Archive for September 2017
Four rail hazmat training classes available
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, September 20 — The Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program is hosting four rail worker training sessions in the coming months. The dates are as follows: November 12-17, 2017; January 7-12, 2018; February 11-16, 2018; and March 18-23, 2018. These 40-hour chemical emergency response training courses will run on a Sunday through Friday…
Read MorePort Tampa Bay OKs pact to fund channel expansion
(source: Progressive Railroading 09/20/2017) Port Tampa Bay‘s board yesterday approved a public-private partnership agreement that will determine how to pay for a $60 million expansion of the Big Bend Channel. The other partners involved in the agreement include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Transportation, Tampa Electric Co. and Mosaic Co., a…
Read MorePublic infrastructure for public benefit
By Dennis R. Pierce BLET National President (Editor’s Note: The following editorial by President Pierce was published in the Washington Times on September 13, 2017.) INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The story of the growth of our Nation — the expansion of 13 Eastern Seaboard states from sea to shining sea — is the story of infrastructure. It is…
Read MoreSouth Carolina port hosts giant ship, announces dredging contract
(source: Progressive Railroading 09/15/2017) The South Carolina Ports Authority yesterday welcomed to Charleston Harbor the CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, the biggest ship to transit the Panama Canal and call on U.S. East Coast ports. The 1,200-foot CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt — which has a capacity of 14,400 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) — arrived on the heels of…
Read MoreHouse bill would create new freight infrastructure fund
(source: Progressive Railroading 09/18/2017) U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) last week reintroduced legislation that would establish a competitive grant program designed to boost the efficiency and capacity of the U.S. freight network. H.R. 3769 calls for the creation of a new freight fee — a 1 percent tax assessed on the cost of ground transportation in…
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