Railroad Antitrust
BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway, CST Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad have been sued 29 times this week, around the country, in antitrust complaints accusing them of fixing prices on freight charges.
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Railroad Antitrust
Motiva Enterprises claims BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific Railroad “made billions of dollars by fixing prices for fuel surcharges from July 2003 to Dec. 31, 2008,” in federal court.
Read moreJudge Asked to Put Brakes on Illinois Freight Train Crew Rule
Freight train organizations want a federal judge to prevent Illinois from enforcing a law that sets a minimum of two people per crew because they say it violates federal law and there is no evidence the new rule would improve safety.
Read moreDon’t Blame Us for Wildfire Still Under Investigation, Railroad Tells Feds
Though the 416 Fire has sparked three lawsuits against it, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad maintains its coal-powered train did not spark the 54,000 acre wildfire across southwestern Colorado last summer.
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The BNSF Railway sued the cities of Edmond and Davis, Okla., and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, claiming the state’s “Blocked Crossing Statute,” limiting the time a railroad can block a road crossing, is pre-empted by federal law.
Read moreShareholder Class Action
Genesee & Wyoming shareholders claim in a federal class action that directors are selling the short-line railroad company too cheaply through an unfair process to Brookfield Infrastructure, for $112 per share or $6.5 billion.
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France Will Implement an ‘Ecotax’ on Plane Tickets From 2020
The French government will implement an “ecotax” on plane tickets for flights departing from France from next year.
Read moreDutch Railway Company to Pay Reparations for WWII Transports
Dutch national railway company NS says it will pay reparations to Jews, Roma and Sinti whom it transported to camps in the Netherlands during World War II — from where they were sent to Nazi concentration camps.
Read moreTrump Kills Safety Rule Against Train Explosions
The Trump administration said Thursday it was withdrawing a proposal for freight trains to have at least two crew members, nullifying a safety measure drafted under President Barack Obama in response to explosions of crude oil trains in the United States and Canada.
Read moreNTSB Issues Final Report on Deadly Amtrak Derailment
A deadly 2017 Amtrak derailment in Washington state was caused by a dangerous curved track and the railway’s failure to use technology designed to automatically brake ahead of such curves, according to a final report adopted Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Read moreEU Magistrate Lashes Out at Residency Rules for Online Debits
Taking aim at the German railway Deutsche Bahn on Thursday, an EU magistrate said customers should not have to be German residents to buy tickets online via direct debit.
Read moreRails to Trails
The Court of Federal Claims refused to dismiss a challenge by landowners to a rail-to-trail conversion.
Read moreNeighbors Find Light-Rail Plan Less Than Utopian
Frank Lloyd Wright began calling his idealized vision of an American community “Usonia” in the 1930s and the Usonian homes he built then were affordable and simple, and showcased the influential architect’s utopian vision.
Read moreJudge Says Rail Repairs Didn’t Harm Wetlands
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A state judge ruled against an environmental group’s objections to repairs to a rail line, paving
Read moreHigh Court Calls Lost Wages Taxable in 7-2 Railway Ruling
Justice Brett Kavanaugh split from the conservative wing of the Supreme Court to join an opinion Monday that finds compensation to an injured railway worker qualifies as taxable wages.
Read moreEU Blocks Merger Deal to Create European Rail Giant
European Union authorities on Wednesday blocked a deal to create a rail giant that could compete with China, angering France and Germany, which vowed to change the way the EU works.
Read moreKoreas Break Ground on Railways but Sanctions Block Project
North and South Korea broke ground Wednesday on an ambitious project to modernize North Korean railways and roads and connect them with the South, but without progress in nuclear negotiations, regular trains won’t be crossing the border anytime soon.
Read moreNorth Carolina Residents Sue Rail Giant Over Florence Woes
Residents of Lumberton, a small city near the North Carolina coast, claim in court that the CSX railroad’s refusal to allow officials to berm an rail underpass ahead of Hurricane Florence allowed a catastrophic flood to submerge their homes and businesses.
Read moreDurango Railroad Sued Over 54,000-Acre Fire
Residents of Durango sued the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Company over claims it caused a 54,000-acre fire earlier this summer.
Read moreLondon’s Crossrail Railway Delays Opening Until Fall 2019
Crossrail, the new east-west London railway designed to bring relief to jam-packed commuters, announced Friday that it is postponing its scheduled December opening by the better part of a year.
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