Archive for May 2020
Texas Central praises court ruling declaring it a railroad
(Source: Progressive Railroading 05/08/2020) Texas Central officials yesterday hailed a Texas Appeals Court ruling yesterday that determined the bullet-train company is a both a railroad and an interurban electric railway. The company is developing a high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. Yesterday’s court decision stems from a legal challenge from landowners along the route in…
Read MoreSpecial freight rail cars could travel at high speeds, federal research shows
(Source: Transport Topics, April 21, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — For at least the past decade, America’s railroads have been toying with the notion of freight trains moving at speeds approaching some passenger bullet trains. Now, a new Federal Railroad Administration demonstration study has concluded that specially designed “higher speed freight truck” railcars could be designed…
Read MoreHoffa: American workers need protection
(Source: Column by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, published in the Detroit News on May 6, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect hardworking Americans’ everyday life. Despite a plateauing of new cases, the toll this scourge is enacting on the public is immense. That’s why the Teamsters are pushing even…
Read MoreTeamsters honor nurses, saying their contributions can’t be overstated
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, May 7, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Teamsters are lauding hardworking nurses nationwide, saying that as the U.S. continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, it is clear how important nurses are to the country’s health care system. “Now more than ever, every American sees the contributions that these…
Read MoreAAR: U.S. rail carload decline in April ‘worst’ on record
(Source: Progressive Railroading 05/07/20) U.S. freight-rail traffic plunged 21.2 percent in April to 2,075,958 carloads and intermodal units compared with April 2019, a reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR). U.S. railroads hauled 980,535 carloads last month, down 25.2 percent, and 1,095,423 intermodal containers and trailers, down…
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