Class I - Railway Age

(Left) Twin sisters Tiffany Mace, locomotive engineer, left, and Lindsey Stoddard, yardperson, work together on their birthday. (Right) From left, Locomotive Engineers Brandy Lloyd and her mom, MaryAnn Hennessy on Union Pacific's steam locomotive No. 844.

Commentary

March 24, 2023
Class I

One Mother and Three Daughters Share a Rich Railroad Legacy at Union Pacific

MaryAnn Hennessy and her three daughters–Brandy Lloyd, Tiffany Mace, and Lindsey Stoddard have more in common than being family members and train crew professionals who work for Union Pacific Railroad. The women also share a rich railroad history that extends back through five generations of Hennessys.

March 24, 2023
Regulatory

STB Rejects CN’s Springfield Line Bid

CN’s request regarding conditional approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger on the sale of KCS’s Springfield Line to CN has been denied by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which on March 23 provided notice that its Office of Environmental Analysis has terminated the review of the proposed divestiture.

March 24, 2023
Class I

NS, SMART-TD Pause Conductor Redeployment Bargaining

Norfolk Southern (NS) and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) on March 23 reported that they are discontinuing formal negotiations regarding conductor redeployment to focus their efforts on implementing other “immediate quality-of-life improvements” for employees.

Yannik Thomas (left) and Stefan Loeb are joining the Marketing division at Norfolk Southern.

March 23, 2023
Class I

NS Taps Thomas, Loeb for Marketing Roles

Norfolk Southern (NS) on March 23 reported elevating Yannik Thomas and appointing Watco veteran Stefan Loeb to Vice President positions in the Marketing division, effective April 2.

March 23, 2023
Class I

UP: Paid Sick Leave Added for Six Unions

Union Pacific (UP) on March 22 reported reaching agreements with six additional labor unions to provide access to up to seven paid sick days, effective April 1.

UP Chief Information Officer Rahul Jalali has joined the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee.

March 23, 2023
Class I

Class I Briefs: UP, CSX, CN

Union Pacific (UP) Chief Information Officer Rahul Jalali joins the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (CSAC). Also, CSX launches an enhanced carbon emissions reduction calculator; and CN donates $750,000 to Sun Youth’s “Building a Brighter Future” campaign.

March 23, 2023
Class I

CSX: Paid Sick Leave for IBEW

CSX on March 22 reported reaching an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) for paid sick leave.

March 23, 2023
News

TSB: Unstable Track Subgrade Indicated in 2020 Derailment Near Ignace, Ontario

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada has released its investigative report (R20W0102) regarding the 2020 derailment of a Canadian Pacific (CP) freight train near Ignace, Ontario.

March 22, 2023
Class I

For Week 11, U.S. Carloads, Intermodal Down

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 18 (Week 11) dipped 9.4% from the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported March 22.

NTSB investigators on March 15 conducted a start-to-discharge pressure test on a pressure relief valve. (NTSB Source)

March 22, 2023
Regulatory

NTSB Examines PRDs in East Palestine Derailment

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators recently examined and tested pressure relief devices (PRDs) removed from the five vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) tank cars involved in the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern (NS) train in East Palestine, Ohio.