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2010: A mighty fine year for railroads

January 10, 2011 So how did the major railroads perform in 2010? The short answer is that one wouldn’t know they were operating in the midst of a recession. Although calendar year profits have not yet been reported, railroad profits were up 33 percent for the 12 months ending in the thi [...]

2011 tax rates

January 10, 2011 To see the tax rates for 2011, click here.

Rails continue posting traffic growth

January 7, 2011 It was one a pretty good year in 2010 for freight railroads. Although freight volume trailed pre-recession 2008 figures, the nation’s major railroads reported a healthy 7.3 percent jump in carload traffic and a 14.2 percent increase in intermodal (trailers and containers on f [...]

Tags AAR, frieght, growth, profits, traffic, traffic growth

Obama again names NMB, STB nominees

January 6, 2011 WASHINGTON — President Obama has renominated two Republicans to key transportation posts after the Senate failed to take action on the nominations last year. Nominated to the three-person National Mediation Board, for a term expiring July 1, 2013, is Republican Thomas M [...]

Tags beck, NMB, Obama, STB, Surface Transportation Board, Thomas M. Beck

2011: So, where are we headed this year?

January 6, 2011 By UTU International President Mike Futhey We continue making progress in negotiations to amend the national rail agreement, affecting some 40,000 UTU members employed by BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and many smaller railroads represented b [...]

UTU conductor double-amputee in NS mishap

January 5, 2011 UTU conductor double-amputee in NS mishap Norfolk Southern conductor and UTU Local 768 member Larry McVay, age 43, lost an arm and a leg in a switching accident near Lafayette, Ind., the morning of Jan. 3, and is recovering in an Indianapolis hospital. A UTU member since Dec. [...]

Tags amputee, Larry McVay benefit fund, mcvay, Norfolk Southern, NS, switching accident

We’ll keep pressing to improve, protect

January 4, 2011 By James StemUTU National Legislative Director January brings a new session of Congress and the start of state legislative sessions across the country. Our UTU legislative team in Washington and our state legislative directors will be on guard protecting the interests of our [...]

Tags funding, Jay Rockefeller, John Mica, legislation, privatization, RSIA, safety, state legislative directors

UTU-represented shortline has new owner

January 4, 2011 LONGVIEW, Wash. — UTU-represented train and engine employees of Columbia & Cowlitz Railroad here have a new employer in Patriot Rail Corp. after Patriot completed purchase of the shortline from paper manufacturer and forest products supplier Weyerhaeuser. Also inclu [...]

Tags Arty Martin, Columbia & Cowlitz Railroad, grievances, merger, Patriot Rail Corp., Paul Tibbit, Railway Labor Act

Fired. BNSF says workers are ‘too fat’

January 3, 2011 CHICAGO — At the BNSF Corwith intermodal yard here, the railroad has dumped a contractor and said it intends to hire its own workers to load and unload containers and trailers onto and off of flat cars, reports Chicago News Cooperative. This comes after BNSF told many o [...]

Rail traffic continues growth trend

December 31, 2010 U.S. Class I railroad traffic continued its growth trend through the Christmas holiday week, reports the Association of American Railroads. Carloads were up almost 30 percent versus the same holiday week in 2009, and intermodal (trailers and containers on flat cars) was up mo [...]

Tags AAR, growth, intermodal, rail, rail traffic, traffic