Csx

A CSX Corp. coal pier in Baltimore is out of service for the foreseeable future as the railroad assesses the "substantial" damage caused by a ship that hit the structure. The Bayside Coal Pier, on Benhill Avenue in Curtis Bay, was struck Saturday by a tanker headed for a dock up the channel — an unusual accident that could cause ripple effects for coal shipping. CSX said an employee was injured in the incident, hospitalized and later released. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company estimates in a federal lawsuit that the Wawasan Ruby, owned by Panama-based Trio Happiness S.A., caused more than $5 million in damage, both to the property and in revenue loss.

A CSX Corp. train collided with a vehicle Wednesday in Rosedale, injuring the car's driver, shortly before the car on another CSX train derailed in Woodstock, according to CSX and fire officials. The incidents were not related but occurred within minutes of each other and closed roads in Baltimore and Howard counties, officials said. About 12:30 p.m., an intermodal CSX train collided with a vehicle at the railway's intersection with Schaefer's Lane near Pulaski Highway, according to Bob Sullivan, a CSX spokesman.

Two freight trains collided shortly after 2 a.m. Friday while attempting to maneuver the rail line inside a CSX yard in Jessup, Howard County fire officials said. Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services responded to the 8400 block of Dorsey Run Road for reports of a train derailment at approximately 2:10 a.m., officials said. The conductors were the only two people on board at the time of the accident, and there were no injuries reported, according to officials.

CSX Corp. said Thursday that it would hire more than 140 employees in Maryland this year. The new employees, who will be based primarily in Baltimore and Cumberland, will operate trains and maintain tracks, locomotives and rail cars. The company maintains nearly 1,400 miles of track in Maryland and operates facilities in Baltimore, Cumberland, Hagerstown and Jessup. Applications are available on the company's website. CSX said it recruited military veterans, with nearly one in five of its employees having served in the armed forces.

I find it interesting that letters of support for the proposed CSX rail transfer facility (aka the freight yard) were from residents of Ellicott City and Fulton, locations far removed from the proposed freight yard sites. I live close to the proposed Elkridge/Hanover site. It appears that the combined negative impact on the proposed Jessup, Montevideo and Beltsville locations is less than that on the Elkridge/Hanover location. What's needed is a fair and open assessment of all the proposed sites, which includes appropriate weighting of the negative residential impact.

Two CSX freight trains -- one passing through Baltimore, the other through Baltimore County -- struck pedestrians within 35 minutes in separate incidents early Sunday, a spokesman for the train line said. The first incident occurred at 3:10 a.m. when a 23-car train transferring from the Curtis Bay rail yard to Bayview struck an unidentified pedestrian near M&T Bank Stadium, according to Robert Sullivan, regional spokesman for CSX. The accident occurred in the 1200 block of Russell St. The injured person was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Buoyed by stronger revenues and sharp cost cutting, CSX Corp. yesterday approved an 18 percent quarterly dividend increase and said it would split its common stock 2 for 1.The quarterly dividend on the company's common stock will be increased from 44 cents per share to 52 cents per share prior to the split. The dividend is payable Dec. 15 to stockholders of record on Nov. 24.The record date for the stock split is Dec. 4. On Dec. 21, shareholders will receive one new share of common stock for every one they own. By lowering the price of a common share, the stock split is designed to stimulate more investment in the Richmond, Va.-based transportation giant.

The battle over who should pay for $110 million in health-related insurance claims began yesterday between CSXTransportation Inc. and a group of insurance companies, with both sides arguing the other was responsible for the bill.Neither side disputes the final tab, which stems from more than 20,000 job-related hearing loss claims that have been paid by CSX. The issue, however, is whether the company's insurers should be forced to pay.The case, which began opening arguments in Baltimore County Circuit Court yesterday, stems from a lawsuit originally filed by Continental Insurance Co. and later joined by 18 other insurers.

CSX completed yesterday the cleanup after a train derailment Sunday in Sykesville, a spokesman said. All of the freight cars that derailed were back on the track and ready to move on to their destination, and coal that was spilled in the derailment was cleaned up, said CSX spokesman Dan Murphy. He added that CSX was in the final stages of repairing and resurfacing the track with the goal of resuming train traffic last night. A freight train with two locomotives and 143 cars was traveling from Cumberland to Curtis Bay when about 20 of the cars derailed Sunday morning in Sykesville.

CSX Transportation Inc. will repair the warning signals at the Route 30 railroad crossing near the south end of Hampstead by Nov. 29, more than two weeks after a traffic accident damaged a signal pole and knocked the crossing's red flashing lights out of service.In the meantime, all CSX crews have been operating under a "stop and flag" order, meaning that all trains stop before crossing Route 30 and deploy a flagman to halt traffic, said Kathy Burns, a CSX spokeswoman.The warning devices were damaged Nov. 12. Kenneth F. Russell, chief of the Hampstead Police Department, said town officers have since tried to be in the area of the crossing to assist with traffic safety whenever trains pass through.