BLET News

By Dennis R. PierceBLET National President (BLET Editor’s Note: The following message from BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce has been excerpted from the February/March 2020 issue of the Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen News. A copy of this statement is available for download and print as a PDF. INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, March 30 — Over the last…

(Source: National Public Radio, March 26, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a first for Europe, 20 critically ill coronavirus patients were evacuated aboard a fully medicalized, high-speed train. Full story: www.npr.org Friday, March 27, 2020

(Source: City Metric, March 27, 2020. The following is an extract from “Designing the Megaregion: Meeting Urban Challenges at a New Scale,” out now from Island Press.) NEW YORK — A regional transportation system does not become balanced until all its parts are operating effectively. Highways, arterial streets, and local streets are essential, and every…

(Source: Freight Waves opinion column by Jim Blaze, March 26, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — With the coronavirus pandemic as background, let’s briefly examine what the role of the rail freight sector is. How relevant is rail freight’s services during a stay-in place period? What are rail freight’s capabilities at serving the essential survival kit? Full…

(Source: Railway Track & Structures, March 26, 2020) NEW YORK — By a unanimous 96-0 vote, the U.S. Senate on March 26 passed H.R. 748, its version of a $2 trillion stimulus package for address the devastating economic and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Called the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act,”…