News and Media

Reported by Mary Kennedy for Progressive Farmer.

Over 25 rail-shipper groups, representing all industries using rail cars to ship products, and all rail-worker unions gave the Surface Transportation Board (STB) no-holds-barred testimonies during the Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service hearings April 26 and 27 at the STB’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The four Class I railroads in the hot seat were the BNSF Railway Company, CSX Transportation, Inc., Norfolk Southern Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad Company. They also presented testimonies during the hearings.

Video Posted by ABC News. Watch Video here.

Reported by Katabella Roberts for Epoch Times.

Rail backlogs in the United States are delaying the shipment of grains, and further exacerbating inflation, industry experts said at a hearing this week addressing urgent freight rail service issues.

“In recent weeks the board has received communications from a broad range of stakeholders of serious problems affecting the freight rail network, namely inconsistent and unreliable service which has had serious impacts on rail users, particularly those shipping agriculture and energy products,” said Martin J. Oberman, chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which oversees Class I rail carriers and which held a hearing this week.

Reported by Bill Stephens for Trains.

There were more questions than answers on Tuesday as federal regulators sought ways to remedy railroad service problems that defy a quick fix because they are rooted in a shortage of train crews.

Shippers told the Surface Transportation Board that rail service has deteriorated, with delays mounting as transit times have in some cases doubled from normal levels. The slowdown in rail network velocity has forced shippers to curtail or suspend production due to late empty or loaded freight cars, and even prompted farmers to consider culling their herds and flocks for lack of feed.

Reported by Lillianna Byington for Bloomberg Governement.

House members who oversee transportation plan to reauthorize key safety and freight regulators this year, while pushing for legislation to alleviate supply-chain backups.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee laid out an agenda for the year that prioritizes measures to empower the Surface Transportation Board, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Federal Maritime Commission. The panel will consider its fiscal 2023 budget strategy, which reflects “a bipartisan effort,” on Thursday.

AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed how precision scheduled railroading has exacerbated the supply chain crisis and subjected railway workers to grueling schedules with little sick time.

Precision scheduled railroading simplifies routing networks with a focus on point-to-point freight car transportation.

Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freightwaves.

The Surface Transportation Board has scheduled a hearing for April 26-27 in response to a letter sent by the National Grain and Feed Association about worsening rail service.

The March 24 letter has gotten support from various rail unions and other stakeholders in recent days. These stakeholders are also asking the STB to examine the causes behind the service delays.

WASHINGTON – Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, representing 37 unions across the transportation sector, issued this statement following the attack inside the Sunset Park subway station in Brooklyn this morning: “We are horrified by the attack that took place inside a Brooklyn subway station this morning and hope those who were injured […]

Reported by Bill Stephens for Trains.

The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has joined the chorus of organizations asking federal regulators to address Class I railroad service problems.

“It is clear that a lack of oversight has allowed Class I railroads to operate in a manner that is harmful to shippers, employees, and the American public, and these issues will not resolve out of self-regulation by the carriers,” TTD President Greg Regan wrote in a letter sent to the Surface Transportation Board on Monday. “We urge the Board to continue to delve into the service issues faced by shippers, and how these issues have been caused or exacerbated by an overly reduced workforce.”

Reported by Kim Bellware for the Washington Post.

The labor coalition representing dozens of transportation-sector unions has renewed its call for greater safety measures and cited Tuesday’s subway shooting in Brooklyn as the latest example of a public transit and workplace safety crisis.

“It is unacceptable for commuters to fear for their safety when using public transit and for transit workers to fear for their safety while on the job,” Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, said in a statement Tuesday.