UTU News Digest - Tuesday, February 1, 2000

UTU Daily News Digest

Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees

Tuesday, February 1, 2000

MINNESOTA: BMWE workers strike DM&IR; other unions honor picket line

DULUTH -- A dispute over family medical leave has triggered a strike against the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railway Co., an action the company termed "illegal,'' the Duluth News Tribune reported.

At 5:30 a.m. Monday, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Local 1710 established picket lines at DM&IR properties in Duluth, Proctor, Two Harbors and several Iron Range cities, said Mark Thudin, general chairman. Local 1710 represents 180 of DM&IR's employees, but 300 to 400 workers affiliated with 15 other unions have honored its picket lines, he said, forcing supervisory personnel to operate company trains.

"An employee was taking time off, as allowed by the Family and Medical Leave Act. The company forced him to use his vacation and paid leave,'' Thudin said. "Our contract is very specific on this. The company violated the contract.''

The dispute caught DM&IR's customers by surprise, said Chuck Williams, external affairs vice president at EVTAC Mining Co. EVTAC relies on the railroad to move ore 12 miles between its Eveleth mine and Forbes processing plant. DM&IR also ships EVTAC taconite pellets to Duluth and Superior, where they are stored or transshipped.

"We're OK for the next couple of days, but then we'd have problems. We'd have to shut the plant down,'' Williams said.

DM&IR also serves Ispat-Inland Mining in Virginia, where a spokesperson was unavailable. A representative of the USX Minntac plant in Mountain Iron said it was too early to assess the situation. Thudin, however, said the company has limited storage capacity and relies on DM&IR to transport taconite for storage in Two Harbors.

Local 1710 -- which represents workers who maintain tracks, bridges, ore docks and buildings -- challenged DM&IR's decision verbally and in writing, Thudin said, to no avail. The railroad's alleged infraction, he said, was too large an issue to address through a grievance.

"We view this as a major dispute, and we can strike under this situation,'' he said. The strike was approved in advance by members of Local 1710 and the union's national office.

DM&IR officials referred all questions to Transtar Inc., a privately held holding company having majority ownership positions in DM&IR, six other railroad companies and the USS Great Lakes Fleet Inc.

"We believe that this work stoppage is illegal and the issues involved should be resolved through normal grievance procedures,'' Transtar said in a news release. "Discussions are ongoing to attempt to resolve the situation.''

Thudin said no talks are scheduled.

"Management is operating trains at a reduced level. Otherwise, I'm not sure what they're going to do,'' he said.

Transtar officials declined further comment.

MARYLAND: Coal train traveled at twice speed limit before crash

BLOOMINGTON -- A loaded coal train was traveling more than twice the speed limit when it derailed and plowed into a home, killing a 15-year-old boy, an investigator said Monday, the Associated Press reported.

Hundreds of rescuers using dogs had to search for about 12 hours through the rubble and tons of spilled coal on Sunday before finding the body of Eddie Lee Rogers in the wreckage of his family's living room.

Coal and wreckage were piled nearly 20 feet deep on the site.

Recorders on the three locomotives showed the CSX train was going about 55 mph down a slight hill in light snowfall, said Russell Quimby, rail safety engineer with the National Transportation Safety Board. The speed limit on that stretch of track is 25 mph, he said.

Derailed cars were scattered in three separate pileups over 2.4 miles, he said.

Investigators did not know why the train was going so fast.

Quimby said the train's conductor has more than 20 years of experience and the engineer has about 30 years' experience and had traveled the route thousands of times.

Officials would not disclose the identity or location of the crew members.

The accident in this small Potomac River town on the West Virginia-Maryland state line about 130 miles west of Baltimore derailed 76 of the train's 80 cars, each loaded with 100 tons of coal, CSX spokeswoman Kathy Burns said today.

The boy's mother, Libby A. Holstein, 35, was in serious condition today at Cumberland Memorial Hospital. Her daughter and two others in the home were not seriously hurt, nor were the train's three crew members, officials said.

The family's two-story home was pushed 25 feet off its foundation.

The train was carrying coal from a mine near Philippi, W.Va., to Potomac Electric Co.'s Bennings power plant near Washington, D.C.

One of the two tracks through the area should be reopened by late Wednesday, said CSX spokesman Gary Wollenhaupt. He said it could take weeks to remove the spilled coal.

WASHINGTON: High-speed rail meets new delay; Acela one year behind schedule

WASHINGTON -- The first of the sleek new European-style 150-mph tilt trains that were supposed to go into service between Washington and Boston last fall may now be delayed further until the summer, according to Amtrak and the consortium building them, the Washington Post reported.

Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Canadian-French partnership building the new trains--Bombardier Inc. of Montreal and Alstom SA of Paris--are scheduled to meet this week to see whether testing and certification can be speeded up.

