ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has told customers it will halt bulk commodity movements by unit train on Thursday, Bloomberg is reporting, stepping up that railroad’s plans for a potential shutdown ahead of Friday’s end of the cooling-off period for labor negotiations.
NS has previously announced it would stop accept accepting intermodal and automotive shipments on Tuesday [see “Short lines join call for congressional action …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 12, 2022], while other Class I railroads involved in the labor dispute have embargoed hazardous and security-sensitive cargo. Other than BNSF’s announcement it would stop accepting temperature-controlled intermodal traffic, other railroads have not expanded their embargos or gate closures.
Union Pacific said in a Tuesday update that it is “prepared to take proactive steps to secure our customers’ goods” but had only the hazardous-material embargo in place. “We are in active discussions with the unions and the status of the negotiations can change quickly. We will continue to provide you updates as they become available.”
The cooling-off period triggered by the release of Presidential Emergency Board recommendations ends at 12:01 a.m. on Friday. At that point, unions without agreements can strike or can be locked out by railroads, although neither side has indicated its intentions.
