BLET News
Firing of Lac-Megantic engineer ruled illegal, but he won’t be returning to work
(Source: Canadian Press, January 23, 2019) MONTREAL — An arbitrator says the firing last summer of Thomas Harding, the train engineer involved in the Lac-Megantic rail disaster, was illegal. He won’t be returning to work, but he will get financial compensation. Harding was acquitted in January 2018 of criminal negligence causing death. The union asked…
Read MoreNTSB not investigating transportation accidents due to government shutdown
(Source: www.news4jax.com, January 22, 2019) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There are 83 accidents around the country where a federal investigation is being delayed due to the partial government shutdown. Because most of its staff is furloughed, the National Transportation Safety Board is not beginning new investigations and is not updating cases that were already underway. Full…
Read MoreQ&A: RRB appeals procedure
(Source: Railroad Retirement Board press release, December 15, 2018) CHICAGO — Persons claiming retirement, disability, survivor, unemployment, or sickness benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) have the right to appeal unfavorable determinations on their claims. The following questions and answers describe the appeals process for persons whose claims under the Railroad Retirement Act or Railroad…
Read MoreMicrosoft leads charge for high-speed rail corridor in Pacific Northwest
(Source: Freight Waves, January 21, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Commuters in the Pacific Northwest love to complain about how slow (and archaic) it is to travel between Portland and Seattle by train. It takes about three and a half hours to traverse the 170-mile distance on the Amtrak Cascades, which runs only four trains per…
Read MoreRunaway one-man train crash in Western Australia contributed to US$600 million loss in productivity
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald, January 22, 2019) SYDNEY, Australia — Mining giant BHP has revealed a freight train derailment in Western Australia, a plant outage in South Australia and a copper mine fire in Chile have led to a $US600 million ($838 million) hit to productivity for the first half of the 2019 financial year.…
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