A daily fact of life for train crews is transportation to and from terminals in shuttle-vans operated by firms under contract to railroads. Over the past year, four crew members died and another was seriously injured in two separate accidents while riding in shuttle vans. Shu [...]
WASHINGTON – Qualification requirements for first officers who fly for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines would be “substantially” raised under a proposed Federal Aviation Administration new rulemaking to be published in the Federal Register Feb. 29. The agency, in a notice of [...]
Just ask UTU District of Columbia Legislative Director Willie Bates about safety standards for rail-transit systems. Unlike freight and passenger railroads, rail-transit systems are not bound by federal construction standards, nor are their workers in safety senstive position [...]
Never underestimate the impact of your communications to Congress. Combined with the tens of thousands of messages from others, the House Republican leadership has pulled back a planned vote Feb. 17 on a draconian transportation bill that would cost jobs, menace transportatio [...]
There are occasions when something so horrible is pending in Congress that we ask your immediate help in taking to the phones and email to alert your lawmaker to the concerns. In this case, it is especially important if you are represented in the House of Representatives by a [...]
WASHINGTON – Federal spending on transportation projects, including aviation, highway, conventional and high-speed passenger rail and transit, would increase by 2 percent under a proposed fiscal year 2013 budget presented Congress Feb. 13 by President Obama. Transit spending [...]
WASHINGTON – Responding to petitions for reconsideration to its Nov. 9, 2011, final rule on conductor certification, the FRA has delayed for six months the testing implementation dates and clarified other mandates affecting territorial qualifications and the definition of hos [...]
WASHINGTON – New minimum training and qualification standards are being proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration for rail workers in safety sensitive positions. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published Feb. 7 in the Federal Register, the FRA said affected employees [...]
WASHINGTON – The House and Senate agreed Feb. 6 on legislation authorizing increased future funding for new air traffic control technology and the Essential Air Service subsidy program to rural airports as part of a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. Lawm [...]
WASHINGTON — The UTU and 17 other transportation labor organizations urged Congress Jan. 30 to pass a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization without making what they called “drastic and unnecessary changes to the Railway Labor Act.” Historically, any changes to [...]