WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has called for development of new standards for gaskets used by tank cars in flammable-liquid service as a result of investigation into a January 2022 derailment and fire involving a BNSF Railway Train in Oklaunion, Texas. The NTSB released a synopsis of its final report on Thursday. [The […]
Railroad: BNSF
BNSF settles suit over biometric data
CHICAGO — BNSF Railway reached a settlement last week in a biometric data privacy case in which it had initially been assessed a $228 million penalty, only to have that award thrown out on appeal. Reuters reports that the railroad reached a settlement with a group of truck drivers over claims that BNSF illegally collected […]
Officials agree to reopen Eagle Pass rail gateway after meeting with Union Pacific executives
OMAHA, Neb. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection will allow the Eagle Pass, Texas, railroad gateway to reopen at midnight tonight after a visit by a delegation of Union Pacific executives led by CEO Jim Vena. The bridge linking Eagle Pass with Ferromex at Piedras Negras, Mexico, has been closed since Wednesday due to the […]
Second-busiest Texas-Mexico rail border crossing shut down due to migrant crisis (updated)
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency has shut down the Eagle Pass, Texas, border crossing – the second-busiest rail gateway to Mexico – due to the worsening migrant crisis. Union Pacific and BNSF Railway interchange with Ferromex at the Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras gateway, where about 16 trains per day cross the Rio Grande, according […]
BNSF and BMWED union reach tentative deal on paid sick time
BNSF Railway and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division—International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) have reached a tentative agreement which includes paid sick days. Building upon existing BNSF paid time off and sickness benefits, BMWED members will receive individual paid days off to use as sick days and gain the ability to convert up […]
Latest investigation faults BNSF Railway for Washington’s Tunnel 5 Fire
Washington’s Tunnel 5 Fire SKAMANIA COUNTY, Wash. — In a preliminary report initially obtained by the Columbia Insight, later acquired for Trains News Wire, the Wildland Fire Investigation of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources has determined a BNSF Railway freight train as the main cause of the Tunnel 5 Fire. As the name […]
J.B. Hunt to acquire part of BNSF Railway’s logistics subsidiary
J.B. Hunt will acquire the brokerage operations of BNSF Logistics, which provides third-party logistics services for trucking operations, the companies announced today. A unit of BNSF Railway, BNSF Logistics handles logistics services for full truckload, flatbed, temp-controlled, drayage, expedited, and less-than- truckload movements to a large group of the railway’s customers. Not included in the […]
Seeking answers on ‘loss of shunt:’ Special Report
Second of two parts Part one of this report appeared Tuesday, Sept. 5 EFFINGHAM, Ill. —The latest round of tests investigating ways to ensure trains always activate track circuits — the process known as “shunt” — involves shunt-enhancing antennas mounted on both trucks of a state-owned locomotive in Amtrak service in California. Here’s how the […]
The quest to counteract ‘loss of shunt:’ Special Report
First of two parts EFFINGHAM, Ill, —What happens when electrical current connected with signal systems doesn’t reliably travel from one rail to another when a train passes? Dispatchers “lose” the train — it disappears from their screens — and warning lights don’t flash or gates don’t lower at highway crossings as the train approaches. The […]
AAR says STB erred in decision ordering BNSF Railway to haul more coal from Montana mine
WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads has filed a friend-of-the-court brief backing BNSF Railway in its appeal of the Surface Transportation Board’s decision ordering the railroad to haul more export coal from a Montana mine to tidewater in British Columbia. The brief, filed yesterday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, […]
Customs agency suspends BNSF and Union Pacific from anti-terrorism partnership
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has suspended BNSF Railway and Union Pacific from its Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program. The railroads’ certification was suspended for 90 days effective Aug. 22, BNSF and UP said in customer advisories. “We continue to work with our partners to ensure safety procedures are followed and that […]
BNSF train derails after grade-crossing collision in Louisiana (updated)
NEW IBERIA, La. — Two locomotives and 20 cars of a BNSF train derailed on Monday evening after the train struck a truck at a grade crossing near New Iberia. While KLFY-TV reported one crew member had been taken to a hospital after the 5 p.m. incident, BNSF said in a Tuesday statement that no […]