Transportation News

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Use of public transit at highest level since 1956

PHILADELPHIA – More Americans used buses, trains and subways in 2013 than in any year since 1956 as service improved, local economies grew and travelers increasingly sought alternatives to the automobile for trips within metropolitan areas, the American Public Transportation [...]

Politico website notes findings of SMART TD survey

The following appeared on the website Politico, which covers political news with a focus on national politics, Congress, Capitol Hill, lobbying, advocacy and more, on its Morning Transportation blog. “The passenger rail service has strong support in North Dakota – not e [...]

MTA: Plan targets LIRR pension abuse

The MTA wants Long Island Rail Road workers to give up a piece of their LIRR pensions if they are also collecting federal occupational disability benefits – a plan that union leaders say would unfairly punish the legitimately injured. Metropolitan Transportation Authority off [...]

Obama lays out vision for transportation infrastructure

On Feb. 26, President Obama spoke at the historic Union Depot train station in St. Paul, Minn., where he launched a competition for $600 million in competitive transportation funding and outlined his vision for investing in America’s infrastructure with a $302 billion, four-y [...]

Szabo offers oversight of passenger, freight rail safety

Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo addressed members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Feb. 26, providing them with oversight of passenger and freight rail safety and responding [...]

Rails tell Congress they won't meet PTC deadline

WASHINGTON – Railroads warned Congress again Wednesday they wouldn’t meet a 2015 deadline for automatic braking on trains, but engineers and safety officials urged adoption of the technology that might have prevented the fatal Metro North crash in New York this past Dec [...]

GAO report: Airline pilot shortage? Not clear

WASHINGTON – Regional airlines report difficulty over the past year in finding enough pilots to hire, but it isn’t clear whether there is a shortage of pilots, a government watchdog said in a report released Friday. Researchers found “mixed evidence” of a sh [...]

NARP President Capon steps down

Ross Capon, the face of the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) for 39 years on Capitol Hill, is stepping down from his role as president, and apparently will retire from the organization at year’s end. Dr. Larry Scott will serve as NARP acting president [...]

First Transit enters agreement with Red Apple drivers

First Transit, Inc., and members of the SMART Transportation Division have agreed on mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment and signed a collective bargaining agreement, according to the National Labor Relations Board. The transportation management company, wh [...]

Obama touts $302B transportation plan in St. Paul

President Barack Obama came to St. Paul on Wednesday to showcase the city’s newly refurbished Union Depot transit hub as an example of the kinds of transportation development he wants for the rest of the nation. “This project symbolizes what’s possible,̶ [...]