The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will have some major shoes to fill with the April 13, 2019, retirement of Robert “Bob” Lauby, the agency’s chief safety officer. Lauby had served in that capacity for FRA since September 2013. He was a frequent presenter at SMART Tran [...]
Nevada State Legislative Director Jason Doering and his BLET counterpart Matthew Parker explain why two-person crews are necessary in an op-ed on the website of The Nevada Independent. In the article, Doering and Parker refute some of the carriers’ most common arguments [...]
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, April 10, tasks the Federal Department of Transportation with creating a new rule in a little more than three months’ time that permits super-cooled liquid natural gas (LNG) to be transported by rail. [...]
Employers and employees covered by the Railroad Retirement Act pay higher retirement taxes than those covered by the Social Security Act, so that Railroad Retirement benefits remain higher than Social Security benefits, especially for “career” employees who have 30 or more ye [...]
Yesterday (April 10), H.B. 186 was referred to the House Transportation and Public Safety Committee. State Rep. Michael Sheehy, who introduced the bill, sits on the committee as the ranking member. Three other co-sponsors of the bill are also on the committee. SMART Transport [...]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ruled last month on the probable cause of a fatal accident in June 2017 that killed both a CSX conductor and a conductor trainee. The men were struck from behind at 11:18 p.m. June 27, 2017, by an Amtrak train while walking to t [...]
The sons of member Byron Watson have been labeled as heroes after saving a 4-year-old girl from drowning while at a birthday party March 24 at the Santa Maria Beach in Santa Cruz, California. The boys’ mother, Nicole, who was watching over her boys while they were swimming in [...]
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced Tuesday, April 9, that the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) will meet later this month for the first time since its reinstatement last autumn. According to a notice published in the Federal Register, RSAC is scheduled t [...]
John D. Whitaker III has been elevated to vice president from alternate vice president after Vice President David B. Wier retired April 1. Whitaker’s railroad career began in 1997 when he hired out as a conductor with CSX Transportation. In 2002, he was certified as an engine [...]
The state of Maryland is one step closer to having a two-person crew law on the books. H.B. 66 passed both houses of the state General Assembly and now heads to Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk for consideration. The bill passed the state House with 102 voting yea, 30 voting nay, four [...]
