The oil and railroad industries are urging federal regulators to allow them as long as seven years to retrofit existing tank cars that transport highly volatile crude oil, a top oil industry official said Tuesday (Sept. 30). The cars have ruptured and spilled oil during colli [...]
WASHINGTON — How many people does it take to safely operate a freight train? Two, say railroad labor unions, the Federal Railroad Administration and some members of Congress, arguing that having just one person in the cab of a locomotive was unsafe. They cite a series of dead [...]
In the days after a train carrying highly flammable oil to Yorktown plunged off its tracks in downtown Lynchburg, dumping 15 cars into the James River and sparking a fire so intense that emergency crews had to simply let it burn itself out, federal track inspectors found more [...]
Thanks to all of the delegates, members, guests and staff that made the First SMART General Convention a resounding success. I have been involved in this union for 45 years. There has never been a more outspoken, honest, and hardworking General Executive Council than the one [...]
It carries more passenger trains than any other railroad bridge in the Western Hemisphere, yet few people beyond those who rely on it have heard of it. It goes largely unnoticed, unless something goes wrong, which happens with irritating frequency. After all, the bridge is 10 [...]
The head of the federal agency tasked with improving the safety of crude oil transportation by rail is stepping down. Cynthia Quarterman, who has led the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration since 2009, will leave an agency that recently proposed sturdier co [...]
New job postings have been issues via the SMART Job Bank for sheet metal positions in Texas. Please visit the Sheet Metal Job Bank for more information.
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board Sept. 24 issued a special investigation report on the recent increase in deaths of railroad and rail transit roadway workers on or near tracks and made recommendations to reduce the number of fatalities. The Special Invest [...]
Federal regulators are putting the brakes on new alcohol and drug regulations for railroad maintenance workers. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) proposed new testing requirements for railroad track workers in July but said Wednesday (Sept. 24) it is extending the com [...]
Thanks to all of the delegates, members, guests and staff that made the First SMART General Convention a resounding success. I have been involved in this union for 45 years. There has never been a more outspoken, honest, and hardworking General Executive Council than the one [...]