Memphis Central Station remains halted after threat of nationwide railroad strike

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Despite a tentative agreement Thursday to stop the nationwide strike on our nation’s freight trains, some train stations are still at a halt Friday morning.

In just under an hour, the train from Memphis to New Orleans would be taking off from at Central Station. That train departure has been marked as canceled for the past few days.

Many Amtraks across the country have been canceled this week after the company got word of a potential railroad strike.

The strike was announced by two rail unions with more than 50,000 engineers and conductors over staffing shortages and scheduling rules.

Thursday President Joe Biden announced the deal averting the strike. The deal comes with a 24% pay raise for union workers, with back pay, for the years 2020 through 2024.

This is in exchange for a “cool-off” period for several weeks.

The deal also gives railroad workers $1,000 cash bonuses each of these years and new scheduling rules.

Officials say if this deal wouldn’t have been reached before Friday, the strike would have caused an economic disaster.

Amtrak officials say they’re working to restore all routes that have been canceled due to the potential strike.

While the New Orleans train remains canceled, a later train, from the Memphis Central Station to Chicago, scheduled for 10 p.m. is marked as on time on Amtrak’s website.

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