freight train

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2 Texas Railway Crossings Closed Due to Migrant Surge

CBP employees will be moved from those crossings to help Border Patrol elsewhere

(Newser) - Freight trains stopped rumbling across Texas border bridges in El Paso and Eagle Pass Monday morning, a day after US Customs and Border Protection said it would put such crossings on ice in order to move staffers there to assist with the migrant surge elsewhere. The El Paso Times reports...

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...

Union Members Balk at Time Off in Rail Contracts

Sick leave remains an issue as tentative agreements are voted on

(Newser) - The lack of some of the benefits most American workers can readily count on, like paid sick leave and regularly scheduled weekends, is driving some railroad workers to veto contracts that include significant raises and $5,000 bonuses. This week's vote by the third-largest railroad union against a tentative...

Railroad Unions Win a Sick Day for the First Time

Workers will be able to go to medical appointments without being penalized under new contract

(Newser) - More than 40 years after President Ronald Reagan fired air traffic controllers who went on strike, President Biden decided against taking a hard line in the negotiations between freight railroads and unions. In private talks, Biden defended the workers' positions, the Washington Post reports. In the middle of the night,...

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...

Here's What at Stake in Union-Railroad Negotiations
What's at Stake in
Union-Railroad Negotiations
the rundown
Sep 14, 2022 5:02 PM CDT

What's at Stake in Union-Railroad Negotiations

Strike or lockout could begin Friday and cost the economy billions

(Newser) - Federal officials are trying to negotiate a contract settlement between freight railroads and unions, while making contingency plans for getting needed shipments—including drinking water and health care products—to their destinations even if the trains stop. A strike or lockout could begin as soon as 12:01am Friday, when...

Amtrak Prepares for a Shutdown
Amtrak Prepares
for a Shutdown
Sep 12, 2022 6:50 PM CDT

Amtrak Prepares for a Shutdown

Carrier cancels a few routes to ensure passengers aren't stranded

(Newser) - Amtrak warned Monday that a strike could soon disrupt commutes, as well as cross-country trips, and announced it was suspending some long-distance routes starting Tuesday. Negotiators are in a cooling-off period now that is scheduled to end Thursday night; as of Friday, workers could walk off the job, or the...

Norway's Spate of Reindeer Killings Called 'Unprecedented'

They were victims of freight trains

(Newser) - A reindeer herder describes himself as "dizzy with anger" after freight trains barreled into more than 100 reindeer in Norway over three days, killing 106. Torstein Appfjell, who Sky News reports oversees about 2,000 reindeer, calls the deaths "totally tragic" and frames that toll in that period...

Hazmat Alert Issued After Train Derails in Kentucky

Top-level hazmat warning issued

(Newser) - Officials have issued the highest-level hazardous material warning in Kentucky after the derailment of a freight train. The train, which was carrying chemicals including hydrogen chloride and hydrochloric acid, derailed in West Point, the Courier-Journal reports. A highway has been closed across two counties, and residents are being evacuated. Thus...

Ohio Train Derailment: 'Like Sun Exploded'

It could have been much worse, Columbus mayor says

(Newser) - Life imitating Super 8? National Transportation Safety Board investigators are probing a train derailment that caused a fire and several spectacular explosions in Columbus, Ohio, early yesterday morning, the AP reports. Sixteen of the train's 98 cars, including three carrying 30,000 gallons of ethanol each, came off the...

3 Missing After Trains Collide in Oklahoma

Union Pacific Railroad collision sparks fire in remote area

(Newser) - Three Union Pacific Railroad crewmembers were missing after two freight trains collided today in Oklahoma. An eastbound train carrying vehicles and a westbound train crashed about 10:08 a.m. near Goodwell in western Oklahoma, Union Pacific regional spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza said. A two-person crew was aboard each train, and...

Teen Loses Her Legs in Train-Hop Stunt

She worried her parents would be mad

(Newser) - A Colorado teenager lost both her legs below the knee when she tried to jump onto a moving freight train with her friends and slipped under the rails. One of her friends pulled her out and a nurse who happened to be passing applied tourniquets to her limbs, reports the...

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