Category: News

Worker who took train for joyride faces sentencing

April 10, 2015 CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A Wyoming man is facing sentencing after pleading guilty to a charge in connection with taking two locomotives from a coal mine and crashing them into another train — telling authorities he was angry at a supervisor. Derek Skyler Brux, 22, will learn his puni [...]

Va. rail safety task force seeks to fund rail safety

April 10, 2015 A gubernatorial task force is looking for ways to pay for improving the state’s ability to prevent and respond to derailment of trains carrying millions of gallons of highly volatile crude oil through the heart of Virginia, including downtown Richmond. The potential options i [...]

Tags Allan Johnson, Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Virginia Railroad Safety and Security Task Force

Amtrak’s Hoosier State line appears back on track

April 8, 2015 The uncertain path of Amtrak’s Hoosier State line took another curve Monday when state officials said they are close to a deal to keep it running for the long term. The Indiana Department of Transportation said it has reached an “understanding” with federal railway officials [...]

Tags Amtrak, Indiana

UP names Hutcherson Human Resources VP

April 8, 2015 Union Pacific named Sherrye Hutcherson vice president of Human Resources effective May 4. Hutcherson will be responsible for leading the company’s human resources function, which includes talent management, training and development, strategic workforce planning, recruit [...]

Tags Sherrye Hutcherson, Union Pacific

NTSB issues urgent call for improved rail tank cars

April 7, 2015 ?The National Transportation Safety Board April 6 issued four urgent recommendations calling for more robust and fire-resistant rail cars to be produced to safely carry flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol. In its recommendations, the Board calls for an aggressive [...]

Tags crude oil and ethanol, National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, rail tank cars

Day at the Races: To win or place, you have to show

April 2, 2015 The fifth annual SMART Day at the Races will be held at Fonner Park Race Track in Grand Island, Neb., Friday, April 17, at 3 p.m., Union Pacific General Committee of Adjustment GO 953 reports. In previous years, attendees included members from a number of locals in Kansas, Il [...]

Tags Cliff Gordon, Ed Mueller, GO 953, SMART Day at the Races

Obama vetoes GOP bill on union elections

April 1, 2015 President Obama March 31 vetoed a Republican effort to overturn controversial union voting rules. Congress passed a resolution of disapproval this month on a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling that sped up union elections. Read the complete story at The Hill.

Tags National Labor Relations Board, Obama, unions

Colo. Southwest Chief funding in jeopardy

April 1, 2015 Funding to save the Southwest Chief did not make it into the budget proposed by the Colorado legislature this week, Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith reports. “We must now seek support from Gov. Hickenlooper and the Joint Budget Committee, which will review [...]

Tags Amtrak, Carl Smith, colorado, Southwest Chief

Foxx sends six-year transportation bill to Congress

March 31, 2015 WASHINGTON – Over the past year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has visited more than 100 communities and heard one common story – shared by all – about crumbling infrastructure and dwindling resources to fix it with. Secretary Foxx March 30 sent to Congress his s [...]

Tags Anthony Foxx, crumbling infrastructure, Department of Transportation, Grow America Act, transportation bill

SMART General President Nigro to retire April 30

March 30, 2015 Joseph J. Nigro is retiring as general president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART), effective April 30. He is stepping down in order to fully focus on recovering from a series of recent surgeries. The SMART General [...]

Tags Joseph J. Nigro