Posts by William Wallace
Train conductor held for drug testing during stroke awarded $2.1 million
(Source: Daily Business Review, August 28, 2017) NEW YORK — Samuel F. Belcher’s colleagues called it in over their radios when his behavior caused delays during a late-night shift: The train conductor was “acting funny,” they said, staggering and showing signs of confusion at a Hamlet, North Carolina, station in January 2012. Full story: Daily Business…
Read MoreFurloughed railroad workers rehired en masse, but is coal really growing?
(Source: Reuters, August 28, 2017) SEATTLE — BNSF Railway has called back roughly 4,000 of the 5,000 workers who were furloughed across its system last year, reflecting stronger volumes of coal, grain, and intermodal containers and trailers, a spokesman said. Full story: Christian Science Monitor Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Read MoreHurricane Harvey’s impact on rail service continues
(Source: Progressive Railroading, August 28, 2017) Class Is, Amtrak and Houston METRO suspended service and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) declared an emergency event this past weekend due to Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the Texas Gulf region. The FRA declared the emergency Aug. 24, noting that the storm’s threat of flooding rains, power outages and…
Read MoreSTB: Class Is employed fewer workers in July
(source: Progressive Railroading 08/21/2017) Class Is employed 147,540 workers in the United States as of mid-July, down 0.7 percent from mid-June’s level and 3.4 percent from mid-July 2016’s mark, according to Surface Transportation Board data. All six employment categories reflected workforce decreases on a month-over-month basis. The number of executives, officials and staff assistants declined 0.24 percent…
Read MoreUP to lay off hundreds of managers, other rail workers
(source: Progressive Railroading 08/17/2017) Union Pacific Railroad yesterday announced it will eliminate 500 management positions by mid-September as part of a cost-cutting measure. The Class I also intends to reduce 250 non-management positions during the same time period, UP officials said in an email. “Union Pacific for some time has leveraged employee attrition and technology to…
Read More