DENVER – Gov. John Hickenlooper May 6 announced that he plans to sign H.B. 1161 on May 14 at the Pueblo Union Depot. The bill establishes a commission and fund to preserve the current Amtrak passenger train service in southern Colorado and potentially expand that service to i [...]
WASHINGTON – A great friend of organized labor and a leader of transportation infrastructure reformation, former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, died Saturday, May 3. Oberstar, 79, was the former chairperson of the House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee [...]
WASHINGTON – Amtrak invites America to celebrate the many benefits trains bring to the nation at the seventh annual National Train Day on May 10, 2014. Trains are an integral part of daily American life and connect communities, provide jobs and economic development, support l [...]
The head of the MTA Wednesday abruptly fired Long Island Rail Road president Helena Williams and named her successor in the midst of intense labor negotiations. Williams, the first woman to run the nation’s busiest commuter railroad, said that after a board meeting, she [...]
Swift and crucial response offered by a SMART Transportation Division member to a woman in distress on a passenger platform in South Florida Feb. 15 likely resulted in life-saving action by the Tri-Rail conductor. Thomas E. Baker, a member of Local 30 at Jacksonville, Fla., a [...]
Non-union employees at a commuter rail operation in the state of New Mexico expressed interest in union representation and now they have it. Engineers, conductors and ticket agents working for New Mexico Rail Runner Express voted April 28-29 for representation by the SMART Tr [...]
WASHINGTON – The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) presented U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer (R) of North Dakota with the prestigious Golden Spike Award yesterday (April 30) for his strong support of passenger trains and transit, both locally and across the U.S. Altho [...]
The Obama administration on Tuesday (April 29) sent a bill to Congress that aims to cover an expected shortage in money to spend on America’s bridges, roads and transit systems, but Republican opposition could prevent its passage. Funding for the four-year, $302 billion [...]
Carl Picanco stares at the radio on a table across the aisle and when nothing happens, he checks his watch and then taps his iPhone and glances at his watch again. He looks out a window. The brush and desert scrub stretch out in brown and green waves toward the foothills outs [...]
Long Island Rail Road unions left the meeting of Presidential Emergency Board 245 more united than ever in their quest for a fair contract. The unions submitted a proposed contract that followed the recommendations of the PEB 244, which called for modest net annual increases [...]
SMART Union