A 220-mph NEC? A contrarian weighs in

In competitive markets, vision and strategy are tested daily as consumers vote with their wallets, investors choose among opportunities, and competitors react – all creating greater efficiency. Conventional wisdom in passenger rail today is high speed trains. Amtrak, for exam [...]

Senators: Put cameras on train tracks, engineers

NEW YORK (AP) – A week after four people died in a New York commuter train derailment, two federal lawmakers proposed Sunday that trains nationwide be outfitted with cameras pointed at engineers and at the tracks. “I know you’re going to hear from Metro-Nort [...]

Amtrak's Boardman named Railroader of the Year

Joseph H. Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amtrak, has been named 2014 Railroader of the Year by railroad industry trade journal Railway Age. “Joe Boardman, who came to Amtrak after his tenure as Federal Railroad Administrator, has been chief executive for t [...]

FRA issues Emergency Order to Metro-North

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Dec. 6 issued an Emergency Order (EO 29) to Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNCW) to take specific, immediate steps to ensure its train crews do not exceed speed limitations. The EO requ [...]

U.S. Rep. Maloney proposes PTC funding bill

U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) has proposed the Commuter Rail Passenger Safety Act to help commuter railroads, such as MTA Metro-North Railroad, fund and implement positive train control (PTC) systems. Maloney announced he would introduce the legislation earlier this [...]

Metro-North train had warning system, but not in cab

The Metro-North Railroad train that derailed on Sunday included a system designed to warn an operator of a potential accident. But such an “alerter,” which can automatically apply the brakes if an operator is unresponsive, was not in the cab where William Rockefeller apparent [...]

Opinion: How much safety are rails willing to pay for?

When a train derails and people die, as happened Dec. 1 in New York, there are going to be lots of questions. Eventually, there will be answers to most. But will anyone be able to answer this question: How much are the lives of train passengers worth? On Dec. 2, as investigat [...]

N.Y. rep. proposes action to prevent railway accidents

WASHINGTON — A New York congressman is proposing legislation aimed at preventing another accident like Sunday’s fatal Metro-North derailment in the Bronx. The proposal from Democratic Rep. Sean Maloney of Cold Spring would help Metro-North and other commuter rail systems appl [...]

Train derailment airs queries about technology

YONKERS, N.Y. – The revelation that a New York City commuter train derailed while barreling into a sharp curve at nearly three times the speed limit is fueling questions about whether automated crash-avoidance technology could have prevented the carnage. Safety officials have [...]