Heavy snow derailed a Norwegian train between Bergen and Oslo on Monday morning; a second train sent in to assist got stuck in snowdrifts, so about 130 passengers were stuck on board for most of the day. No injuries. Ottawa’s light rail expansion project, killed in December, showed some signs of revival last week, but [...]
Developments since my last post: the Industrial Relations Board turned down CN’s request to have the strike declared illegal, and now the federal labour minister is threatening back-to-work legislation unless the strike is settled some time today, CBC News reports. Update, 9:40 PM: That CBC link has been updated throughout the day with new information, [...]
About 2,800 CN conductors and yard workers have been on strike since the 10th; here are some stories about the strike that have accumulated over the past week: A report by Brent Jang in today’s Globe and Mail notes the increasing impact of the strike on CN’s customers; CN is operating with managers at half [...]
Not a good day to be CN. W-Five, CTV’s investigative journalism program, takes a hard look at CN’s safety record in tonight’s edition, in a piece called “Off the Rails,” which I have just finished watching. If you’ve been following CN’s record of newsworthy train accidents — and yes, there have been a few — [...]
At one minute past midnight this morning, 2,800 Canadian National conductors and yard workers represented by the United Transportation Union went on strike after last-minute negotiations failed yesterday. CN is trying to get the strike declared illegal; meanwhile, management is running trains. VIA Rail, Montreal and Toronto commuter services, and several subsidiaries are unaffected for [...]
BNSF: 4Q operating income $942 million, up 18 per cent from 4Q 2005; earnings per diluted share were $1.42, up 26 per cent from 4Q 2005. Annual operating income: $3.5 billion. Reuters. Canadian National: 4Q net income was $499 million ($CDN), up 16 per cent; diluted earnings per share 95ยข, up 22 per cent. Net [...]
Via forwarded e-mail, news and photos of another CN accident on the same day as the Lytton derailment: an avalanche hit a CN coal train on what I gather is former BC Rail trackage in northern British Columbia. No injuries or serious issues, just an interesting situation. The original e-mailer, unknown to me, writes: “The [...]
A CN engineer who used to drive GO trains explains the problem behind GO Transit’s move to single-engineer operations (see previous entry). According to him and to a union representative, fatigue — and therefore safety — is the concern, with shifts as long as 12 hours and with no one in the cab to trade [...]
Reuters reports that CN’s Canadian shopworkers, clerical staff and truck drivers have voted overwhelmingly to give their union a strike mandate, but negotiations continue. The union would not be in a legal strike position until the 18th, and CN hopes to have an agreement in place prior to that date. CN’s U.S. employees are not [...]
By any reasonable account, CN’s accident last week on its mainline near Lytton, BC was minor: it was as a result of a rockslide (so not — this time! — CN’s fault); no one was killed or seriously hurt; only diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid were leaked. So, 0 for 3 on culpability, casualties and [...]
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