railroad

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

New Federal Rule Requires 2-Person Railroad Crews

'As trains ... have grown longer, crews should not be getting smaller'

(Newser) - Major freight railroads will have to maintain two-person crews on most routes under a new federal rule that was finalized Tuesday in a milestone in organized labor's long fight to preserve the practice. The Transportation Department's Federal Railroad Administration released the details of the rule Tuesday morning after...

Railroad on the Moon? It May Be in the Works

Northrop Grumman enlisted to explore construction, costs, and risks

(Newser) - Now that scientists have some ideas about how to build roads on the moon , focus is turning to a potential lunar railroad. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) envisions a future in which a network of rails covers the lunar surface, transporting humans, resources, and supplies from one...

Privately Owned Rail Line Begins Key Test in Florida

Brightline launching high-speed service between Miami and Orlando

(Newser) - The first big test of whether a privately owned high-speed passenger train service can prosper in the United States will launch Friday when Florida's Brightline begins running trains between Miami and Orlando that reach speeds of 125mph. It's a $5 billion bet that Brightline's owner, Fortress Investment...

Second Railroad Agrees With Union on Sick Time

Union Pacific deal would add five paid days per year

(Newser) - Union Pacific railroad has reached a tentative deal with a major union regarding paid sick leave. The railroad and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers said that the deal reached over the weekend provides up to eight paid sick leave days to around 5,900...

Norfolk Southern Agrees to First Sick Leave for Engineers

Union calls deal providing long-sought benefit transformative

(Newser) - The union that represents railroad engineers finally secured its first deal for paid sick time with Norfolk Southern, several months after other rail unions began reaching similar agreements with the major freight railroads. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced the deal with the railroad on Thursday. Roughly 3,...

Railroad Worker Plucks 3-Year-Old From Tracks

(Newser) - A conductor jumped from his train, sprinted to scoop up a 3-year-old boy who was wandering along close to the electrified third rail on tracks north of New York City, officials said, and with his colleagues, united him with his family. Engineer William Kennedy, who was operating a southbound train...

'If You Care About Us, Get Our Grandkids Out'

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, confront official from Norfolk Southern after derailment

(Newser) - On Thursday night, residents of East Palestine, Ohio, were able to confront an official from Norfolk Southern after the derailment that spilled chemicals in their community. While they were able to vent their anger, few seemed to leave the public forum satisfied by the comments of the railroad's Darrell...

Fact-Checkers Say Trump Is Off the Hook in Derailment

There's no sign yet that deregulation played any role in Ohio disaster

(Newser) - In the partisan back-and-forth over the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Democrats have pointed to deregulation of the rail industry during Donald Trump's presidency. But while Trump did roll back plenty of regulations, none of the changes "at this point can be cited as contributing to...

Rail Workers Missed Their Biggest Goal—Paid Leave

Biden signs measure to avert crippling strike, and unions lose a key fight

(Newser) - President Biden on Friday signed an emergency measure to prevent a potentially crippling railway strike amid the holidays. He did so after Congress, exercising special authority, voted to impose a contract settlement between the railroads and its unions, reports the AP . On the bright side for rail workers, the deal...

Senate Joins House in Voting to Impose Railroad Contract

Legislation prohibiting shutdown goes to Biden for his signature

(Newser) - The Senate moved quickly Thursday to avert a rail strike that the Biden administration and business leaders warned would have devastating consequences for the nation's economy. The Senate passed a bill to bind rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the rail companies and...

House Votes to Head Off Looming Railroad Strike

2nd bill that passed addresses sick days, a major sticking point

(Newser) - The House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by four of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and...

Biden Asks Congress to Block Rail Shutdown

Pelosi agrees to have House take up legislation this week

(Newser) - President Biden urged Congress on Monday evening to immediately approve legislation that would head off a railroad shutdown by forcing workers and companies to enact the tentative agreement they reached in September. Without final approval of the deal, a shutdown could begin Dec. 9, per Axios . "As a proud...

Potential Rail Strike Would Affect Us in Countless Ways

Stakes are so high Congress may step in

(Newser) - American consumers and nearly every industry will be affected if freight trains grind to a halt next month. One of the biggest rail unions rejected its deal Monday, joining three others that have failed to approve contracts over concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time. That...

She Broke Leg in 90-Foot Cliff Fall. Then She Started Crawling
Injured Hiker Spotted by
Sharp-Eyed Train Passenger
in case you missed it
Oct 16, 2022 12:50 PM CDT

Injured Hiker Spotted by Sharp-Eyed Train Passenger

Hiker crawled to riverbank to flag down passing train, triggering helicopter rescue in Colorado

(Newser) - A hiker who spent a night stranded in the Colorado wilderness with a broken leg made it out alive after managing to flag down a passing train. The female hiker in her 20s had been reported missing Sunday after failing to return from a day hike on the Colorado Trail...

After 20 Straight Hours of Rail Negotiations, an 'Important Win'

Biden says strike averted after tentative deal is reached between freight railroads, unions

(Newser) - Looks like there won't be a rail shutdown after all. On Thursday, President Biden announced that a tentative deal has been struck between freight railroads and unions, averting a strike that could have cost the US economy more than $2 billion per day, reports the New York Times . It...

Poles Fixing Century-Old Railroad Tracks to Help Rescue Refugees

'Poland cannot be indifferent to the tragedy of the Ukrainian people,' says nation's infrastructure chief

(Newser) - Poland is receiving praise the world over for embracing refugees fleeing Ukraine as Russian forces continue their assault . Now, Poles are supplementing this "tidal wave of support" for their desperate neighbors by rebuilding a long-abandoned railroad line, placed more than a century ago, to help expedite rescue efforts at...

California Sues Feds Over Canceled Rail Funds

Newsom says Trump move was retribution for opposition to immigration policies

(Newser) - California sued Tuesday to block the Trump administration from cancelling nearly $1 billion for the state's high-speed rail project , escalating the state's feud with the federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration announced last week it would not give California the money awarded by Congress nearly a decade ago,...

Driver Gets Stuck on Tracks After GPS Gaffe

Pennsylvania police have a little fun posting about it

(Newser) - A woman learned the limits of GPS Wednesday when she turned off a road onto railway tracks and got stuck there—parallel to the tracks, USA Today reports. To make matters worse, cops gave her a ticket. "The GPS told me to do it..." quipped the City of...

Amtrak Blames Freight Firm for Deadly Crash

NTSB says safety system would have stopped SC crash

(Newser) - The crash that killed two Amtrak crew members and injured more than 100 other people wouldn't have happened under a safety system the National Transportation Safety Board has been seeking for decades, says NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt. He said Sunday that "Positive Train Control," which slows trains...

Teen Saves Man Stuck on Tracks Just in Time

'I look up, and the train's literally right there'

(Newser) - Ashley Aldridge was at home in Auburn, Illinois, last week when she heard a man screaming. The 19-year-old ran outside to the railroad tracks near her house, heard a train blaring its horn, and saw 75-year-old Earl Moorman, whose wheelchair had gotten stuck on the tracks. "She came over...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>