Weekly Digest Number #3 - January 18th, 2022 |
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Welcome to another year of the RWU Rail & Labor News! This news bulletin is produced and emailed out each Tuesday morning. We hope you find each week's news and information useful. If so, please share with co-workers, friends, and colleagues. If you like, you can sign them up to get all the news from RWU HERE. Or forward them the link. You can view all back issues to 2019 HERE. Note: If you read over this news bulletin each week, you will be sure to never miss the important news of what is going on in the railroad world from a worker's perspective!
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(Editor's Note: Once again, the rail carriers think they have the unilateral right to change our conditions of employment with no consultation whatsoever with the union. This has of course, been happening for years with little or no consequence. Perhaps the recent objections by the rail unions to this practice may signal the beginnings of a rank and file revolt. We can only hope so. Read the RWU Resolution on National Rail Strike HERE.)
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SMART-TD and BLET Rail Unions Initiate Steps to Strike BNSF Properties Over New "Hi-Viz" Attendance Policy |
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CLEVELAND, Ohio, January 13 - Yesterday, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation union (SMART-TD) who work for the BNSF Railway initiated steps to go on strike following the railroad's announcement of its so-called "Hi-Viz" attendance policy, which BLET National President Dennis Pierce and SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson called "the worst and most egregious attendance policy ever adopted by any rail carrier."
Presidents Pierce and Ferguson said the impending policy, which BNSF plans to implement on February 1, repudiates numerous collectively bargained agreements currently in place throughout the BNSF system. It is so restrictive that employees would be penalized for missing work to attend the funeral of an immediate family member.
"This unprecedented BNSF policy repudiates direct and clear contract language, and in application, will attempt to force our members to report for duty without regard for their medical condition as we struggle to come out of a pandemic," President Pierce and President Ferguson said. "It also stands to take away any ability by our members to avoid working fatigued when they are routinely called without warning due to the complete lack of reliable train lineups, thus creating the potential for an even more unsafe railroad operation. So-called 'forced overtime' in an industry where safety is so critical not only repudiates our agreements, it stands to enact irreparable harm on hundreds of full time employees whose non workplace obligations prevent them from being at work every day of their life."
BNSF's new Hi-Viz policy is a points-based system which penalizes employees - who in many cases have no assigned days off - any time they take time off work for practically any reason ....
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(Editor's Note: This type of tragedy simply should not be happening in this day and age.) |
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Amtrak Conductor Dies After Falling Off Train in Westerly |
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An Amtrak conductor has died after falling off the train she was working on near the Westerly train station, according to Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey.
The train staff realized she was not answering her radio shortly after leaving the station so the train stopped to look for her, Chief Lacey said.
"She was preparing to stop at the Westerly station as they opened the doors prior to stopping," Chief Lacey said. "Something must have happened causing her to fall she must have become caught underneath the train and was killed as a result."
Moments later the 26-year-old woman from Massachusetts was found dead on the train tracks about 50 yards south of the High Street Bridge overpass which is north of the Westerly station, according to police.
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(Editor's Note: This is a positive development. From what we have seen this past year, this FRA Administrator is far better for rail workers than his predecessor Ron Batory, a lifelong rail corporate CEO and industry hack. But just as former FRA Administrator Joe Szabo (see his article this issue, "CSX/Pan Am: Bringing New England Into the Class I Railroad Network") came under immense pressure to cow-tow to the rail industry, Bose will likewise be intensely pressured to tow the corporate line.)
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Senate Confirms Bose as FRA Administrator |
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President Joe Biden nominated Bose for the position on April 22, 2021. Bose is currently the FRA’s deputy administrator.
As administrator, Bose will lead FRA's safety regulatory oversight of more than 800 freight and passenger railroads, national rail policy, planning and environmental activities, as well as the agency’s financial assistance grant programs.
"From his work with New Jersey Transit to his leadership at FRA during two administrations, Amit has spent his distinguished career supporting America’s railways," said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a press release.
Previously, Bose worked at architectural and engineering firm HNTB. During President Barack Obama’s administration, Bose served as the FRA’s director of governmental affairs, senior adviser, chief counsel and ultimately as deputy administrator. He also served in the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary as associate general counsel and deputy assistant secretary for governmental affairs.
Prior to that time, Bose worked for New Jersey Transit, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, as a transportation staffer in the U.S. Congress and in private practice in Georgia, where he focused on land use, environmental and municipal law.
