By Bill Stephens for trains.com Railroad steps up hiring efforts in tight job market ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s service has deteriorated over the past six weeks amid crew shortages and operational changes, according to shippers and connecting railroads. Some expressed concern that the railroad is teetering on the brink of a meltdown as train speed falls, […]
By David Shepardson for reuters.com (Reuters) – U.S. government-supported passenger railroad Amtrak said on Thursday that without a new government bailout it could be forced to cut more spending and train services which could lead to the loss of another 2,400 jobs. Amtrak last month told Congress it needs up to $4.9 billion in government […]
But railroad exec hopeful that second half won’t be as weak OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific’s second-quarter profit fell 28% from a year ago as carload revenue tumbled in the coronavirus pandemic. The railroad said Thursday that it expects improvement in the second half with full-year carload volumes to be down around 10% compared with […]
Amtrak workers have been deemed an essential service and have been working throughout this pandemic. Hundreds of Amtrak workers have contracted COVID-19, but have continued to work despite the risks. Amtrak is now announcing they’ll need to furlough 20% of the workforce, and dramatically reduce long-distance services. Amtrak is using the pandemic to reduce or […]
By Melanie Standiford for knopnews2.com Union Pacific officials say due to the coronavirus pandemic driving volume down, fewer trains are running, requiring the Union Pacific to reduce the workforce in the mechanical department Monday. Union Pacific spokeswoman, Raquel Espinoza said the Union Pacific is experiencing volume declines as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the country. “We […]
By Clarissa Hawes for freightwaves.com Customers were notified early May 8 that Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) was ceasing operations of its multimodal service Cold Connect, which offered end-to-end transportation service for refrigerated loads. UP spokeswoman Kristen South confirmed the closure, citing sluggish market conditions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. On “Friday, May 8, we notified employees […]
A coalition of rail labor organizations is asking the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to ensure freight railroads are recalling furloughed workers before seeking waivers from federal safety regulations. In an April 9 letter to Federal Railroad Administrator Ronald Batory, the unions said there “must be a strong burden of proof for rail carriers to demonstrate that there is a […]
The ultimate lesson of James J. Hill and his Great Northern Railroad is that the “winners” government picks today are the “losers” of tomorrow. A famous saying, especially prescient in times like this, is “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Last month, Congress mortgaged the nation’s future in […]
By Bill Stephens for trntrains.com Canadian National continues to scale back its operations as traffic declines amid the coronavirus pandemic. The railroad furloughed several hundred people in the past week, on top of the 1,400 who were furloughed in the past couple of weeks, CEO JJ Ruest said on an investor webcast Thursday. CN’s traffic was […]
Written by David C. Lester, Managing Editor The number of Class 1 railroad employees dropped again in October, with the total number at 134,582, according to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board data and reporting by FreightWaves. This level is a drop of 1.7% since September and a 9.5% drop compared to October 2018. The decline […]