BLET News

(Source: Trains, July 31, 2017) WASHINGTON, D.C. — No surprise, railroads and shippers are sharply divided on the issue of allowing railroad customers with connections to only one railroad to choose an alternative carrier. Full story: Trains Tuesday, August 01, 2017

(Source: www.allgov.com, August 1, 2017) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s top train man will be a retired railroad executive with nearly 50 years’ experience in the industry. The White House announced on July 11, 2017, that President Donald Trump has nominated Ronald L. Batory, recently retired president of Conrail, as the next head of the…

(Source: Railway Age, August 1, 2017) NEW YORK — CSX Chief Executive Hunter Harrison in a letter to the railroad’s customers apologized for mounting service issues, citing the rapid pace of operational changes he has implemented and blaming employees who have “pushed back” against those changes. Full story: Railway Age Tuesday, August 01, 2017

(Source: Pioneer Press, July 28, 2017) ST. PAUL, Minn. — Mark Nichols, a retired occupational safety expert, almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing, though he trusted his confidential source. In late June, a car from a Union Pacific railroad train had partially derailed overnight near the Mississippi River in St. Paul, and it was…

CLEVELAND, July 31 — The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has announced a schedule of dates for the agency’s fall 2017 informational conferences and pre-retirement seminars. Attendance at the informational conferences is limited to elected union officers only while the pre-retirement seminars are designed for railroad employees and spouses planning to retire within five years…