Rail industry officials offered statements on Bose’s confirmation. They can be read here:
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(Editor's Note: BN "spun off" this former Northern Pacific mainline 35 years ago but has continued to be the major shipper of overhead traffic over the mainline ever since. Now, in a move similar to CP re-acquiring the ICE and MM&E spinoffs, BNSF is taking it back.) |
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Montana Rail Link to End Operations, with BNSF taking Over |
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Montana Rail Link will end its long-term lease on BNSF Railway lines in its namesake state, Idaho, and Washington, with BNSF resuming operation of those routes, MRL President Derek Ollmann told employees in a memo today (Monday, Jan. 10).
No timeline for the changeover was indicated in the memo. Montana Rail Link said in a press release that while it and BNSF have an agreement in place, the Surface Transportation Board must approve termination of the lease.
“There have been many changes in the rail industry since this long-term lease was signed, and given the need to be competitive in the current environment, we believe that this was the right time to revisit our longstanding agreement with BNSF,” Ollmann said. “This agreement protects our workers, our customers, and our long-term commitment to safety, and it will ensure a more seamless operation of rail services in Montana.”
In the same release, BNSF CEO Katie Farmer said, “We are excited to bring an important part of our railroad’s history back into our operations at BNSF. The line will become the MRL Subdivision of our Montana Division in recognition of the shared heritage of BNSF and MRL.”
Ollmann wrote in the memo that the decision “was made after a great deal of thought including securing BNSF’s commitment to continue employment for all MRL employees.” Employees will have the ability to remain in their current locations and BNSF will preserve payments that match MRL profit-sharing payouts, he wrote, once an agreement is negotiated.
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CSX/Pan Am: Bringing New England Into the Class I Railroad Network |
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Currently pending before the Surface Transportation Board are an application by CSX to acquire Pan Am Railways (PAR) and a related petition regarding operation of Pan Am Southern (PAS) by the Berkshire & Eastern Railroad (B&E), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. These transactions will bring strong transportation and safety benefits to New England.
I am a life-long railroader. In my six-year tenure as Federal Railroad Administrator, I saw the importance of safety and infrastructure investment in our national rail network. I am a strong supporter of our short line railroads, with their entrepreneurial focus on serving local transportation needs. Meanwhile, Class I railroads bring the financial resources to make necessary capital investments that strengthen the safety and efficiency of the rail network. This transaction draws on the strengths of both and offers exceptional benefits.
This acquisition extends the nationwide Class I railroad network into New England, a region that is critical to our nation’s economy, and that is today primarily served by regional and short line railroads. CSX’s acquisition of PAR will ensure first-class rail service in New England locations served by PAR and will allow for a seamless single-line connection to the Class I rail network and the global economy.
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(Editor's Note: For any and all organized efforts hoping to expand rail in your backyard, this webinar is a must!) |
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Understanding the FRA's Expanded Grant Application Process |
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Join with the Rail Passengers Association on Wednesday, January 26th at 2pm Eastern, as we talk with the Federal Railroad Administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Implementation Manager Ryan Arbuckle & Grants and Program Management Division Chief Matthew Lorah, to understand the process through which rail corridors will receive funding following the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The Invest in Infrastructure and Jobs Act will provide $66 billion in guaranteed funding for rail over five years, with $42 billion of that flowing through the FRA in the form of competitive grants. Whether you’re a local official or a passenger-advocate, it’s important to understand the mechanics of who is eligible to apply for these funds, what that application process looks like, and the criteria the FRA will use to evaluate project submissions.
What kind of train service is built will depend on the quality—and variety—of the project applications that are submitted to the FRA. Join us to understand how to be a more effective champion for the projects that will serve passengers in your community.
The Zoom link will be sent to you the day before the event.
Registration will close Monday, January 24th at Midnight eastern. Space, as always, is limited to 475 participants, so reserve your spot now.
Plan on attending? Submit your questions! Send in your region specific questions to Madison Butler at mbutler@narprail.org with the subject line "FRA Grant Question" to be answered during the event. Questions will be due by Friday, January 21st.
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Ex-chairman: STB Should Consider Benefits of Reciprocal Switching |
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Reciprocal switching occurs when a shipper has access to one freight railroad but wants access to a nearby competing freight railroad in order to cultivate a competitive pricing environment. President Joe Biden via a July executive order charged Surface Transportation Board Chairman Marty Oberman with looking into this issue and potentially begin a rulemaking on it.
Rail shippers first petitioned the board over 10 years ago to take up the issue, contending that reciprocal switching benefits captive shippers, or those that have access to only one railroad. Meanwhile, detractors point to operational challenges and potentially harmful economic impacts that could occur to the rail industry should reciprocal switching be implemented.
