Transportation News

Visit the digital archive of the SMART-TD News (PDFs)

Sign petition to Trump/FTA to save Caltrain project

Dear SMART TD member: Please click on the link below to sign (and please share) this online petition to the White House asking the FTA to approve funding that has long been earmarked for San Francisco’s Caltrain’s Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project (PCEP) a high-speed [...]

Chicago Metra doors open at 34 mph

The doors of a packed Metra BNSF train opened while going 34 mph, reported the Chicago Sun-Times. No one was hurt and the doors quickly closed after an estimated three seconds. SMART TD Illinois State Legislative Director Bob Guy told the Sun-Times that when engineers are pul [...]

Union workers shut down right-to-work bill in N.M.

Thanks to scores of union members who showed up at a committee hearing  in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a right-to-work measure was effectively shut down and cannot be reintroduced for the remainder of 2017. Read the complete story published by PeoplesWorld.com, here.

SMART TD welcomes two new DLC lawyers to represent members

If you are injured on the job, you have powerful rights under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). All of SMART TD’s Designated Legal Counsel (DLC) are chosen because they specialize in handling FELA claims and are experienced in dealing with railroad clai [...]

New commuter rail line opens in Denver

The International Railway Journal reported that the newest commuter rail line, called the R Line, just recently opened.  The new commuter rail line is part of the Denver, Colo. RTD (Regional Transportation District) FasTracks expansion plan.  Read the complete story, here. &n [...]

Feds set back to Caltrain project; contractors step up

Railway Age reported that contractors on Caltrain’s Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project (PCEP) agreed to extend the deadline for first day of construction from March 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017.  This announcement was issued just days after the Federal Transit Admin [...]

Local 1626 asks for your help in members’ time of need

Local 1626 President Vern Gillis wrote the following plea for help on behalf of Brother Dinsmore and his family. “As we get older we start being able to put all things into perspective. What I know for sure is that family is not just an important thing, it’s everything. For u [...]

SMART TD opens registration for 2017 regional meetings

SMART Transportation Division has opened registration for the San Antonio and New York City Regional Meetings. Pre-registration cost for both meetings is $150 per person, per meeting; children 11 and under are free. Persons who do not pre-register, but choose to register afte [...]

SEPTA crash leaves train engineer seriously injured

According to 6abc.com, a SEPTA commuter train collision in Upper Darby, Penn. resulted in four injuries, including the train engineer, who was reported to be in critical condition. Names of the injured have not been released; NTSB investigators are on site. Read the complete [...]

Calls for 2-person crews in response to amphibious vehicle fatalities

The Portland Press Herald reported that as amphibious vehicles (duck boats), designed to traverse land and water, have increased in popularity over the years, so has the number of accidents and fatalities involving these complicated vehicles.  Advocates for increased safety m [...]