General Information
Norfolk Southern operations hit by technology outage
(Source: Progressive Railroading 08/29/2023) Norfolk Southern Railway yesterday experienced a hardware-related technology outage that impacted rail operations, company officials announced last night. “At this time, we have no indication that this was a cybersecurity incident,” NS officials said in a prepared statement. “Our teams worked throughout the day and successfully restored all systems at 7 p.m. ET. We…
Read MoreUP goes to court to resolve trackage-rights beef with CPKC
(Source: Progressive Railroading 08/28/2023) Union Pacific Railroad is asking a federal court to resolve a dispute with Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Kansas City Southern Railway Co. over their use of UP tracks to haul grain. The case involves what UP claims is CPKC’s and KCS’s “attempts to make Union Pacific haul their grain traffic on Union Pacific’s…
Read MoreCPKC says Union Pacific aims to stifle competition for Gulf Coast grain
(Source: Trains.com, August 21, 2023) Union Pacific’s contention that Kansas City Southern can’t haul grain from the Upper Midwest to the Gulf Coast using trackage rights south of Beaumont, Texas, is “revisionist history,” Canadian Pacific Kansas City has told federal regulators. Full story: Trains.com
Read MoreBLET 160th Anniversary: Legendary BLET Member Casey Jones
Most people have heard of the brave locomotive engineer named Casey Jones through popular culture. But not everyone knows that he was, in fact, a member of our union. John Luther “Casey” Jones was a member of BLET Division 99 in Water Valley, Mississippi. He was one of the most alert and able engineers working out…
Read MoreBlame the workers: Despite previous promises, railroads resist joining confidential safety program because they want to be able to discipline workers
The major freight railroads say a disagreement over whether they will be allowed to discipline some workers has kept them from following through on the promise they made back in March to join the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). The Association of American Railroads sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg this…
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