Category: News
FMCSA posts transportation training grants for vets
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) July 3 announced almost $1 million in new grants to help train veterans and military families for jobs in the transportation industry. The grants were awarded to six [...]
Sen. Casey to Congress: Don’t cut Amtrak funding
Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D., Pa.) made a whistle-stop plea July 8 for Congress to block efforts to cut Amtrak funding 31 percent. Casey said $350 million in cuts proposed by House Republicans would cost Amtrak workers their jobs and Amtrak passengers their rides. Read the co [...]Educating the next generation of railroaders
“You’re going to be a high school senior this fall. Any thoughts on a career? College?” “Well, Dad, I think I might like to work for a railroad. It’s a pretty important business, and I hear that the pay and benefits are really good. And I’ve always been interested in trains.” [...]Role of aircraft automation eyed in air crash
WASHINGTON – The crash landing of a South Korean airliner in San Francisco has revived concerns that airline pilots get so little opportunity these days to fly without the aid of sophisticated automation that their stick-and-rudder skills are eroding. The National Transportat [...]Train disaster spurs rail vs. pipeline debate
A train disaster that killed five people in Quebec promises to touch off debate over the safety of shipping crude oil by rail or pipelines such as TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL. As authorities began investigating the explosion of refinery-bound tank cars hauled by Mon [...]
Futhey to step down following arbitration proceedings
At the conclusion of the SMART Transportation Division’s Boston regional meeting July 3, Transportation Division President Mike Futhey announced he will step down from office, pending resolution of arbitration proceedings regarding the union’s constitution. In October 2011, G [...]Three confirmed dead in freight train explosion
QUEBEC – The official death toll has grown to three Lac-Mégantic, Que., one day after a derailed train carrying crude oil exploded in the town’s core, levelling buildings and forcing as many as 2,000 people from their homes. Quebec provincial police said two more bodies were [...]Amtrak barred from rulemaking over freight rails
Amtrak’s role in setting on-time performance standards that could trigger U.S. investigations of railroads whose trains get in its way are unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington today said Congress had i [...]