While the practice occurs in limited form in the U.S. via long-standing rail-shipper agreements, it has existed in Canada for years and is known as interswitching.
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CN Wants Kansas City Southern’s Springfield Line After CP-KCS Merger |
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Canadian railway CN wants Canadian Pacific to divest the Springfield Line in Missouri and Illinois as a condition for obtaining federal regulatory approval of the proposed merger of CP and Kansas City Southern — an idea CP quickly panned.
CN (NYSE: CNI) said in a Wednesday filing with the Surface Transportation Board that following CP’s divestment, CN would take over the line and invest in it.
CN says the existing KCS (NYSE: KSU) line between Kansas City, Missouri, and Springfield and East St. Louis, Illinois, would compete directly with CP’s (NYSE: CP) existing route between Kansas City and Chicago. Both the Springfield Line and CP’s existing route would serve markets in Detroit and eastern Canada, according to CN.
Allowing CN to take over the Springfield Line would promote competitive options for customers, including automotive and intermodal traffic and traffic for farmed and manufactured goods in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and it would align with the competition goals stated in President Joe Biden’s executive order from July 2021.
CN said it would make investments of at least $250 million to that part of the network, and those investments would include terminal upgrades.
“CP and KCS have made it clear in their merger application that they plan no investment on the Springfield Line, and instead will de-emphasize it in favor of CP’s existing parallel line,” CN said in a Thursday release. The railway is seeking “the divestiture of parallel tracks” as a merger condition that is within STB’s purview.
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Videos in Support of Rail Development and Expansion |
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These home-made videos are one more example of the burgeoning citizen's movement in support of rail and rail development for both freight and passenger, a display of Americans desire to move away from trucks and automobiles in a direction more oriented towards rail. They are well put together and echo a lot of what RWU has been saying for years. Check them out! |
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LNG by Rail: Temporary Reg Rollback Under Review |
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The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) proposed temporary suspension of its regulations authorizing the transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail have prompted not only the Railway Supply Institute to weigh in, but also the Republican members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a coalition of attorneys general from 14 states and Washington, D.C.; all submitted comments on the agency’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released late last year.
PHMSA published the Notice on Nov. 8, 2021, pausing its final rule that amended Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to allow the bulk transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in rail tank cars; comments were due Dec. 23, 2021. (Download the Notice below.)
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(Editor's Note: Read 'em and weep. Of course the rail industry will blame Covid, the "labor shortage", the maritime industry, the longshore workers union, the trucker shortage, you name it. But in reality, the culprit here is - simply put - the operating plan known as Precision Scheduled Railroading". What a sad joke PSR has become.) |
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Rail Traffic a Downer in 2022’s First Week |
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U.S. rail traffic fell 16% to 440,761 carloads and intermodal units during the first week of 2022 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.
Total carloads for the week ending Jan. 8 were 210,020 carloads, down 10.6%, while U.S. intermodal volume was 230,741 containers and trailers, down 20.4%.
Only one of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks weekly posted an increase: Nonmetallic minerals rose by 207 carloads to 25,613 units.
Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 60,301 carloads for the week, down 22.7%, and 56,857 intermodal units, down 23%. Mexican railroads logged 18,003 carloads for the week, down 2.6%, and 11,386 intermodal units, down 26.9%.
North American rail volume for the first week of 2022 totaled 587,308 carloads and intermodal units, down 17.4% compared with 2021.
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(Editor's Note: While only a few of these projects are in North America, hopefully this will be changing in the coming years. Rail is the wave of the future world wide!) |
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20 Rail Projects to Watch in 2022 |
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Moscow Big Circle Line
Country: Russia
Type: Metro
Construction Start: 2011
Completion: 2022 or 2023
Length: 70km
Cost: $US 6.79bn
Jakarta – Bandung HSL
Country: Indonesia
Type: High-speed
Construction start: 2018
Completion: 2022
Length: 142.3km
Cost: $US 8.0bn
Two tunnels were completed in the summer of 2021, including the 2190m-long Number 8 tunnel in the West Bandung Regency’s Cikalong, West Java province, and the 1230m-long Number 10 in West Bandung Regency’s Padalarang West Java province.
East Side Access
Country: United States
Type: Commuter rail
Construction Start: 2007
Completion: 2022
Length: 9.8km
Cost: $US 11.1bn
The East Side Access project, one of the largest transport infrastructure projects in New York, is scheduled to open in December 2022. The 9.8km railway will connect the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) from its main line in Queens to a new station under Grand Central Terminal on Manhattan’s east side. The project will double the number of LIRR trains running into Manhattan with up to 24 trains per hour while reducing commute times by 40 minutes.
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