News Archive
DeQueen & Eastern yardmasters go SMART
Joining their fellow train and engine workers employed by the DeQueen & Eastern Railroad, the company’s yardmasters July 17 chose the SMART Transportation Division as their bargaining representative. By a two-to-one margin, the yardmasters opted for SMART TD. Train [...]Pilots challenged by monitoring automated systems
WASHINGTON – Airline pilots spend nearly all their time monitoring automated cockpit systems rather than “hand-flying” planes, but their brains aren’t wired to continually pay close attention to instruments that rarely fail or show discrepancies. As a result [...]Anaheim regional meeting entertainment set
While the focus of the SMART Transportation Division’s regional meetings has always been on education for its members, attendees are provided the opportunity for a little relaxation as well. Those attending the Anaheim regional meeting scheduled for July 29-31 are in fo [...]Quebec rail disaster may jump-starting safe push
A runaway oil train that killed scores of people when it slammed into a Quebec town is bringing renewed calls on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border for tougher safety rules for railroads. Regulators and watchdogs have sought for years improvements to a common tank car desig [...]Union says one-man train crews unsafe
HERMON, Maine — The runaway Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway train that plowed through a small Quebec town killing 50 people on July 6 had one engineer assigned to it. The American union of railway workers representing most of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway workers [...]Engineer may have prevented greater catastrophe
FARNHAM, Quebec — Locomotive engineer Tom Harding was likely the last person at the controls of the runaway train that rolled into downtown Lac-Mégantic Saturday morning, causing untold death and destruction. But though Harding himself has remained silent, a new picture is em [...]FRA to inspect Montreal, Maine & Atlantic
A team from the Federal Railroad Administration is expected to arrive in Maine on Thursday to begin a comprehensive inspection of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway’s tracks, operations and equipment. If inspectors find safety problems on the 275 miles of track [...]