Machinists’ union reaches second tentative agreement with railroads

Numerous yellow locomotives parked in service area. Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena asks FRA for rolling stock inspection data.

WASHINGTON – The machinists’ union has reached a second tentative agreement with Class I railroads, just under two weeks after the rank and file rejected the union’s first tentative deal. “We are pleased to announce that the nation’s freight railroads have reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM),” […]

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Looming power-plant retirements to put coal traffic back into decline over next five years

NEW YORK – Coal is enjoying a day in the sun amid low stockpiles at power plants and high natural gas prices. Overall railroad coal volumes have improved since the second quarter of 2021 and the trend is expected to continue into next year. But then a wave of coal-fired power plant retirements will put […]

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Two biggest rail unions won’t tally contract votes until the middle of November

People holding signs while standing on sidewalk

The two biggest rail unions don’t expect to tally members’ votes on their tentative contract agreements with the Class I railroads until the middle of November. The SMART-TD union that represents conductors and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen that represents engineers both outlined ratification vote timelines this week in updates to their members. […]

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Railroads need to cooperate and think long term if they are to grow, short line executive says

Formal portrait of man in suit and tie

PITTSBURGH — Railroads need to collaborate and take a long-term view if they are to make the most of their traffic growth opportunities, Michael Miller, president of Genesee & Wyoming’s North American operations, told a shipper conference on Wednesday. “We as an industry have always looked at it as ‘What’s in it for me? What’s […]

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53-foot intermodal container with refrigeration unit from Walthers

White intermodal container with "Tiger Cool Express" logo on side

53-foot reefer container Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: $17.98 Era: Modern Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com 53-foot reefer container features: Injection-molded plastic construction Refrigeration unit Compatible with WalthersProto or Mainline well cars (sold separately) Release date: Winter 2023 Paint schemes: Axsun (white, black, and yellow), Canadian National (white, green, and black […]

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Union Pacific drops Canadian Pacific from EMP intermodal program

Yellow locomotives moving double-stack cars with container crains in background

Union Pacific is booting Canadian Pacific out of the EMP domestic container pool. EMP, which rosters a 44,000-unit fleet of green 53-foot containers, is an interline intermodal partnership between UP and Norfolk Southern. CP, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern, and Florida East Coast also participate in EMP, which allows intermodal marketing companies to book loads […]

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Details emerge of 20-hour meeting that produced labor deal

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — Details of the negotiations that led to a tentative agreement between railroads and unions began emerging Thursday night, with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh saying he kept the two sides in his office for more than five hours at the end of 20 straight hours of talks. “The unions were very persistent on what […]

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CN updates sustainability data for 2021

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National has released the 2021 data supplement to its sustainability report, providing information on the railroad’s progress in meeting its environmental and other social goals. Among the data released: — The railroad reduced its greenhouse gas emission intensity by 3.3% from 2020 and has reached 15% progress toward its target of a […]

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Freight railroad strike averted thanks to tentative contract agreements (continuing updates)

Men holding picket signs

WASHINGTON — The first freight railroad strike in three decades has been averted under a tentative deal reached overnight between Class I railroads and three labor unions, the White House announced early Thursday morning. The Class I railroads reached tentative agreements with unions representing engineers, conductors, and signalmen after 20 hours of negotiations at the […]

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CN CEO hopes railroads and labor can avert a strike

Train of hopper cars rounds curve

LAGUNA, Calif. — Canadian National CEO Tracy Robinson hopes U.S. railroads and their labor unions can reach a tentative contract deal and avoid a strike. “We need to fix this labor situation down here in the United States,” she told an investor conference on Wednesday. “And it’s a critical one for all of us … […]

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Machinists reject tentative contract deal and authorize a strike

WASHINGTON – Members of the union representing machinists have rejected the tentative agreement that union leaders had reached with the Class I railroads and have voted to authorize a strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 19 said today that its 4,900 members had voted to reject the deal that had […]

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Federal regulators strike BNSF and CN comments predicting gridlock from CP-KCS merger

Logos for Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators on Tuesday agreed to toss out some comments that BNSF Railway and Canadian National had filed in response to the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. CP had asked the Surface Transportation Board to strike evidence that BNSF, CN, and CSX Transportation submitted separately on July 12, the deadline for final responses […]

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