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Table of Contents
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.”
Safety Inspector Fired For Finding 'Too Many Defects' Could Cost Railroad Millions
Newly released recordings bring to light a culture of ignoring safety in favor of profit
Collin Woodard - 8 September 2023 11:30AM
You would think that if you worked as a track inspector for a railroad company, reporting defects would make you good at your job. After all, wouldn’t the company want to know where its trains should slow down and where repairs need to be made? Ignoring those problems would be a recipe for train derailments that could cost the company a lot of money and could injure or even kill employees. According to former track inspector Don Sanders, you would be wrong, at least if you work for Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
KSTP-TV reports Sanders had previously sued BNSF back in 2017, claiming he was retaliated against after he reported “too many defects.” The jury found in his favor, and BNSF is currently appealing the multi-million-dollar judgment. This isn’t the first time BNSF found itself in court, either. After a train derailed back in March, the news channel “…found BNSF had repeatedly been sanctioned or admonished in court for destroying evidence or retaliating against employees.”
https://jalopnik.com/safety-inspector-fired-for-finding-too-many-defects-cou-1850817520
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
Rail to Trail Conversion
California
An old rail track in Northern California could become a 300-mile hiking trail
Lila Seidman, Staff Writer - April 6, 2024 5 AM PT
More than a century ago, a railroad was constructed to shuttle passengers and redwood logs between San Francisco and Humboldt Bay.
Now the since-abandoned train track could be transformed into a 307-mile pathway through remote, wild country along California’s North Coast, a move advocates hope will create a world-class outdoors destination and jump-start the economy.
The Great Redwood Trail moved closer to realization this week with the release of a document mapping out the planning, construction and management of the trail in Mendocino, Trinity and Humboldt counties, or the northern portion of the envisioned path. Segments in Sonoma and Marin counties will be planned separately.
“I would put it in the category of the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail — these large, landscape-scale trails that provide an experience for people to see areas that they just would never have access to otherwise,” said Caryl Hart, chair of the California Coastal Commission and board member of the Great Redwood Trail Agency, which is tasked with developing the path.