National passenger carrier Amtrak released its 2018 Host Railroad Report Card, which grades six of the Class I freight host railroads based on delays caused to Amtrak trains over the last 12 months. The grades ranged from A to F, with Canadian Pacific being the lone recipient [...]
Amtrak announced today that former President and CEO Joseph Boardman, 70, died today after having a stroke March 5: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Joe Boardman.” “Joe, during his tenure as FRA administrator, Amtrak board member and Amtrak president & C [...]
One of two crew members of the CSX freight train that was struck by the Amtrak Silver Star on Feb. 4, 2018, recounted the accident in a segment for CBS’s “60 Minutes” program that was broadcast Sunday night. SMART Transportation Division Local 30 member Michael Cella, 36, the [...]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced last week that Florida, New Jersey and New York have obtained federal certification of their rail transit State Safety Oversight (SSO) programs. The three states were the last [...]
Amtrak has informed federal, state and local officials along the route of the daily Chicago-to-Los Angeles Southwest Chief that it will provide matching funds to enable a federal grant to be awarded for safety and reliability upgrades in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico, the c [...]
New Jersey Transit (NJT) is claiming sovereign immunity after a victory in the case Karns v. Shanahan 18 months ago, which upheld NJT’s argument that it is a part of the state of New Jersey, not an independent agency, and as such is not responsible for employee injuries. In a [...]
SMART Transportation Division leaders support the Transit Worker and Pedestrian Protection Act (H.R.1139) introduced by U.S. Reps. Grace F. Napolitano (D – Calif.) and Congressman John Katko (R – New York) on Feb. 11 that would make the workplace safer for bus ope [...]
A bill called the Transportation Funding Fairness Act (TFFA), introduced by first-term U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D) of New Jersey, would give more latitude for states to use federal funds to help pay for projects, such as the Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey. “T [...]
With the partial federal government shutdown in its 35th day on Jan. 25, many small- to mid-sized transit agencies are reporting a financial pinch, Politico.com reports. Agencies in North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona and California all say that cuts in service are on the table [...]
A number of candidates to transportation-related oversight posts in the federal government whose nominations were returned to President Donald Trump in early January have been renominated to those posts. Thelma Drake has been renominated to be the administrator of the DOT’s F [...]