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☆ Here's how a government shutdown could impact travel this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-20 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is A Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The looming specter of a government shutdown could spell delays for holiday travelers this year. A shutdown could also translate to $1 billion per week in losses to the American travel economy, according to the U.S. Travel Association. People opting to travel by car could also face longer trips, even though the nation’s highways aren’t immediately affected by a government shutdown in any meaningful way. AAA said it projected that roughly 119 million people would trek 50 miles or more from home during the holidays, from Dec. 21 until Jan. 1 — an increase of about 3 million travelers from a year before. “This year, with Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday, we’re anticipating record-breaking travel numbers the weekend before and the weekend after the holiday,” Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement this month.

Persons: isn’t, David P, Pekoske, Joe Biden’s, callouts, we’re, ” Stacey Barber Organizations: Transportation Security, U.S . Travel Association, The, Federal Aviation Administration, TSA, Dallas, Fort Worth International Airport, Tourism Economic, Rail, Amtrak, Federal Railroad Administration, of Railroad Safety, AAA, AAA Travel Locations: U.S, aren’t

☆ What the proxy fight at Norfolk Southern means for railroad safety
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The fight has split the railroad’s unions, who disagree which management team – the current Norfolk Southern leadership or one proposed by activist investor Ancora Holdings – would be best for safety and the railroad’s employees. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, third from left, listens to testimony during a hearing held by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on March 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony on "Improving Rail Safety in response to the East Palestine Derailment." BLET said that Orr’s appointment shows that Norfolk Southern is committed to additional use of PSR, no matter which side wins the the proxy fight. On February 3rd, a Norfolk Southern Railways train carrying toxic chemicals derailed causing an environmental disaster.

Persons: Alan Shaw, Amit Bose, Win McNamee, Bose, ”, “, Jeremy Ferguson, Shaw, “ Shaw, Jerry Sturdivant, John Orr, BLET, Michael Swensen, Jim Barber, Glass Lewis, Ancora Organizations: New, New York CNN, Norfolk, Norfolk Southern, Ancora Holdings, PSR, Federal Railroad Administration, Senate Commerce, Science, Transportation, Shaw, SMART, of Locomotive Engineers, Trainmen, NS, Canadian Pacific, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Way Employees, Norfolk Southern Railways, Teamsters, UPS, CSX, Union Pacific Locations: New York, Norfolk Southern, Atlanta, East Palestine , Ohio, Norfolk, East Palestine, Washington ,, Canadian Pacific Kansas, Palestine, ”, NS

☆ U.S. Finalizes Rule Requiring Two-Person Crews on Freight Trains
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Mark Walker | More About Mark Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal regulations had not previously specified a minimum crew size, but the nation’s largest freight railroads typically have two workers on each train, an engineer and a conductor. The Federal Railroad Administration proposed requiring two-person crews in 2022, arguing that doing so would improve safety. The issue received further attention after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed last year in East Palestine, Ohio, putting the issue of railroad safety in the spotlight. A bipartisan rail safety bill introduced in Congress in response to the derailment included a requirement for two-person crews, though the legislation has stalled. The Norfolk Southern train, which investigators believe derailed because of an overheated wheel bearing, had three crew members on board: an engineer, a conductor and a conductor trainee.

Organizations: Biden, Federal Railroad Administration, Norfolk, Norfolk Southern Locations: Norfolk Southern, East Palestine , Ohio

Part of the order essentially directed the environmental, health and transportation officials to continue doing what they are doing to make sure Norfolk Southern fulfills its responsibilities and report on the progress. Norfolk Southern has also promised to pay for upgrading East Palestine's parks and water treatment center. Norfolk Southern has also said it will establish funds to pay for lost home values, any long-term health concerns and water contamination issues that result from the derailment. “From the beginning, Norfolk Southern has committed to making it right in East Palestine and covering all costs associated with the clean-up. “This is an overdue but welcomed step to support the people of East Palestine,” said Brown.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Mike DeWine, Dan Tierney, “, Jessica Conard, Jami Wallace, Sen, Sherrod Brown, ”, Brown, aren't, Patrick Orsagos Organizations: Norfolk Southern, FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Ohio Gov, Southern, Norfolk, Ohio, East, East Palestine Unity Council, Norfolk Southern ., Associated Press Locations: Ohio, Pennsylvania, East Palestine, Norfolk Southern, Palestine, Norfolk, Atlanta, Norfolk Southern . U.S, Columbus , Ohio

Norfolk Southern announced new details Monday about its plan to compensate East Palestine residents for lost home values since the fiery derailment disrupted life in the eastern Ohio town in February. Already, the railroad estimates that the cleanup will cost more than $800 million, which includes $74 million that Norfolk Southern has pledged to East Palestine to help the town recover. “This is another step in fulfilling our promise to East Palestine to make it right. “I intend to keep the pressure on Norfolk Southern to make things right for the community,” he said. Senators who proposed a package of railroad safety reforms after the derailment that is still awaiting a vote, said he remains skeptical of Norfolk Southern.

Persons: it's, ”, Alan Shaw, Texas Sen, Ted Cruz, JD Vance, Vance, “, Jami Wallace, hasn't, ” Wallace, Wallace, It’s Organizations: Norfolk Southern, Ohio Attorney, Republican, Norfolk, U.S, Senators, Unity Council Locations: Palestine, Ohio, East Palestine, Norfolk Southern, Texas

☆ Another cultish cost-saving formula gets off-track
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Despite its multiple interpretations and approaches, success is widely gauged by a railway’s operating ratio, a simple measure of how much it spends to make a buck. Union Pacific’s peers improved similarly, indicative of the antiquated ways the industry had been deploying resources. Union Pacific also found itself unable to bring back enough furloughed workers in areas where they were most needed. “In a significant departure from the railroad industry's recent past, we deliberately moved away from a singular focus on operating ratio,” he told lawmakers. “If we wanted to drive [operating ratio] lower over time, we could,” the board wrote in a letter to shareholders in late 2021.

☆ Norfolk Southern and Other Freight Railroads Agree to Join Federal Close-Call Reporting System
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Esther Fung | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment has led to more scrutiny of railroad safety practices. Norfolk Southern Corp. and its rivals said Thursday they have agreed to join a federal system that lets employees confidentially report close calls, a program the biggest freight railroads had refused to join for years. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday had asked the chief executives of the seven so-called Class 1 railroads— Union Pacific Corp., Norfolk Southern, BNSF Railway, CSX Corp., Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., Canadian National Railway Co. and Kansas City Southern—to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s close-call reporting system.

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