Industry News
Class I Workforce Slips in September
October 23, 2009 | 09:05 a.m. CDT
The U.S. Class I workforce not only shrank for the second-straight month in September, it fell below 150,000 for the first time in many months, reports Progressive Railroading.
According to Surface Transportation Board (STB) data, as of mid-September, the workforce stood at 149,428, down 0.4 percent from mid-August's level and 7.9 percent from September 2008's count. The transportation (other than train and engine) staff of 6,515 registered the largest month-over-month decline at 2.5 percent. The workforce segment also decreased 1.3 percent from September 2008's level. Transportation (train and engine) ranks that totaled 56,592 in mid-September dropped 1 percent from mid-August's count and 14.3 percent from September 2008's level.
At 13,700, professional and administrative staff represented an increase of 1.6 percent on a month-over-month basis and 1.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. However, executives, officials and staff assistants numbered 9,194, down 1 percent from mid-August's level and 8.8 percent from the year-earlier count.
Maintenance of equipment and stores ranks increased 0.3 percent from mid-August's level to 28,326, but decreased 6 percent from September 2008's count.
FRA: Freight Rail Fuel Efficiency Up
Nov. 20, 2009 | 03:05 p.m. CST
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Nov. 19 released a study showing vast improvements in freight rail fuel efficiency over the last two decades, approximately 22 percent between 1990 and 2006. More...
Freight Volume Down During Holiday Week
Nov. 20, 2009 | 02:55 p.m. CST
U.S. railroads reported originating 281,218 carloads for the Veterans Day holiday week ended Nov. 14, down 8.9 percent compared to the same week in 2008 and down 17 percent from from the same week in 2007, reports the Association of American Railroads. More...
New Jersey Transit Joins Safety Pilot Program
Nov. 20, 2009 | 02:40 p.m. CST
New Jersey Transit has started its participation in the Close Call Project, a safety pilot program designed to give rail employees the ability to voluntarily and anonymously report "close call" incidents that could have resulted in an accident but did not. More...
STB: Rails Cut More Jobs
Nov. 18, 2009 | 02:00 p.m. CST
The U.S. lines of the seven Class I railroads trimmed another 408 jobs as of mid-October from a month earlier, taking their total employment level down to a new low. More...
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