News - Page 345 of 650

National negotiations update

October 21, 2015 Members of rail labor’s Coordinated Bargaining Group (CBG), composed of representatives from the SMART Transportation Division, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the American Train Dispatchers Association, the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU [...]

No Railroad Retirement benefit increase in 2016

October 21, 2015 Railroad retirement annuities, like social security benefits, will not increase in January 2016 as there was no increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of last year to the corresponding period of the current year. Also, because there is no cost-of-li [...]

Tags Railroad retirement benefits, RRB

FMCSA, FRA begin work on sleep apnea rulemaking

October 21, 2015 WASHINGTON – If left untreated, sleep apnea poses serious risks to anyone who sits behind the wheel of a commercial motor vehicle or climbs into the cab of a locomotive. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rece [...]

Tags FMCSA, FRA, Sleep Apnea, U.S. DOT

Alaska Railroad first approved to transport LNG

October 21, 2015 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski responded to the news that the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) became the first railroad in the nation permitted to transport liquified natural gas (LNG) by rail, saying: “I am pleased the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recen [...]

Tags Alaska Railroad, Alaska Railroad Corporation, FRA, liquified natural gas, LNG

Buffalo Success Turns Into Nationwide Campaign

October 20, 2015 Reprinted with permission from Tom Campbell, WNY Labor Today. Buffalo-Headquartered Sheet Metal Workers Local 71 is being credited and hailed with starting a successful organizing drive in Western New York that led to transportation crew members for North America’s largest r [...]

DOT releases draft national freight strategic plan

October 20, 2015 SEATTLE – Because the future of our economy rests on a strong transportation system to move materials and products, today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx released the draft National Freight Strategic Plan, which offers specific policy proposals and solutions to ad [...]

Tags Anthony Foxx, DOT, freight, Grow America Act, MAP 21, U.S. DOT, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx

Former CSX executive suffers heart attack

October 19, 2015 United Continental Holdings Inc’s new chief executive officer has suffered a heart attack, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, barely a month after he took on the job of improving the airline’s profitability and reputation. The board at United ̵ [...]

Tags CEO, CSX, Munoz, Oscar Munoz, United Airlines

Amtrak gets insurance for natural disasters

October 19, 2015 Amtrak has obtained $275 million in insurance protection against natural disaster damage to its Northeast Corridor infrastructure, the railroad announced. The railroad used a catastrophe bond to secure the coverage, which lasts just under three years and helps protect against [...]

Tags Amtrak, insurance protection, natural disaster, NEC, Northeast Corridor

FRA's Feinberg hosts transportation forum

October 19, 2015 NEW ORLEANS – Federal Railroad Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg and New Orleans Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin hosted the eighth of 11 nationwide regional forums on the Beyond Traffic draft framework at the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority [...]

Tags Beyond Traffic, Feinberg, FRA, transportation infrastructure

Sit tight at crossings as coal train lengths double

October 16, 2015 Motorists’ wait time at U.S. rail crossings may double as CSX Corp. hooks trains together to boost efficiency amid plunging demand for coal shipments. Bulk cargo is the latest focus in CSX’s effort to improve productivity. Getting more cars behind the locomotives is one way t [...]

Tags coal cars, coal train, CSX, train length