Americans' appetite for Amtrak service growing

While politicians can’t agree on much, Iowans and the majority of Americans surely agree on one thing: They want more Amtrak service, not less. On the heaviest traveled passenger rail corridor in the nation, the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak keeps breaking ridership records. But [...]

SSA, RRB benefits to rise by only 1.5 percent

WASHINGTON – Social Security benefits for nearly 58 million people will increase by 1.5 percent next year, the government announced Wednesday. The increase is among the smallest since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975. It is small because consumer prices haven’ [...]

Boardman to Senate: Invest in NEC

The Northeast Corridor is a national transportation asset and Congress should stop taking it for granted, Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Boardman told a Senate committee yesterday. The corridor is aging, failure prone and lacks redundant systems to keep it o [...]

Hersman, Hart retain NTSB seats

On Monday, Deborah Hersman was sworn in to serve a third two-year term as chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Chair since 2009, Hersman was nominated for a third term by President Barack Obama on Aug. 1 and the nomination was confirmed by the Senate [...]

Pueblo steaming toward Amtrak stop

Support for saving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief passenger train and making Pueblo a route stop is picking up steam. The Pueblo Area Council of Governments passed a resolution Thursday pushing the importance and need for Pueblo to be added on to the Southeastern Colorado route, an [...]

SMART TD travel agency has two trips on horizon

Landfall Travel, the official travel agency of the UTU Alumni Association, is offering two trips to Transportation Division members and retirees in the coming year. The first offering is an Alaskan cruise aboard the Golden Princess. This eight-day cruise leaves from Seattle, [...]

Four elevated to Transportation Division office

Following the retirement of former SMART Transportation Division President Mike Futhey and former Transportation Division Board of Appeals member Don Seyer, four members have been elevated to new International office positions. Following a meeting of the Transportation Divisi [...]

Man assaults women, conductor near train station

OAKLAND — A man who randomly walked up to two women and punched them in the face, punched a train conductor, then pulled a knife on a witness who tried to help, was arrested Thursday afternoon near the Amtrak station at Jack London Square, police said. The 40-year-old m [...]