Union Pacific and BLET reach paid sick time agreement

Two men standing by train watch as another train goes by

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have reached a paid sick time agreement, the railroad and union announced today. UP’s 5,600 engineers will have up to seven paid sick days. Five days will be considered paid sick time, while two additional paid leave days can be converted to […]

Read More…

CPKC employees will select railway’s new locomotive livery

CALGARY, Alberta – CPKC employees will select the railway’s new locomotive livery through an online survey, a company spokesman says. The SurveyMonkey poll asks the railway’s 20,345 employees to choose one of five proposed paint schemes for CPKC locomotives. Canadian Pacific SD70ACU No. 7001 serves as the model for the liveries. Each of the five […]

Read More…

Women in railroading

Leah Rosenfeld hangs mail

Women in railroading Research deflates the idea that a woman’s place was in the home in the 19th century. In 1838, during the Industrial Revolution when women were already working many jobs outside of the home, railroads employed female car attendants. In the 1800s, the most important breakthrough for women in railroading came when women […]

Read More…

FRA to fund $570 million in grade-crossing projects

Canadian Pacific and Metra trains meet at a grade crossing in Franklin Park, Ill., on April 2, 2023. Franklin Park will receive up to $8 million from the FRA for a grade crossing separation project under funding announced Monday, June 5. David Lassen

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded more than $570 million for grade-crossing elimination projects in 32 states, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced today. The funds, from the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program, will fund a total of 63 projects, addressing more than 400 grade crossing by separating roads and rail rights-of-way, closing […]

Read More…

CP train derails in Minnesota near Canadian border

Stack of derailed freight cars

LANCASTER, Minn. — Approximately 27 cars of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City train, some carrying hazardous materials, derailed near the Canadian border Wednesday afternoon, closing a 7-mile stretch of U.S. Route 59 as a precautionary measure. CNN reports the cars involved included eight tank cars, with some carrying an unspecified flammable liquid. The Grand Forks, […]

Read More…

Carload traffic up, but overall rail volume slump continues

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — Growth of carload traffic was insufficient to offset sagging intermodal volume as U.S. rail traffic continued to lag behind 2022 levels, according to the latest statistcis from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending May 27, 2023, overall traffic was 480,998 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.8% from the same week […]

Read More…