Transportation News

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Join Amtrak in Celebration of ‘Why Trains Matter’

WASHINGTON – Amtrak invites America to celebrate the many benefits trains bring to the nation at the seventh annual National Train Day on May 10, 2014. Trains are an integral part of daily American life and connect communities, provide jobs and economic development, support l [...]

Re-enactment of Golden Spike ceremony May 10

PROMONTORY, Utah – A re-enactment ceremony on Saturday (May 10) will mark the 145 years that have passed since the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The annual May 10 re-enactment of the driving of the Golden Spike has been held since the railroad’s completio [...]

N.Y. bill prevents sex offenders from driving buses

The (New York) Senate has passed a bill that would prohibit registered sex offenders from working as bus drivers. The bill (S.1519) would stop the Department of Motor Vehicles from issuing or renewing a commercial driver’s license to operate a passenger or school bus to [...]

RRB annuitants: Laws about working after retirement

Retirees, and those planning retirement, should be aware of the railroad retirement laws governing benefit payments to annuitants who work after retirement. The following questions and answers describe these railroad retirement work restrictions and earnings limitations on po [...]

Former U.S. Rep. Oberstar dies

WASHINGTON – A great friend of organized labor and a leader of transportation infrastructure reformation, former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, died Saturday, May 3. Oberstar, 79, was the former chairperson of the House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee [...]

Join Amtrak in celebration of 'Why Trains Matter'

WASHINGTON – Amtrak invites America to celebrate the many benefits trains bring to the nation at the seventh annual National Train Day on May 10, 2014. Trains are an integral part of daily American life and connect communities, provide jobs and economic development, support l [...]

LIRR president Helena Williams fired

The head of the MTA Wednesday abruptly fired Long Island Rail Road president Helena Williams and named her successor in the midst of intense labor negotiations. Williams, the first woman to run the nation’s busiest commuter railroad, said that after a board meeting, she [...]

Conductor’s CPR effort saves passenger in distress

Swift and crucial response offered by a SMART Transportation Division member to a woman in distress on a passenger platform in South Florida Feb. 15 likely resulted in life-saving action by the Tri-Rail conductor. Thomas E. Baker, a member of Local 30 at Jacksonville, Fla., a [...]

Proposal For LIRR Workers ‘Unacceptable,’ Unions Say

Long Island Rail Road unions left the meeting of Presidential Emergency Board 245 more united than ever in their quest for a fair contract. The unions submitted a proposed contract that followed the recommendations of the PEB 244, which called for modest net annual increases [...]

N.M. Rail Runner Employees Dart to SMART

Non-union employees at a commuter rail operation in the state of New Mexico expressed interest in union representation and now they have it. Engineers, conductors and ticket agents working for New Mexico Rail Runner Express voted April 28-29 for representation by the SMART Tr [...]