Canadian union files for conciliation with CPKC

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

CALGARY — Unifor has filed for conciliation in its negotiations with Canadian Pacific Kansas City, following a path the Canadian union has also taken in its contract talks with Canadian National. The union, which represents more than 1,200 mechanical workers at CPKC, said contract talks had reached an impasse. The filing of a Notice of […]

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MTA begins engineering process for Interborough Express project

Overhead-view illustration of light rail train at station

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday began the engineering process for the proposed Interborough Express light rail line in Brooklyn and Queens. The MTA’s Request for Proposals for consultant bids for the preliminary engineering phase of the project begins a process expected to take approximately two years. The 14-mile Interborough Express, or […]

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FRA awards $2.4 billion in CRISI grants to 122 projects (updated)

Passenger train next to signal bungalow and signal worker's truck.

WASHINGTON — A total of 122 projects in 41 states and the District of Columbia have been selected for the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program, announced early today (Oct. 29, 2024). The selected projects will receive more than $2.4 billion in funding. “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re […]

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CSX launches double-stack service at the Port of Baltimore

BALTIMORE, Md. — CSX launched double-stack service to and from the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore on Monday (Oct. 28) thanks to clearance projects that have been completed north of the Howard Street Tunnel. “This is a great day for the Port of Baltimore and a great day for Maryland,” Gov. Wes Moore said […]

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Unifor opens negotiations with VIA Rail Canada

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

MONTREAL — Canadian union Unifor has opened contract negotiations with VIA Rail Canada, the union announced Monday, Oct. 28. The union’s Council 4000 represents 1,800 VIA employees in station services, headquarters, maintenance centers and onboard positions; Local 100 represents 700 employees working as diesel engine mechanics, electricians, railcar technicians, and general workers. “Our goal in […]

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More CRISI grants announced

Passenger train crossing bridge

WASHINGTON — Another group of awards were announced today (Monday, Oct. 28) under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant program, with the latest group led by more than $72 million for work in the Milwaukee area to reroute freight trains away from the city’s primary passenger station. The full list […]

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FRA aims to tighten rules for waivers that allow railroads to experiment with safety technology

Boxcar equipped with scientific instruments for railroad track inspection.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration today proposed more stringent requirements that railroads must meet in order to obtain safety rule waivers that allow experimentation with track and equipment inspection technology. The proposed rule would give rail labor and lineside communities more of a say in how automated track and train inspection systems are deployed. […]

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Railfan Road: The Lone Star State

An orange freight locomotive leads a coal train through a rolling rural landscape

Amarillo to Fort Worth BNSF Railway’s route from Amarillo to Fort Worth has been twice reinvented — a secondary route rebuilt into a unit coal train conveyor, then repurposed to a primary California-Texas intermodal route.  Broad vistas, interesting topography and about 20 trains per day easily viewable from a closely paralleling U.S. highway makes the […]

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BNSF, electrical workers announce tentative contract agreement

BNSF Railway logo

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract, while the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers has ratified its agreement with the railroad. The BNSF-IBEW agreement is the ninth reached by the railroad in the last two months ahead of the […]

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Transit Workers Union authorizes strike against SEPTA

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority logo

PHILADELPHIA — Members of the union representing more than 5,300 workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority have voted to authorize a strike effective at midnight on Nov. 7, when their current contract expires. Members of Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents subway, trolley, and bus operators, mechanics, and other workers, voted unanimously in […]

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