Officials of Amtrak and the consortium acknowledged that the Amtrak board was informed last week that under current testing schedules, the first of the 20 train sets would not be available for passenger service until mid-July, almost a year after the ambitious initial timetable and later than Amtrak's unofficial "late spring" goal. An official from Amtrak's high-speed project said the board took "strong exception" to the consortium's schedule and ordered it to find a way to have the first train ready earlier.

The Amtrak project official, who did not want to be named, said the railroad will not set a date for starting the service until it is certain there will be no further delays. "We need an unconditional commitment we can have confidence in," he said. "This did not meet the test."

Yesterday, Amtrak took one small step toward higher-speed service with two new four-hour express schedules between New York and Boston using conventional Amfleet passenger cars, shaving almost an hour off current schedules. Amtrak calls the service

"Acela Regional," as opposed to "Acela Express," the new high-speed trains.

The faster four-hour schedules are possible because new electric overhead lines have been completed on at least one of the two tracks north of New Haven, Conn., allowing the use of electric locomotives.

Failure to have the trains ready has hurt Amtrak financially and may threaten its ability to meet a congressional mandate for its operations to be financially self-sufficient by the end of fiscal 2002, even though it would continue to need millions each year for capital costs such as new locomotives.

Amtrak has been counting on an estimated $180 million a year in extra revenue from the trains, which were originally scheduled to take over all premium service between Washington, New York and Boston by the end of this fiscal year, replacing Metroliner service.

Even though the train sets are late, Amtrak went ahead with an advertising campaign called "Life on Acela," keyed to the name chosen for the train. ("Acceleration" plus "excellence" equals "Acela.")

None of the ads, however, mentions that Acela is a train. For example, one shows only a fishbowl with blobs of water leading away from the bowl, apparently because the fish has escaped. It says "Life on Acela" with the seashell-like Acela logo.

An Amtrak spokeswoman said the ads are accomplishing their purpose--getting people to ask what "Acela" is and creating a new brand. "The next phase will be much more educational," she said.

The trains first were hampered by a series of developmental problems, some of them now apparently solved, including excessive wheel wear. Now some of the delay appears to be in a slow-moving testing process.

Among other things, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration are relative novices in certifying the quality and safety of trains that can move so fast, and they are moving cautiously. And although Bombardier and Alstom are veterans at high-speed train building around the world, they must fit their train to a right of way originally laid out in steam locomotive days, rather than brand-new, French-style cross-country track construction.

Jacques Lapare, president of Bombardier's Mass Transit/North America division, said he understands why the FRA would be cautious about its safety obligation. "The problem for them is not the schedule, and rightly so," he said.

But he said FRA and Amtrak seem to want to perform one test, then discuss the data for a few days before performing another test. He said the consortium is anxious to develop a plan to perform two or more tests on the same run and to have no downtime.

In addition, he said Amtrak and the FRA are adding requirements, such as having tests performed on the Boston-New York line when that was not in the original plan.

"This is not a program that's 100 percent in control of the consortium," he said. "The same sense of urgency must be brought down through the organizations."

The time saved from New York to Washington, compared with current Metroliner service, will be minimal, but those who have ridden the new train at high speed in tests say it will provide a much smoother ride.

The main time saving is supposed to come between Boston and New York, where the tilting mechanism will allow higher speeds around the numerous curves along Amtrak's "Shore Line" in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

ILLINOIS: Facts to consider for safer rail crossings

HINSDALE -- The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is soliciting public comment on proposed rules about sounding train horns at grade crossings, the Chicago Tribune reported in an opinion column.

The context to the horn-sounding debate is that Illinois had more deaths at grade crossings last year than any other state in the union. Nearly 200 people have been killed at Illinois grade crossings in the last five years.

In short, we have a public safety problem.

More facts to consider in the debate about train whistles:

Many suburbs have enacted ordinances to ban the nighttime sounding of whistles so their residents may be spared the noise late a night.

Whistle bans increase grade-crossing collisions by 62 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The FRA says that towns wanting to keep a whistle ban must install a substitute safety measure at grade crossings from among a range of measures proven effective in preventing violations.

There is funding available for various safety measures from the federal and state governments. Most railroads are willing to participate in funding safety upgrades along their tracks.

Whatever the safety initiative, it's necessary that action be taken. Given this state's worst-in-the-nation fatality record in 1999, it's not acceptable to just say no to horns and to refuse to do anything else to save lives. The solution is to protect communities from noise and to keep crossings safe.

WASHINGTON: Speed, alcohol may have been factors in crash involving two cars, train

TUKWILA -- Speed and alcohol may have been involved in an unusual two-car/train crash that injured two women late Sunday night, Renton police said yesterday, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported.

One car was going 50 to 60 mph when it slammed into the rear of another vehicle which was stopped at a railroad crossing, a witness told police.

The impact drove the stopped vehicle into the side of the train and it came to a halt wedged partly underneath the train, police spokesman Penny Bartley said.

The train was not moving at the time of the collision, which occurred shortly after 10 p.m. near the intersection of South 180th Street and the West Valley Highway.

