General Information
Biden talks transportation infrastructure with senators
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/16/2021) President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met last week with Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) and other senators to discuss transportation infrastructure legislation. The bipartisan group of senators included Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and James…
Read MoreFederal judge rules Union Pacific allowed to break 149-year-old contract with Palestine, Texas
(Source: Palestine Herald-Press, February 5, 2021) PALESTINE, Texas — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Union Pacific Railroad is no longer bound to its 149-year-old contract with the City of Palestine and Anderson County. County officials called the move a blow to local railroad workers and the local economy, effectively gutting the future of the…
Read MoreDivided court favors judicial review of agency decision on railroad worker benefits
(Source: scotusblog.com 02/05/2021) By Sam Callahan and Allon Kedem on Feb 5, 2021 at 12:09 pm On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued its first 5-to-4 decision in an argued case of the 2020-21 term — though not in a hot-button constitutional case, but in a narrow statutory dispute about jurisdiction. The question in Salinas v. U.S. Railroad Retirement Board concerned…
Read MoreHouse panel reviews pandemic’s impact on transportation workers
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/05/2021) The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) yesterday held its organizational meeting for the new session of Congress as well as a hearing on protecting transportation workers and passengers from COVID-19. Committee members and witnesses testified on the pandemic’s impact on transportation sectors, including rail. “Our transportation networks will take a long time…
Read MoreUP engineers create controlled avalanche at Donner Pass
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/04/2021) Union Pacific Railroad engineers in the Roseville Subdivision one-upped Mother Nature at California’s Donner Pass by creating a controlled avalanche before she brings the snow crashing down, according to an article on the Union Pacific’s Inside Track website. The equipment — called the avalauncher — releases two pounds of explosives at the mountain to create…
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