Weekly Digest Number #9 - March 2nd, 2021 |
|
Court Favors Unions and States, Rejects FRA's Attempt to Preempt State Crew Laws |
|
(Editor's Note: While RWU believes that ultimately the way to save the two-person train crew is through industrial action and confrontation with the carriers on the property, this ruling represents a major tactical victory for railroad workers. With a new administration and a new FRA Director, rail workers might just have a fighting chance on the legislative and regulatory front ... for the moment at least)
Two of the country’s largest freight railroad unions achieved a favorable decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday regarding an attempt by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to preempt legislation passed by a number of states that established a minimum of two-person operating crews on freight trains.
The case, brought by the states of California, Washington and Nevada and by the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), challenged former FRA Administrator Ron Batory’s attempt to cancel the laws of those and other states while at the same time attempting to authorize nationwide one-person crews. The unions and states argued that Batory’s May 2019 order violated the comment-and-notice procedures of Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and that his agency could not implicitly preempt the state safety rules ... The court chided FRA for basing its negative preemption decision on “an economic rationale” instead of what is its main obligation — safety.
|
|
Public Transportation in Crisis: A Virtual Panel Event |
|
Get the scoop on the future of public transportation at our live stream panel event, featuring a keynote address from Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García
We invite you to join us at our virtual panel event on Wednesday, March 24th, at 1 pm EST.
Please RSVP here and please feel free to share the invite with your networks. Hosted by our Deputy Editor Gabrielle Gurley, this 2-part panel event dives deep into the issues facing public transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic, outlined in Gurley's article here. With keynote address by Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-4), we’ve invited top public transportation professionals from across the country to define the crisis and to discuss visions for the post-COVID future.
|
|
Rail Industry Leaders Hope for Action on Surface Transportation Legislation |
|
A new Congress is in session and a new president is in office, and one who’s a rail fan, no less. Those reasons are partly why many rail advocates are cautiously optimistic about the potential for major surface transportation legislation to pass on Capitol Hill this year — even as the nation’s political leaders grapple with multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
While there’s no guarantee that any particular legislation will pass in a given year, political observers say that President Joe Biden’s policy agenda — which includes proposals to modernize infrastructure and tackle climate change — bodes well for the rail industry.
There’s also the president’s longtime interest in rail, which will help shine a spotlight on the industry’s interests - especially Amtrak. As a U.S. senator, Biden became known as “Amtrak Joe” for his daily use of Amtrak to travel between his Delaware home and the U.S. Capitol. As a 2020 presidential candidate, he pledged to “make sure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world — for both passengers and freight.”
|
|
Score One for Shippers in Ongoing Fuel Surcharge Case |
|
A federal district court on Feb. 19 ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor on multi-district litigation comprising more than 200 shippers who allege that BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific have conspired to engage in fuel surcharge price-fixing since 2003.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Paul L. Friedman denied the railroads’ motion in In re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litigation (Case No. 07-0489). They sought to “exclude [pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 10706] evidence of any discussion or agreement between or among rail carriers that concerned interline movements (and any rate or other action resulting from such discussion or agreement), and to enforce the statutory bar on inferring a conspiracy from specified evidence.”
In his opinion, Judge Friedman stated: “Applying the statute in the way they suggest would extend its protection to discussions or agreements involving competing traffic of the rail carriers. This interpretation is inconsistent with Congress’s stated purpose to protect limited categories of discussions and agreements that concern interline movements.”
Sathya Gosselin, a Hausfeld LLP lawyer representing shippers, said the ruling “is an important victory for the railroad shipper community, which is now one step closer to trial in this longstanding price-fixing case.”
|
|
Rail's Big Moment is Arriving |
|
Passenger rail could be the big winner if Congress moves ahead with President Biden's ambitious infrastructure plan. Why it matters: There's long been bipartisan support for rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure, but under Biden, the focus has shifted to sustainable projects that fulfill both his climate and equity goals, such as rail transit. Even though many public transit systems are reeling from the pandemic, ridership is expected to return eventually, requiring long-term investment.
