Man hit, killed by train after lying on tracks in northwest Houston, HPD says
Read full article: Man hit, killed by train after lying on tracks in northwest Houston, HPD saysA man was killed after being struck by a train early Saturday morning in northwest Houston. Police said the man was lying on the tracks and did not move despite the conductor sounding the horn and attempting to stop.
Union Pacific argues for its $85B acquisition of Norfolk Southern in new railroad merger application
Read full article: Union Pacific argues for its $85B acquisition of Norfolk Southern in new railroad merger applicationUnion Pacific hopes a new application will be enough to persuade regulators that its $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern would be good for the country.
CSX railroad profit slips 2% as shipping demand remained weak and severance costs hurt results
Read full article: CSX railroad profit slips 2% as shipping demand remained weak and severance costs hurt resultsCSX said Thursday that its profit slipped 2% in the fourth quarter as the railroad dealt with weak demand and severance costs from layoffs that new CEO Steve Angel carried out last fall.
2 big rail unions oppose $85B Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger over safety and cost concerns
Read full article: 2 big rail unions oppose $85B Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger over safety and cost concernsThe proposed $85 billion merger of the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads has lost the support of two unions that represent more than half their workers.
Shareholders of Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern support $85 billion rail merger
Read full article: Shareholders of Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern support $85 billion rail mergerShareholders of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern backed the railroads’ proposed $85 billion merger to create the nation’s first coast-to-coast rail network.
CSX railroad's merger prospects derail as BNSF and CPKC make clear they aren't interested in a deal
Read full article: CSX railroad's merger prospects derail as BNSF and CPKC make clear they aren't interested in a dealThe prospects for additional consolidation in the rail industry derailed this week when both of CSX's potential partners said they weren't interested in a deal.
Asbestos clinic forced to close in Montana town where thousands have been sickened by dust
Read full article: Asbestos clinic forced to close in Montana town where thousands have been sickened by dustAn asbestos screening clinic in a Montana town where thousands have been sickened dust from a nearby mine has been shuttered by local authorities.
Thieves targeting freight trains in California and Arizona deserts make off with $2M worth of Nikes
Read full article: Thieves targeting freight trains in California and Arizona deserts make off with $2M worth of NikesThieves have targeted freight trains running through California and Arizona in a string of audacious heists that have resulted in the theft of more than $2 million worth of new Nike sneakers.
Railroad BNSF stresses safety but is still held back by longstanding industry issues, report finds
Read full article: Railroad BNSF stresses safety but is still held back by longstanding industry issues, report findsFreight railroad BNSF is generally striving to improve safety on a consistent basis but that message doesn’t always reach front-line workers who often don’t feel comfortable reporting safety concerns for fear of being disciplined.
Warren Buffett surprises by slashing Berkshire Hathaway's longtime Apple stake in second quarter
Read full article: Warren Buffett surprises by slashing Berkshire Hathaway's longtime Apple stake in second quarterBillionaire Warren Buffett slashed Berkshire Hathaway’s massive Apple stake in a move that could prove unsettling for the broader stock market because the investor is so revered and there had been little positive financial news lately.
BNSF becomes 2nd major railroad to sign on to anonymous federal safety hotline for some workers
Read full article: BNSF becomes 2nd major railroad to sign on to anonymous federal safety hotline for some workersBNSF will become the second major freight railroad to allow some of its employees to report safety concerns anonymously through a federal system without fear of discipline.
Latest freight railroad layoffs and Wall Street pressure renew concerns about safety and service
Read full article: Latest freight railroad layoffs and Wall Street pressure renew concerns about safety and serviceThe latest rail layoffs this week, combined with an investment fund's ongoing campaign for control of Norfolk Southern, are renewing concerns among unions and regulators about all the cuts hurting safety and service.
US economy grew solid 3.2% in fourth quarter, a slight downgrade from government's initial estimate
Read full article: US economy grew solid 3.2% in fourth quarter, a slight downgrade from government's initial estimateThe U.S. economy grew at a robust 3.2% annual pace from October through December, propelled by healthy consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday in a slight downgrade from its initial estimate.
Broken rail caused fatal Colorado train derailment that collapsed bridge, early findings show
Read full article: Broken rail caused fatal Colorado train derailment that collapsed bridge, early findings showThe truck driver killed when a train derailed and collapsed a bridge over Interstate 25 in Colorado has been identified as a California man.
Railroads resist joining safety hotline because they want to be able to discipline workers
Read full article: Railroads resist joining safety hotline because they want to be able to discipline workersThe major freight railroads say a disagreement over whether they will be allowed to discipline some workers who use a government hotline to report safety concerns has kept them from following through on the promise they made back in March to join the program after a fiery Ohio derailment prompted calls for reforms.
