BLET News

(Source: Opinion column by Ben Campbell published in the Palestine Herald-Press, February 12, 2020. Mr. Campbell is Vice President of the Texas State Railroad Authority Board.) PALESTINE, Texas — In 1872, the rails of the Houston & Great Northern RR reached Palestine from Crockett and connected with the east-west International railroad line. The railroad would…

(Source: Television station KING5, February 12, 2020) SEATTLE — Amtrak will pay more than $10 million to one of the dozens of passengers injured in a train derailment near DuPont in 2017. Donnell Linton suffered serious injuries and trauma when the train he was on derailed and plunged onto Interstate 5, killing three people. Full…

(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, February 11, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The deadline for applying for an academic or vocational/training program scholarship from the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund is March 2. High school seniors who are the sons, daughters of financial dependents of Teamster members are eligible to apply. (Including members of…

(Source: Freight Waves, February 12, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Continued trade headwinds are putting pressure on year-to-date U.S. rail volumes, with overall traffic down nearly 6% from the same period in 2019. Traffic for the first six weeks of this year totaled nearly 2.9 million carloads and intermodal units for the week ending last Saturday,…

(Source: U.S. Department of Labor press release, February 5, 2020) DENVER, Colo. — The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has ordered Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) to pay $696,173 in lost back and future wages to a former employee who reported track defects, bringing the total paid to the whistleblower to…