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Transportation

Railway supply industry news round-up

Transportation via Railway Gazette
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This week’s global railway supply chain news from Railway Gazette International. Stadler has begun construction of a SFr40m rolling stock commissioning centre at Weinfelden, close to the company’s headquarters in Bussnang. Designed by MP Architektur, it will have a main hall 210 m long, 35 m wide and 16 m high with four indoor tracks and one outdoor track. There will also be office space, meeting rooms, staff areas, workshop and storage facilities for final assembly, and a paint finishing team. Opening is planned for the first half of 2028. ‘The fact that we need an additional commissioning centre demonstrates how positively our Swiss sites have developed’, said Lucius Gerig, Head of Division Switzerland. ‘At the same time, this investment will create around 80 new jobs in the region.’ Siemens Mobility announced on November 4 that it had completed the acquisition of key wayside signalling, electrification, telecoms, diagnostics and analytics businesses from MerMec Group. ‘By combining our complementary capabilities in signaling, diagnostics, and asset intelligence, we are enhancing the value we deliver to customers worldwide while further expanding our industrial footprint in Italy’, said Michael Peter, President of Siemens Mobility. The deal excludes MerMec’s investments in Angelstar, Mont Saint Michel with its subsidiary Compagnie des Signaux and CSEE DE (formerly MerMec Deutschland). Polish train seat manufacturer Recaro Rail has appointed Izabela Kubicka as Chief Operating Officer with effect from November 1. She will have responsibility for improving operational performance and efficiency and establishing scalable structures to support the company’s growth. As part of plans to target the EU station and airport LED and LCD screen market, Xcellence Display Solutions has appointed Tim de Ruiter as Commercial Director EU and Martin Ware as Managing Director EU. The Rail Baltica Health & Safety Industry Day took place on November 4, bringing together infrastructure experts, construction industry representatives and health and safety professionals in Riga and online. The ‘Building Safety Culture: Health & Safety on Europe’s Largest Construction Sites’ event explored how leadership, co-operation between contractors, emerging technologies and lessons from major European infrastructure projects could contribute to safer construction environments.

This week’s global railway supply chain news from Railway Gazette International.

Stadler has begun construction of a SFr40m rolling stock commissioning centre at Weinfelden, close to the company’s headquarters in Bussnang. Designed by MP Architektur, it will have a main hall 210 m long, 35 m wide and 16 m high with four indoor tracks and one outdoor track. There will also be office space, meeting rooms, staff areas, workshop and storage facilities for final assembly, and a paint finishing team. Opening is planned for the first half of 2028. ‘The fact that we need an additional commissioning centre demonstrates how positively our Swiss sites have developed’, said Lucius Gerig, Head of Division Switzerland. ‘At the same time, this investment will create around 80 new jobs in the region.’

Siemens Mobility announced on November 4 that it had completed the acquisition of key wayside signalling, electrification, telecoms, diagnostics and analytics businesses from MerMec Group. ‘By combining our complementary capabilities in signaling, diagnostics, and asset intelligence, we are enhancing the value we deliver to customers worldwide while further expanding our industrial footprint in Italy’, said Michael Peter, President of Siemens Mobility. The deal excludes MerMec’s investments in Angelstar, Mont Saint Michel with its subsidiary Compagnie des Signaux and CSEE DE (formerly MerMec Deutschland).

Polish train seat manufacturer Recaro Rail has appointed Izabela Kubicka as Chief Operating Officer with effect from November 1. She will have responsibility for improving operational performance and efficiency and establishing scalable structures to support the company’s growth.

As part of plans to target the EU station and airport LED and LCD screen market, Xcellence Display Solutions has appointed Tim de Ruiter as Commercial Director EU and Martin Ware as Managing Director EU.

The Rail Baltica Health & Safety Industry Day took place on November 4, bringing together infrastructure experts, construction industry representatives and health and safety professionals in Riga and online. The ‘Building Safety Culture: Health & Safety on Europe’s Largest Construction Sites’ event explored how leadership, co-operation between contractors, emerging technologies and lessons from major European infrastructure projects could contribute to safer construction environments.

