News Archive
Wytkind: Intolerance for unsafe workplaces
Each year, thousands of transportation workers are hurt or killed on the job. These women and men devote their lives to keeping our transportation system – the backbone of the U.S. economy – running, and they deserve far better. This Tuesday, April 28, is Workers’ Memor [...]Investigators release records of Casselton derailment
Federal investigators have released hundreds of pages of records that offer new insight into the moments just before and after a 2013 oil train derailment near Casselton, North Dakota, that created a massive fire and forced 1,400 people to evacuate for several days. Interview [...]N.D. lawmakers approve rail safety pilot program
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota lawmakers agreed Monday to spend more than $500,000 on a rail safety pilot program proposed in the wake of a fiery oil train derailment near Casselton in 2013, with some saying it doesn’t go far enough. Lawmakers adopted a scaled-down versi [...]
FRA approves $1B loan to N.Y. MTA for PTC system
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced April 24 that the Federal Railroad Administration has approved a loan of $967.1 million to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the improvement of the safety of the signal systems used by the MTA’s two commuter railroads, the Long [...]Oil train safety legislation passes in Wash. state
OLYMPIA, Wash. – State lawmakers gave final approval April 24 to a bill meant to increase oil train safety. The bill was taken up in response to the uptick in oil train traffic in the region. It directs oil taxes to help pay for oil-train spill response. It also imposes publi [...]BMWE urges tougher safety standards on tracks
Union officials say tougher inspection and maintenance standards for railroad tracks could help prevent dangerous derailments of trains carrying crude oil. While lawmakers and regulators focus on the strength of oil tank carsand volatility of crude oil, officials of the rail [...]
N.Y. MTA seeks $1B loan for PTC system
The MTA is close to securing final federal approval of a nearly $1 billion loan to install technology on its commuter trains that could have prevented the 2013 Metro-North derailment in the Bronx in which four people died. Positive train control technology provides a new laye [...]University of Tennessee Shuttle Operators Seal First Deal
The campus shuttle operators for the University of Tennessee’s transportation service unanimously ratified their first agreement with their employer after choosing SMART representation last year, Alternate Vice President – Bus Alvy Hughes reports. The members of newly formed [...]