President Obama to fill a Republican seat on the Surface Transportation Board. The nomination requires Senate confirmation. It is not clear whether there is sufficient time for the lame-duck Congress to a [...]

KCS engineer, conductor shot in Louisiana

DESOTO PARISH, La. — Two KCS workers, including UTU member Timothy Council, were wounded when a gunshot came through their locomotive window here Dec. 20, according to the Shreveport Times. The engineer, Paul Griffin, 44, was inside the cab of his locomotive when a bull [...]

Duck. It’s another track fastener

Rails know them as Pandrol clips — the bent three-quarter-inch steel clips that fasten rail to concrete ties along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and some other locations. In North Kingstown, R.I., reports the Providence Journal, some of the clips — each weighi [...]

Federal cellphone ban for bus drivers

WASHINGTON — A national ban on cell-phone use by bus drivers has been proposed by the U.S. DOT. It is expected to be put in place before March. Bus drivers already are banned by federal regulation from texting while working. “Every time a commercial truck or bus d [...]

Train & engine worker jobs climb 10%

Almost 10,000 train and engine workers returned to work on Class I railroads through the first 11 months of 2010, with T&E jobs up almost 10 percent compared with November 2009, says the Surface Transportation Board, which tracks the data. The STB says 61,819 train & [...]

High-speed rail: ‘Our generation’s legacy’

By Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood It is difficult to imagine what America would be like without its Interstate highway system. For decades, our state-of-the-art roadways have been the world’s envy — and rightfully so. They deliver products of agriculture and [...]