Safety
Public Hearing of HB 2970 Two Person Crew Bill in Oregon
On March 4, 2019, in Salem, Oregon I had the pleasure of attending the Joint Committee on Transportation public hearing of HB 2970 or as it is commonly known as the Two-Person Crew Bill with Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Oregon State Legislative Chairman Brother Scott Palmer, BLET Members, SMART-TD (Sheet Metal, Air,…
Read MoreSenators to reintroduce grade crossing safety act
(Source: Progressive Railroading 03/05/19) U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced they will reintroduce a bill to fund improvements to “dangerous” grade crossings. The announcement comes nearly a week after a fatal accident involving two MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) trains and a car at a crossing in Nassau County, New York. …
Read MoreFRA report: All railroads met statutory PTC requirements by 2018’s end
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/19/2019) The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) late last week released a status update regarding railroads’ self-reported progress toward implementing positive train control (PTC) by 2018’s end. All 41 railroads either met the end-of-2018 statutory deadline for full implementation or submitted requests for an extension up to two additional years by demonstrating they…
Read MoreNTSB recommends new safety measures following tank car chlorine incident
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/15/2019) The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday issued five safety recommendations following its investigation of an August 2016 chlorine release from a ruptured tank car near New Martinsville, West Virginia. Eight people were injured in connection with the accident, in which 178,000 pounds of liquefied compressed chlorine was released over two-and-a-half hours after a…
Read MoreTSB: Canadian Pacific train moved on its own before fatal derailment
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/06/2019) A Canadian Pacific unit grain train began to move on its own prior to a fatal derailment that occurred early Monday near Field, British Columbia, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced yesterday. The derailment, which occurred between the Upper and Lower Spiral Tunnel, resulted in the deaths of the train’s three crew members. They were…
Read More