Driving the news: Right now, the Biden administration is trying to get his $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus package through Congress (including $30.5 billion in emergency funding for public transit). But soon the House and Senate will turn their attention to infrastructure spending.
|
|
Canada Revises Rules for Trains Hauling Dangerous Goods |
|
Canada's Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced yesterday changes to the federal Rules Respecting Key Trains and Key Routes, which have been approved by Transport Canada (TC).
The changes are the result of ministerial orders put in place in 2020 to address important risk factors for derailments caused by railway infrastructure, especially during winter operations, TC officials said in a press release.
|
|
Class I Employment Levels Fell in January |
|
U.S. Class Is employed 113,461 people in mid-January, down 3.66% compared with December 2020's employment levels and down 11.57% year over year, according to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data. All workforce categories registered month-over-month employment decreases in January. They were transportation (train and engine), down 7.23% to 45,521 workers; maintenance of equipment and stores, down 2.89% to 18,085; transportation (other than train and engine), down 2.03% to 4,725; maintenance of way and structures, down 0.37% to 27,618; executives, officials and staff assistants, down 0.26% to 7,293; and professional and administrative, down 0.04% to 10,219.
|
|
The "Train Campaign" Produces Numerous Podcasts on Passenger Rail Expansion |
|
The Train Campaign is the rail advocacy organization in Massachusetts, sharing a vision for passenger rail as the essential framework for efficient, sustainable transportation in the 21st century. The Train Campaign supports passenger rail initiatives including the East-West Rail Study, the Pownal line, the Berkshire Flyer, and the Housatonic Line. Our mission is to foster a robust network of rail transportation options. Learn more at TrainCampaign.org.
|
|
AAR Week 7: Intermodal, Carloads Post Double-Digit Losses |
|
(Editors' Note: While this phenomenal drop in traffic can be directly attributed to "Mother Nature," one must ask, what role did PSR play in this debacle? How many trains were incapable of movement due to lack of train crews and locomotives? A lack of car inspectors to perform air tests, and signal and track maintainers to keep the infrastructure operating properly throughout the weather episode? We have seen this show countless times in recent years, whether it be from weather episodes or spikes in certain traffic (grain, crude oil, or other "unexpected" events). One of the great dangers of PSR is its emphasis on cutting the physical plant and payroll to the bare bones minimum, which may "work" during optimal conditions, but is hopeless during all others.)
For the week ending Feb. 20, total U.S. rail traffic of 377,904 carloads and containers fell 21.7% vs. the same week last year, reported the Association of American Railroads on Feb. 24. Carloads as well as intermodal containers and trailers posted double-digit losses compared with 2020, coming in at 171,642 (down 26.3%) and 206,262 (down 17.4%), respectively.
|
|
FRA Issues Emergency Order Requiring Face Mask Use in Railroad Operations |
|
Effective immediately, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued an Emergency Order temporarily implementing a mask requirement for all freight and passenger railroad employees in all crafts. This EO in accordance with Center of Disease Control guidelines. Until this deadly pandemic is over masks will be an FRA required part of your PPE.
According to the FRA, field observations from safety inspectors regarding mask use on railroad property indicate “that the critical practice of wearing a face mask is not consistent or uniform among railroad personnel. FRA has observed railroad personnel often not wearing a face mask on railroad property, both in situations where social distancing is possible and situations involving close proximity to others. FRA inspectors have also observed railroad personnel who did not put on a face mask when approached by the inspectors to discuss matters of railroad safety.”
|
|
Watch Fiery Texas Blast after Train Collides with Tractor-Trailer |
|
A massive explosion and fire erupted after a train struck a tractor-trailer in Texas early Tuesday. The collision happened shortly after 6:30 a.m. at railroad crossing in Cameron, KVUE-TV reports. Gasoline and coal in the train's front compartments led to the devastating explosion and ensuing. "Luckily" the hazardous material was a little further back," Milam County Sheriff Chris White said at a press conference, according to KVUE. Crews from multiple departments—including Cameron, Temple and Rosebud—are battling to put out the fire caused by the blast. The tractor-trailer driver and the train conductor were not injured in the collision.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
