**This is an old revision of the document!**
Rail
Created Sunday 25 July 2021
See also: Transportation | Train
Articles
After Slashing 33% of Workers in 6 Years, Railroads Complain about Labor Shortages, amid Uproar over Slow Shipments
by Wolf Richter • Jul 22, 2021 • 227 Comments
“No way did I realize how difficult it was going to be to try and get people to come to work these days”: CEO of CSX.
So there are few hiccups in the US economy right now. James Foote, the chief executive of CSX, one of the largest railroads in the US, put it this way during the earnings call yesterday (transcript by Seeking Alpha):
“I’ve never seen any kind of a thing like this in the transportation environment in my entire career where everything seems to be going sideways at the same time,” he said.
“In January when I got on this [earnings] call, I said we were hiring because we anticipated growth. I fully expected that by now we would have about 500 new T&E [train and engine] employees on the property,” he said. “No way did I or anybody else in the last six months realize how difficult it was going to be to try and get people to come to work these days.”
Why do railway tracks have crushed stones alongside them?
Published February 19, 2022
It’s probably not something you have ever really thought about, however, the next time you are near a railway track, take a closer look at what sits beneath and alongside a railway track, no matter where you are in the world: crushed stones. These crushed stones are known as ballast, and they serve a number of crucial roles in helping to maintain railway tracks and ensure the safety of the railway vehicles travelling along them.
What is track ballast?
Track ballast is the name given to the rough, sharp-edged stones that are found underneath and alongside railway tracks. They basically form the track bed on which the sleepers are then laid. The track ballast is initially laid on the bare ground, helping to raise the track level (more on this later). Once the ballast has been laid, the sleepers are put into position at equal distances apart and more track ballast is then packed between the sleepers and to the side, ready for the railway tracks themselves to be laid on top.
https://www.alpharail.co.nz/why-do-railway-tracks-have-crushed-stones-alongside-them/
BNSF
A track inspector claimed he was fired for reporting ‘too many defects.’ His secret recordings may cost BNSF millions.
Ryan Raiche KSTP - September 6, 2023 - 5:11 PM / Updated: September 7, 2023 - 9:48 AM
A series of phone calls secretly recorded by a track inspector-turned-whistleblower at Burlington Northern Santa Fe is raising more questions about the safety culture at Minnesota’s largest railroad.
“Why can’t we just fix the (expletive) defects?” an employee is heard saying on one of the calls.
The recordings, which have not been previously reported, are part of a 2017 lawsuit filed in federal court by former track inspector, Don Sanders.
A jury later found BNSF retaliated against Sanders after he claimed he was fired for reporting “too many defects.”
The railroad is currently appealing a multi-million-dollar verdict. BNSF did not respond to requests to comment on the recordings obtained by 5 INVESTIGATES. In a previous statement, a spokesperson said the company “does not retaliate against employees.”
Maps
OpenRailwayMap
Last Update: 9/14/2022, 2:00:00 PM
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?style=standard&lat=51.58248&lon=15.6501&zoom=3