Latest freight railroad layoffs and Wall Street pressure renew concerns about safety and service

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. All the major freight railroads — and the Ancora Holdings investors targeting Norfolk Southern — have repeatedly stressed they are committed to improving safety, especially after last year's disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. “It would undercut safety and be the opposite of good business, the opposite of fulfilling the common carrier obligation, and the opposite of meeting the Congressional commandment to serve the public.” Ancora maintains that Norfolk Southern is misrepresenting its plans to regulators and investors as the railroad's board tries to recruit support for CEO Alan Shaw and his strategy of keeping more workers on hand during a downturn so the railroad will be better prepared to handle the eventual rebound in shipments. The BNSF layoffs prompted a letter from the Transportation Trades Department labor coalition urging the Federal Railroad Administrator to step up inspections because unions believe these latest cuts — even though they are relatively small compared to the railroad's more than 37,000 workers — will make it even harder for the railroad to complete required repairs and inspect its locomotives and railcars. "We consider safety in every decision we make.” Amit Bose, who leads the Federal Railroad Administration, said Union Pacific's furloughs since Vena took over “makes me question UP’s commitment to safety.” But Vena responded in a letter of his own Friday that “Union Pacific will never compromise the safety of our employees or of the communities where we operate.” He said Bose's comments were misleading because he lumped together seasonal track worker layoffs with the furloughs of less than 100 mechanical workers last fall after shipping volume slowed.