Source: Railway Gazette

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Transportation

Dhaka metro construction contracts signed

BANGLADESH: Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd signed four depot and civil works contract packages for metro lines 1 and 5 on October 27. The construction of both lines was officially launched in 2023, but only depot development, land surveys and some site clearance works have been undertaken so far. Line 1 branch When completed, Line 1 will be 31.2 km long, comprising an underground route from Dhaka Kamalapur to the city’s Airport and a mostly elevated branch to Purbachal Terminal in the northeast of the capital. Contract package 02 has been awarded to a Chinese joint venture of Sinohydro and SEBCL. This covers the construction of facilities at the Pitalganj depot site beyond the Purbachal terminus, including the workshops and operations control centre. Contract package 07 has been awarded to a consortium of China Railway Engineering Corp with Bangladeshi companies MIL and MBEC. This covers civil works for 5 km of elevated guideway structures and three stations on the section of line from north of Nadda to east of Mostul. On October 1 the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved four more contract packages for work on Line 1, which are expected to be awarded in the coming months. These comprise the tunnelled sections of the core route from Rampura to Notun Bazar and from Nadda to the Airport, along with the provision of the track and electrical systems, signalling, telecomms and platform screen doors. Six more packages have yet to be approved. Line 5 elevated portion Line 5N is the so-called Northern Route, which will run for 20 km from Bhatara in the east to Hemayetpur in the western suburbs, interchanging with Line 1 at Notun Bazar and Line 6 at Mirpur 10. Construction of this line has been divided into 10 contract packages. Contract package 02 has been awarded to a joint venture of Bangladesh’s Concord Pragati Consortium and South Korea’s Hanil Engineering and Construction. This covers civil and building works at the future Hemayetpur depot. The CP-03 contract for Line 5N has also been awarded to the Chinese-Bangladeshi CREC-MIL-MBEC consortium. It covers civil works for 6.5 km of elevated structures and five stations, split between the Hemayetpur – Amin Bazar section in the west and Natun Bazar – Bhatara to the east. While the outer ends of Line 5N will be elevated, the central section from Amin Bazar to Natun Bazar will run underground. Contracts for this section have yet to be awarded. See also Work starts on Dhaka’s second metro line Bangladesh’s first metro line opens Dhaka metro expansion reaches next stage

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Transportation

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Humor is good,’ Union Pacific CEO says of video rate threat

The chief executive of Union Pacific says he wasn’t serious when he threatened to raise rates for shippers that didn’t support UP’s merger with Norfolk Southern. Vena, who frequently peppers his public comments with joking asides, characterized the comment made to a shippers group as “a little humor” in a message to FreightWaves Thursday over social media. “Humor is good,” Vena said. UP (NYSE: UNP) sought to keep confidential a video that captured Vena’s comments to the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers at its annual conference in Houston in March. Rival Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE: CP) sought its public release, arguing that Vena’s remarks allegedly threatening higher rates for shippers opposing the merger had chilled participation in the regulatory proceeding. The Surface Transportation Board agreed and ordered its release as part of the merger evaluation process. UP released the video Thursday. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); In concluding his talk, Vena said, “If we don’t do that [merge], Union Pacific will still be there. And if I stick around, which I probably will, I’ll probably increase everybody’s rates that said they didn’t want a seamless railroad by three or four extra percent to teach you a lesson. Thank you very much.” Vena told FreightWaves he wasn’t making a threat, and that some in the industry opposed to the merger took the opportunity to make more of the remark than he intended. “Supply chain costs will be less with a seamless railroad,” Vena said. Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox. Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot3', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); Read more: STB orders Union Pacific to make alleged rate hike threat video public Intermodal leads weekly gains as US rail traffic rises 3.5%, says AAR CN 3Q profit rises 6% as freight revenue climbs window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot4', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0'); }); Schneider to shift eastern rail business to Norfolk Southern from CSX The post EXCLUSIVE: ‘Humor is good,’ Union Pacific CEO says of video rate threat appeared first on FreightWaves.

