Category: Washington
Obama nominates former Kan. DOT secretary for STB
President Barack Obama has nominated former Kansas Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller to the Surface Transportation Board, reportedly replacing George Bush-appointee Francis Mulvey. Miller, a Democrat, was the Kansas secretary of transportation from 2003 to 2012, making h [...]Winners of PAC contest announced
The SMART Transportation Division PAC contest recently concluded this past Labor Day with a total of $30,445 raised in PAC contributions. The person who raised the most amount for PAC was James E. Carrico, Jr., of Local 333 of North Vernon, Ind., with $5,660 raised. Coming in [...]All five NLRB members confirmed by Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week marked the first time in a decade in which all five National Labor Relations Board members were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Aug. 21, 2003, was the last time the board was fully staffed, according to a NLRB news release. But perhaps the mos [...]PTC extension introduced by committee
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation introduced a positive train control (PTC) extension bill. The bill seeks to extend the statutory deadline for PTC implementation by five years to Dec. 31, 2020, as well as provide another optional two-year e [...]Emergency RSAC meeting announced
The Federal Railroad Administration announced Aug. 8 that it would hold an emergency meeting of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) Aug. 29. The meeting will focus on the July 6 train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Preliminary findings from the derailment and s [...]
Szabo: ‘Rail is the transportation mode of opportunity’
On July 30, Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo addressed attendees of the SMART Transportation Division’s regional meeting in Anaheim, Calif., speaking about future endeavors the FRA has for the rail industry and about safety enhancements moving forward. “Ra [...]
Single-person train crew operations must be stopped
By Mike Futhey, SMART Transportation Division President – The events that unfolded July 6 in the Canadian province of Quebec, where a runaway train exploded and killed 47 people in the city of Lac-Megantic, weigh on the minds of an assortment of people whose lives were touch [...]