Police believe alcohol may have played a role in the accident and are investigating the possibility that the driver of the car that slammed into the stopped vehicle was drinking before the collision, Bartley said.

Police said it could be some time before they are able to determine just how fast the car driven by a 44-year-old SeaTac women was going when it struck the rear of the vehicle driven by a 21-year-old Des Moines woman.

But the witness who estimated the speed of the 44-year-old woman's vehicle at 50 to 60 mph is, by coincidence, a retired accident reconstructionist.

"So his estimate may have some credibility," Bartley said.

The 21-year-old woman whose car was pushed into the train suffered multiple lacerations, but was expected to be released from Harborview Medical Center last night.

The 44-year-old woman was reported in satisfactory condition yesterday at Harborview where she was being treated for a neck injury, hospital spokesman Larry Zalin said.

Authorities did not release the name of either of the drivers involved in the collision.

HUNGARY: Rail strike halts most trains

BUDAPEST -- Hungarian rail workers began an indefinite strike on Tuesday, which halted two thirds of all passenger services and virtually all goods trains, Reuters reported.

"We are running about 30 percent of passenger trains but only 16 goods trains,'' said Zsuzsa Benik, a press spokeswoman for state-run rail company MAV Rt.

"There's no way of saying when the strike will end,'' she said, adding that all international service had been halted by the strike.

Unions representing Hungary's 56,000 rail workers began the strike at midnight on Monday (2300 GMT) after talks with MAV failed to break an impasse over salaries and other benefits.

Talks were due to resume later on Tuesday, but there has been little sign of compromise as the loss-making state rail company has stuck firm to an 8.5 percent wage offer for this year, which has been rejected by the three main rail unions.

Janos Borsik, vice president of the drivers' union Mozdonyvezetok Szakszervezet (MoSZ) accused MAV of creating a "tragi-comic situation'' by signing draft agreements that the rail company's management knew in advance would be rejected.

Marton Kukely, MAV's chief executive, said the company had made the workers an unprecedented offer, which would guarantee wage hikes keeping pace with inflation for the next three years.

He also said MAV would do its best to serve passengers by running more than 800 trains a day, but he told MTI the workers "must take the responsibility for this emerging conflict.''

Press reports said that about 75 percent of MAV employees had shown up for work but service was severely crippled in any event because of a near-complete walkout by the drivers' union.

Unions were quoted as saying they had funds to keep up a strike for several weeks, if necessary.

Hungary is one of the main rail links between western and eastern Europe and an extended strike would force shippers to find other, more costly modes of transport.

Hungary's intercity bus company Volanbusz Ltd. said it would run an additional 74 daily coaches for the duration of the strike, for a total of 900 daily trips.

Slovakia said it would continue to operate international trains bound for Hungary but only as far as the border, MTI reported.

VIRGINIA: NS promotes economic growth with industrial development initiatives

NORFOLK -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) participated in the location of 89 new industries and provided support for the expansion of 35 additional industries along its rail lines in 1999.

The new plants and expansions represent an investment of $2.84 billion by NS customers and are expected to create 7,892 jobs while generating some 114,000 new carloads of rail traffic annually.

The industrial development projects include facilities involved in the production or handling of automobiles and parts, plastics, scrap metal, steel, food products, chemicals, paper, cement, lumber and construction materials.

Two of 1999's largest projects involved plant expansions by BMW at Greer, S.C., and Mercedes-Benz at Vance, Ala. Other major automotive projects include new General Motors Corp. auto parts distribution centers at Charlotte, N.C., Chattanooga, Tenn., and Dayton, Ohio.

Additional projects include new steel processing facilities for Duferco at Farrell, Pa., and Chaparral Steel at Petersburg, Va.; and the expansion of a steel coating facility for PRO-TEC Coating Co. at Leipsic, Ohio.

The 1990s marked the 100th anniversary of NS' Industrial Development department. During the past decade alone, NS participated in the location or expansion of 1,115 industries, which invested $21.8 billion and created nearly 56,000 jobs in the territory served by the railroad.

TEXAS: U.P. awards $10 million composite crosstie contract

HOUSTON -- North American Technologies Group, Inc. announced today in a press release the signing of a two-year contract with the Union Pacific Railroad Company for the supply of its TieTek Composite Railroad Crossties.

The contract represents potential revenues of more than $10,000,000 for TieTek, a wholly owned subsidiary of NATK.

This contract is the culmination of NATK's six-year development and commercialization program of its composite railroad crosstie, and provides the base load for TieTek's first automated manufacturing line scheduled to begin production in mid 2000. TieTek has produced more than 6000 ties that have been tested and installed in nine states and overseas. The composite crossties are produced with a patented, proprietary technology from a combination of recycled raw materials.

In addition to in-track testing by the Union Pacific and several other railroads, the ties have successfully performed at the Federal Railroad Administration's Transportation Technology Center at Pueblo, Colorado where they have accumulated more than 200 million gross tons of 39 ton axle load traffic and continue to operate with no problems.