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Transportation

Teamsters say they’ve organized Amazon employees in Indiana; company demurs

The Teamsters are claiming victory for a group of “W-2” drivers at an Amazon facility in Indiana who sought representation by the union. But as with the entire Amazon-Teamsters relationship, it’s complicated. In its prepared statement announcing the “march” on the company to demand it bargain for a contract, the Teamsters said it had unionized Transportation Operations Management (TOM) workers at the OIL9 Amazon facility in Merrillville, Indiana, which is near the state line with southern Illinois. The Teamsters said that earlier it had also organized TOM workers at Amazon’s SDF9 facility in Shepherdsville, KY and the MCI9 facility in Liberty, Mo. TOM drivers move trucks within the borders of an Amazon facility. They are employed by the company, which means they get a W-2 form for tax purposes from Amazon, not a third party contractor. That is unlike the drivers who bring packages to people’s homes, the direct service providers (DSPs). Those drivers are W-2 employees of the DSPs, though the Teamsters have tried–including before the NLRB–to make the case that the control Amazon exerts over the DSPs make the e-commerce giant effectively their employer. Company pushes back Amazon said no such unionization had occurred at the Indiana facility. In response to a query from FreightWaves, Amazon released a prepared statement that said the latest declaration of victory by the Teamsters is part of a “false narrative.” The union, Amazon said, “continues to intentionally mislead the public, claiming to be the bargaining representative of Amazon employees and drivers who deliver on our behalf. Because this union has a track record of misrepresenting the facts, we’re skeptical that their claims here are accurate.” The statement ended by saying “the Teamsters are not a certified bargaining representative at a single Amazon facility.” Process known as card check The key aspect of the successful unionization drive being touted by the union is that it appears to be another Teamsters declaration of victory through the process known as “card check.” Under card check, if a majority of the workers at a company present signed cards to management from employees who say they want to be represented by a specific union, that can be a legitimate start to the process where a company recognizes a collective bargaining unit. In practice, Amazon and its direct service providers–reportedly under strict guidance from Amazon—usually ignore card check petitions. But the card check route has essentially had the backing of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) since August 2023. That month, the board handed down the Cemex precedent in a case involving Cemex Construction Materials Pacific. In an earlier NLRB action also involving the Teamsters and Amazon, Administrative Law Judge Michael Silverstein said in describing the Cemex precedent that “the (NLRB) created a new pathway for labor organizations to obtain recognition without filing a representation petition.” If a majority of the workers in a unit signs authorization cards, that unit “can present the employer with a demand for recognition,” according to ALJ Silverstein’s decision in that case that went the Teamsters’ way. The Teamsters did not respond to emails sent by FreightWaves on its latest statement about unionization. Marching on the boss In the prepared statement announcing the unionization drive, the union said its TOM drivers at a facility in Merrillville had “(marched) on the boss…to demand Amazon recognize their union and bargain a union contract.” The Teamsters has used similar language in other releases where its unionization drive had looked to card check as its route to organizing the rank-and-file, including DSP drivers. With the union avoiding using the term “card check,” the affirmation that there was not a standard NLRB-administered unionization vote in Indiana comes from the lack of any record of such a referendum on the NLRB’s webpage that lists unionization elections administered by the agency. Recent victories through elections On that page, however, there are records of five recent Teamsters elections in the last two months. The Teamsters were successful in four of them, winning at Shelby Transport in Indianapolis, DP World Contract Logistics in Detroit, Comprehensive Logistics in Philadelphia, and MV Transportation in Raleigh, N.C.. The unsuccessful vote came at U.S. Foods in Arizona. Precedent on thin ice A problem with relying on the Cemex precedent as the basis for a unionization drive is that its days may be numbered. It has taken two serious blows in recent months. NLRB General Counsel Crystal Stowe Carey sent a memorandum to NLRB colleagues in August that said she was asking the board to “revisit certain precedents.” One of them was the Cemex case. In March, in a case in the Sixth Circuit between the Teamsters and liquor distiller Brown Forman, a divided appellate court said the NLRB had exceeded its authority when it handed down the Cemex precedent, becoming the first federal court to reject the ruling. But there was no sign of that concern in the Teamsters statement heralding the union action in Merrillville. “Amazon Teamsters are proud to expand our national footprint and welcome OIL9 TOM Team drivers to our movement,” Randy Korgan, director of the Teamsters Amazon division said in the statement. “It is never easy being the first group of workers in a state to join a union, but they are displaying the courage and strength it takes to be a Teamster.” The statement also quoted TOM driver Charles Hurd as saying the company “wasn’t going to listen to us as individuals, so the only option was to join together as Teamsters. We look forward to winning our first union contract.” But as the Amazon workers at the company’s facility in Staten Island, N.Y. can tell Hurd and others–and those Staten Island employees did go through an NLRB-administered vote which was a stunning success–the road to negotiating a contract with Amazon can be long and hard. The company has not yet signed a collective bargaining contract with any union. More articles by John Kingston FMCSA’s Elison addresses Motus again, still no date on full repair TFI chief Bedard rips into its US LTL operations, promises change Transportation committee in House set for overhaul post-election The post Teamsters say they’ve organized Amazon employees in Indiana; company demurs appeared first on FreightWaves.

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