The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has named Jo Strang vice president for regulatory affairs, effective July 1.

She most recently served the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Prior to that, Strang had a long career at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In her last position, as associate administrator for railroad safety and chief safety officer, she provided regulatory oversight for rail safety, including the development and enforcement of safety regulations and programs related to the rail industry.

Read the complete story at Progressive Railroading.

FRA logoCHICAGO — Here is an opportunity to voice your rail safety concerns directly to the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.

A 90-minute town hall meeting on rail safety will be held Tuesday, Oct. 11, in Chicago. FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo will take questions and hear concerns as part of the agency’s outreach to rail labor.

Szabo, formerly the UTU’s Illinois state legislative director and a fifth-generation railroader, promises “a frank and often safety discussion.” He also will share with the audience details on the FRA’s risk reduction program, which is a non-punitive approach to addressing safety in advance of an accident or injury.

FRA Associate Administrator for Safety Jo Strang wrote of that program some months ago in an exclusive column that appeared in the UTU News and on the UTU website. A link to that column is provided below.

Here are the details of the town hall meeting:

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 9-10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Chicago Laborers District Council, 999 McClintock Drive, Burr Ridge, Ill. Burr Ridge is 20 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

To read the Jo Strang column on the FRA’s risk reduction program, click on the following link:

https://www.smart-union.org/news/help-fra-stop-harassment-improve-safety/