FELA Lawyer News Blog

Archive for the ‘Union Pacific’ Category

FORT WORTH, TX — Several BNSF rail cars carrying coal derailed near downtown Fort Worth Sunday night August 29, around 8:20 pm, interrupting part of the Trinity Railway Express between Fort Worth and Dallas early Monday morning. The BNSF train shares the Union Pacific tracks with TRE, which is co-owned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

A train pulling coal cars derailed east of downtown Fort Worth, TX, Monday Aug. 30, 2010.The incident disrupted a commuter rail line connecting Fort Worth and Dallas. Star-Telegram/David Kent

According to WFFA-TV, several of the train cars could be seen turned over, with a few actually off the tracks. The accident led to some buckling on the tracks as well. As a result, there will be no service between the two TRE stations downtown and the Richland Hills station for the Monday morning rush hour. The transit agency, which is operated jointly by The T and DART, will set up a “bus bridge”from the Richland Hills Station to ferry commuters around the derailment. ... Read More

WHITEWATER, KS – The driver of a semi truck was killed after colliding with a Union Pacific freight train on Kansas Highway 196 (K-196) near Whitewater, Kansas on Tuesday, August 10, 2010.

Semi truck driver killed after colliding with Union Pacific freight train near Whitewater, KS

Whitewater is in Butler County, Kansas in the south-central part of the state about 133 miles southwest of Topeka, about 30 miles northeast of Wichita, about 122 miles southwest of Manhattan and about 50 miles southeast of Hutchinson. ... Read More

INDUSTRY, CA – A Union Pacific train derailed in the City of Industry, CA on Monday, July 12, 2010 at around 10:50 p.m. The derailment occurred along a section of track that runs between Fullerton Road and South Lemon Ave. alongside Valley Blvd.

City of Industry, CA derailment site at railway crossing - Fairway Drive facing east.

The City of Industry is located in Los Angeles, County in southern California about 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles, about 116 miles northwest of San Diego, about 401 miles southeast of San Francisco, about 404 miles southeast of Sacramento and about 47 miles southwest of San Bernardino. ... Read More

NORFOLK, NE – The funeral service for 38-year-old Jeffery Scholl of Norfolk, who died when floodwaters collapsed a bridge over the Elkhorn River, has been set for Tuesday, June 22, at 10:30 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Petersburg. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery.

Railroad worker, Jeffrey Scholl, 38, was killed after bridge collapsed over Elkorn River in NE

Scholl was among three Nebraska Central Railroad workers checking on the railroad bridge in Norfolk last Tuesday when it collapsed, throwing them into the fast-moving current. Two of the workers were pulled out of the river alive. The body of 38-year-old railroad worker Jeff Scholl was found late Thursday or early Friday near the bridge that collapsed into the Elkhorn River. ... Read More

CALDWELL, KS – A Union Pacific train was stuck on a sagging bridge over the Chikaskia River on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 in southern Sumner County just a few miles northeast of Caldwell and about 13 miles southwest of Wellington, Kansas.

Union Pacific train with 66 cars and two locomotives were stranded for hours on a bridge over the Chikaskia River just north of Caldwell Kansas

Caldwell is in Sumner County, Kansas in the southern central part of the state near the Oklahoma border about 28 miles southwest of Wellington, about 248 miles southwest of Kansas City, about 60 miles southwest of Wichita and about 193 miles southwest of Topeka. ... Read More

WASHINGTON DC – On Monday, May 17, 2010, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced the proposal of a rule that would ban the improper use of electronic devices by railroad employees while on duty. The announcement was made by U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in his ongoing campaign to stop distracted driving.

Cell phones and handheld devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs)

A PDF of the Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register can be downloaded here.

The proposed rule is the latest in a number of actions taken by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to combat distracted driving. Secretary LaHood initially announced plans by the DOT to vigorously pursue steps to reduce the risks posed by distracted driving during a Distracted Driving Summit in September 2009. ... Read More

MARSHALL, TX – A Union Pacific train derailed on Monday afternoon, May 3, 2010, in Marshall, Texas. The accident occurred at approximately 1:20 pm in the downtown rail-yard where the Marshall Depot is located, missing the historic Marshall Depot by about 10 feet. The depot is also where the railroad museum and Amtrak station is located.

The Marshall Fire Department reported on the day of the accident that about 14 train cars derailed, and about half were still on their sides. ... Read More

Union Pacific Railroad

OMAHA, NE -  An agreement was struck between the Federal government and the Union Pacific railroad over a 2004 train derailment near San Antonio, Texas in Southwest Bexar County.

The company agreed to pay $581,855 to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for that agency’s response to the incident that released 60 tons of chlorine gas.

The deal was formalized in a lawsuit the Justice Department filed on Friday, April 2, 2010.

On June 28, 2004, a 123-car Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) train was struck from behind by a 74-car Union Pacific (UP) train in Macdona, southwest of San Antonio. Chlorine gas spread to nearby homes from a punctured tank car on the UP train.

In the incident, the UP freight train was traveling westbound about 45 mph when it struck the side of a freight car of an eastbound BNSF Company train.  ... Read More

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS – Gordon &amp Elias, LLP, FELA lawyers, represent a Victoria, Texas railroad employee who sustained a lower back injury due to the negligence of Union Pacific Railroad.

The plaintiff is a 34 year-old machinist who was working for Union Pacific Railroad around Vanderbilt, Texas near mile post 240.

The incident occurred on October 7, 2009. The plaintiff was traveling northbound on the track from Placedo to Vanderbilt, Texas with a tamper machine following behind being operated by another employee of Union Pacific. ... Read More

EL MONTE, CA – A Union Pacific railroad worker was killed by a Metrolink train at the Temple Avenue crossing near Valley Boulevard and the 605 Freeway in El Monte, California. The train accident occurred Saturday morning, March 20, 2010 at about 9:20 am. El Monte is located about 13 1/2 miles east of Los Angeles, in southern California. In the accident, three passengers on the train were also injured, although their injuries were not reported as life threatening.

Site of the Metrolink train crash El Monte, CA that killed a Union Pacific railroad worker and injured three other passengers on the train. Photo Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

The deceased railroad worker, whose name has not been released, was on a railway crossing when the Union Pacific maintenance truck he was sitting in was struck by the Metrolink train. ... Read More