General Information
NTSB: Amtrak train was traveling below speed limit
(Source: Progressive Railroading 09/28/2021) The Amtrak train that derailed Sept. 25 near Joplin, Montana, was traveling between 75 and 78 mph, below the speed limit for passenger trains on that section of track, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced yesterday. The NTSB’s 14 investigators yesterday began their first full day of assessing the site to determine the potential cause…
Read MoreU.S. Class I workforce shrank in August
(Source: Progressive Railroading 09/29/2021) U.S. Class Is as of mid-August employed 114,431 people, down 1.07% from July’s employment total and down 2.83% year over year, according to Surface Transportation Board data. All six employment categories registered decreases in August compared with July’s data. They were: professional and administrative, down 2.32% to 9,853; maintenance of equipment and stores,…
Read MoreU.S. coal demand is rising, but supplies remain tight
(Source: S&P Global Platts, September 23, 2021) HOUSTON — Coal demand and prices are booming as natural gas prices soar, but U.S. mining companies have not ramped up production to meet the new market conditions. The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently said it expects coal demand from the U.S. electric power sector to increase by…
Read MoreIntermodal drop-off spans seven consecutive weeks
(Source: Railway Age, September 22, 2021) NEW YORK — For the week ending Sept. 18, 2021, U.S. Class I railroads hauled 234,790 carloads, up 3.5% from the same point last year, but the 270,832 containers and trailers they moved fell 8.3% from 2020, the Association of American Railroads reported on Sept. 22. This is the…
Read MoreCoordinated Bargaining Coalition Update
September 22, 2021 — The Rail Unions comprising the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC), negotiating together in the current round of National Negotiations, have issued the following statement: “As we advised in January of 2021, the CBC and the nation’s rail carriers have been at the bargaining table since the beginning of 2020. Since January, CBC…
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