UP Raises Surcharge to $5,000 for Small Shippers in Los Angeles

Union Pacific Railroad will increase surcharges on excess contract cargo to $5,000 for small shippers and $1,500 for all other domestic shippers in Los Angeles effective Aug. 30, raising prices again to record territory to divert all equipment and assets to core customers amid a surge in volume that has overwhelmed the western railroad’s network.

UP Taps Richardson as Interim EVP, Chief Legal Officer

Union Pacific Railroad last week named Craig Richardson interim executive vice president and chief legal officer. Richardson is responsible for overseeing legal affairs, including commercial transactions and litigation, regulatory matters, labor and employment.

Trump Designates NTSB Vice Chair Landsberg for New Three-Year Term

President Donald Trump has designated National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg to continue to serve in the position for a new three-year term. Landsberg began a five-year appointment as an NTSB board member on Aug. 7, 2018, and on that same day began a two-year term as the board's vice chairman.

Railways See Untapped Potential in Atlantic Canada Ports

Canadian Pacific and CN are vying to be the top freight railroad in Eastern Canada, with both companies seeing the Atlantic Canada ports as having untapped potential. The ports at Saint John and Halifax have access not only to Eastern and Central Canada, but also to the coveted U.S. Midwestern market and the Eastern U.S. CN has access to both ports, while CP — with its recent acquisition of the Central Maine and Quebec Railway — has direct access to Port Saint John.

Settlement in $48.9 Million Class-Action Suit Against Railway Suppliers Approved

A class-action lawsuit against several railway equipment suppliers has received final court approval. Agreement on a final settlement of the suit between Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. (Wabtec), Knorr-Bremse AG and subsidiaries and law firms Hartley LLP and Fine Kaplan and Black was achieved in February. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Judge Joy Flowers Conti signed off on the final settlement on August 26.