General Information
Rail traffic tumbles 7.5% in week ending March 25, 2023
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, March 29, 2023) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 25, 2023. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 469,958 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.5 percent compared with the same week last year. Total…
Read MoreUP, SMART-TD reach agreement to keep two-person crews
(Source: Progressive Railroading 03/27/2023) Union Pacific Railroad and its largest union have reached a tentative agreement that would maintain two-person train crews. The agreement with the General Committee 953 of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD), makes no changes to the current conductor position staffing each train as part of a…
Read MoreSenate Majority Leader asks for expanded safety investigation into NS, other railroads
(Source: The Hill, March 15, 2023) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urging the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to expand its investigation into Norfolk Southern to include other major railroads to determine ways to improve rail safety in the aftermath of the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last month. Full story: The Hill
Read MoreMichigan state senate votes to repeal Right to Work
(Source: Michigan Advance, March 15, 2023) A committee room and both lobbies of the Michigan Senate’s office building were jammed to the brim early Tuesday morning as more than a hundred workers — many sporting union jackets — watched a Democratic-led Senate panel debate and then adopt several landmark pro-union bills. Hours later, many of…
Read MoreConservative group pushes back on bipartisan rail safety bill
(Source: The Hill, March 14, 2023) A conservative advocacy group called “FreedomWorks” is pushing lawmakers to oppose a bipartisan rail safety bill that was introduced following the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The group claims the bill would create “gross inefficiencies” for businesses and give the Department of Transportation “unimaginable authority.” Full story: The Hill
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