General Information

(Source: Freight Waves, November 2, 2023) The average number of employees working for the U.S.-based operations of the Class I railroads for the first three quarters of 2023 is roughly flat to lower compared with the same period in 2020, according to data collected by the Surface Transportation Board. The average number of T&E employees…

(Source: Associated Press, November 1, 2023) The automatic braking system railroads were required to install several years ago needs improvement to better prevent collisions, federal safety investigators said in a report Wednesday. The National Transportation Safety Board said there are several shortcomings of the current railroad braking system that developed partly because the system had to be…

Union Pacific Railroad has invested more than $275 million over the past five years to upgrade and expand its intermodal infrastructure in the Los Angeles Basin area to provide customers access to key U.S. markets, including Houston and Chicago. Additional investments are underway or planned in coming years, UP officials said in a website post. The Class…

(Source: Trains.com, October 31, 2023) The House of Representatives is set to vote Wednesday on an appropriations bill that would cut Amtrak funding by more than 60% and block federal support for the California high speed rail program. Even if the bill passes the Republican-controlled House, it is unlikely to survive in its current form…

The BLET’s National Legislative Office in Washington, D.C., scored a regulatory win for BLET members last week by blocking Union Pacific’s attempt to move trains across the border into the U.S. at Laredo, Texas without stopping under certain conditions. UP interchanges with foreign-owned railroads at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in Laredo. Under a previous administrator, the…