Category: Amtrak/Commuter News
SMART TD member killed in Amtrak crash
A current SMART Transportation Division conductor and a former member were killed when Amtrak Train 91 traveling from New York to Miami collided early Feb. 4 with a stationary CSX freight train east of Columbia, S.C. Brother Michael Cella, 36, of Orange Park, Fla., was a cond [...]Amtrak train carrying GOP lawmakers hits garbage truck
A privately chartered Amtrak train carrying dozens of Republican members of the House and Senate crashed into a garbage truck just south of Charlottsville, Va. So far, only minor injuries have been reported amongst the train passengers. One out of the three passengers on the [...]
Secretary Chao pushes for autonomous buses, trains
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said at CES, an annual technology show in Las Vegas, that she plans to take steps toward creating policy guiding the development of self-driving transportation for trucks, buses, transit systems and trains. One of the steps that Ch [...]
Tentative agreement reached by SMART TD with Amtrak
SMART Transportation Division General Chairpersons Dirk Sampson (GO 769), Robert Keeley (GO 342) and Fran Ariola (GO 663) announced today that they have reached a tentative agreement with Amtrak on behalf of their members employed by the passenger railroad. The chairpersons c [...]
Amtrak names Ken Hylander as chief safety officer
Amtrak has named Ken Hylander their new executive vice president and chief safety officer. Hylander previously served as chairman of the Flight Safety Foundation and as the chief safety officer at Delta Air Lines. Hylander’s first order of business will be to install a Safety [...]NTSB publishes preliminary findings on Amtrak 501 Washington derailment
Below are the preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as published on their website. On December 18, 2017, at 7:33 a.m., Pacific standard time, southbound Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) passenger train 501, consisting of a lea [...]
FRA proposes delaying training, qualification and oversight for safety-related railroad workers
In response to a petition of reconsideration filed by the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) of the final rule that requires training, qualification and oversight for safety-related railroad employees, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has [...]