Subpar rail service interferes with US’ ability to compete internationally, Oberman says CHICAGO — The Class I railroads must increase their head count levels because doing so not only will bolster rail service but benefit the U.S. economy overall, Surface Transportation Board Chair Marty Oberman said to a crowd of rail shippers and rail employees […]
By Bill Stephens for trains.com New management incentives for service and growth are an encouraging sign Well, this isn’t a pretty picture. From 2013 to 2022 U.S. industrial production eked out 3% growth, overall economic output increased 57%, and truck tonnage grew 26%. Yet volume on the big four U.S. railroads increased by an average of just 2% […]
By The Seattle Times editorial board State and federal governments recently have focused on ways to make the nation’s railways safer after a series of derailments, from East Palestine, Ohio, to Swinomish, left communities concerned about their own safety. One way Washington lawmakers can help the situation is by passing ESSB 5267, currently in the […]
By Trevor Hughes usatoday.com For decades, railroads have been able to both cut costs and improve safety.But union railroad workers – and federal statistics – suggest we may have reached a tipping point. Some train accident rates have risen nearly 25% in the past decade, and union workers say further cuts to staffing imperil the nation’s safety in the wake […]
By STEPHEN R. GROVES for apnews.com A bipartisan consensus that Congress should act to toughen regulations on railroads emerged Wednesday as senators heard fresh testimony on the fiery hazardous train derailment last month on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee peppered Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw with questions about […]
Railroad workers point to corporate greed as the root cause of the recent influx of dangerous train derailments by Alexandra Martinez for prismreports.org Over a dozen trains have derailed across the U.S. in fewer than three months. On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing multiple explosions, toxic chemical leaks, and controlled burns that […]
By Cooper Burton For fivethirtyeight.com Last Saturday, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in Springfield, Ohio, taking out power for over 1,000 people and prompting authorities to issue a temporary shelter-in-place order for nearby residents. And no, this wasn’t the one that generated headlines with images of billowing clouds of smoke and toxic runoff in nearby streams. That was the other train that […]
By Artemis Moshtaghian, Linh Tran, Yon Pomrenze and Chris Isidore, amp.cnn.com East Palestine, Ohio(CNN)Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw defended his company’s actions since the disaster caused by the derailment of one of its trains in East Palestine, Ohio, and promised the railroad will pay for the cleanup. “Norfolk Southern is committed to the community and […]
By Nandita Bose for Reuters.com Top White House officials spoke to executives from the largest U.S. railroad operators in recent days, renewing pressure to reach an agreement to secure paid sick leave for workers after President Joe Biden signed legislation to block a national railroad strike in December. Biden’s top economic adviser, Brian Deese, and […]
By Chris Isidore, for cnn.com Union Pacific, one of the major freight railroads that successfully fought off union demands for paid sick days for workers during contentious labor negotiations in 2022, reported another year of record earnings Tuesday. The company, along with CSX, Norfolk Southern and Burlington Northern Sante Fe, narrowly avoided a strike by its unionized workers […]