BNSF train engineers offered paid sick time and better schedules in new deal
Read full article: BNSF train engineers offered paid sick time and better schedules in new dealRoughly 7,500 BNSF train engineers may get up to eight days of paid sick time and more predictable schedules if they approve a deal with the railroad announced Tuesday.
Montana train derailment report renews calls for automated systems to detect track problems
Read full article: Montana train derailment report renews calls for automated systems to detect track problemsThe NTSB is renewing its calls for major freight railroads to equip every locomotive with automated track inspection devices that it believes could have prevented a 2021 train derailment that killed three people in Montana.
Engineers frustrated with rails even as others get sick time
Read full article: Engineers frustrated with rails even as others get sick timeTens of thousands of engineers remain frustrated with the lack of paid sick time and the demands railroads like BNSF are making in negotiations despite the progress that has been made this year with sick time deals for most of the other rail unions.
Rail workers say deal won't resolve quality-of-life concerns
Read full article: Rail workers say deal won't resolve quality-of-life concernsMost railroad workers weren't surprised that Congress intervened this week to block a railroad strike, but they were disappointed because they say the deals lawmakers imposed didn't do enough to address their quality of life concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time.
Quality of life concerns weigh heavily on rail contract vote
Read full article: Quality of life concerns weigh heavily on rail contract voteThe lack of some benefits most workers can readily count on like paid sick leave and regularly scheduled weekends, combined with demanding schedules, is driving some railroad workers to veto labor contracts featuring big raises and bonuses.
1 rail union rejects deal, 2 accept ahead of strike deadline
Read full article: 1 rail union rejects deal, 2 accept ahead of strike deadlineMembers of one union have rejected a tentative deal with the largest U.S. freight railroads, while two ratified agreements and three other unions remained at the bargaining table just days ahead of a national strike deadline.
Businesses, White House plan for possible rail strike Friday
Read full article: Businesses, White House plan for possible rail strike FridayBusiness and government officials are bracing for the possibility of a nationwide rail strike at the end of this week while talks carry on between the largest U.S. freight railroads and their unions.
Railroads back plan calling for 24% raises but workers wary
Read full article: Railroads back plan calling for 24% raises but workers waryThe major freight railroads signaled they’re ready to negotiate a new deal based on a presidential report that calls for 24% raises, but the 12 unions involved in the stalled talks covering 115,000 workers still haven’t commented on the recommendations.
Plan to end railroad contract dispute calls for 24% raises
Read full article: Plan to end railroad contract dispute calls for 24% raisesThe special board appointed by President Joe Biden to intervene in stalled railroad contract talks has suggested that 115,000 rail workers should get 24% raises and thousands of dollars in bonuses as part of a new agreement to avert a strike.
Judge says BNSF unions can't strike over new attendance rule
Read full article: Judge says BNSF unions can't strike over new attendance ruleBNSF railroad’s two biggest unions that represent 17,000 workers won’t be able to go on strike over a new attendance policy they say would penalize employees for missing work for any reason.
Profit plummets at Buffett's company on investment gains
Read full article: Profit plummets at Buffett's company on investment gainsWarren Buffett’s company reported a third-quarter profit that was roughly one-third the amount of last year’s profit because of much smaller paper gains on the value of its investments, but most of its businesses were continuing to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
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Amtrak train that derailed was going just under speed limit
Read full article: Amtrak train that derailed was going just under speed limitAn Amtrak train that derailed in rural Montana over the weekend was going just under the speed limit at about 75 mph (121 kph) when it went off the track along a gradual curve.
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US rail industry defends safety record amid staffing cuts
Read full article: US rail industry defends safety record amid staffing cutsSeveral major unions say the significant staff cuts railroads have made in recent years could jeopardize safety, but the major railroads say the new operating model they have adopted is simply helping them become more efficient and hasn’t made the railroads riskier.
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Judge says railroad talks should be included in lawsuits
Read full article: Judge says railroad talks should be included in lawsuitsFILE- In this July 31, 2018, file photo a Union Pacific train travels through Union, Neb. – A federal judge has ruled that the details of conversations between the nation's four largest railroads should be included in lawsuits challenging billions of dollars of charges the railroads imposed in the past. The lawsuits say the railroads conspired to boost prices starting in 2003 by imposing coordinated fuel surcharges and pocketing billions of dollars in profits. In the lawsuits, the railroads have argued that their fuel surcharges were legal and were simply designed to recover the skyrocketing cost of fuel at the time. Union Pacific, which is based in Omaha, Nebraska, plans to continue “vigorously defending itself against the allegations in these lawsuits,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Graham said.