December 18, 2018 | DOT, Headlines, Oil Train
(Source: Houston Chronicle, December 18, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three years ago, following a series of catastrophic spills, Congress ordered rail tank cars built heavier and stronger while allowing older cars to be retrofitted to improve their safety. But after a...
November 13, 2018 | DOT, Headlines, Operation Lifesaver
(Source: Progressive Railroading, November 12, 2018) Two U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) agencies should evaluate whether a federal program that helps fund grade-crossing improvements gives states enough flexibility to address their own safety problems,...
November 7, 2018 | DOT, FRA, Headlines
(Source: National Transportation Safety Board press release, November 1, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Highway crashes claimed the lives of 37,133 people in 2017, accounting for 95 percent of the 38,958 who died in transportation related accidents that year, according to...
November 7, 2018 | DOT, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Progressive Railroading, November 6, 2018) At the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Grade Crossing Safety Summit held last week in Washington, D.C., U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao credited the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)...
October 12, 2018 | DOT, Headlines
(Source: U.S. Department of Transportation press release, October 10, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — By the end of the 2018 fiscal year (FY 2018), the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) made available more than $63.9 billion in FY 2018 multi-modal discretionary and...
August 10, 2018 | DOT, Headlines, Technology
(Source: www.optics.org, August 8, 2018) CARDIFF, United Kingdom — Fiber Optic Acoustic Detection (FOAD) is an emerging technology with the potential to enhance safety in the railroad industry by continuously monitoring the condition of rail, track and rolling stock....
July 10, 2018 | DOT, FRA, Headlines
(Source: The Regulatory Review, July 5, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — In recent years, New York commuters have encountered significant railroad disasters. A passenger train crash in 2016 resulted in over 100 injuries and one fatality. Only 13 weeks later, another train...
June 28, 2018 | Amtrak, DOT, Headlines
(Source: The Kansan, June 27, 2018) NEWTON, Kan. — Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) was excited and upbeat about the future of the Southwest Chief earlier this month. The federal government had awarded the third TIGER Grant in five years to help with improvements to the...
June 26, 2018 | DOT, Headlines, Oil Train
(Source: DeSmog Blog, June 25, 2018) NEW YORK — On June 22, a train carrying Canadian crude oil derailed in northwestern Iowa, releasing an estimated 230,000 gallons of oil into a flooded river. As a result of the derailment, over 30 rail tank cars ended up in the...
June 12, 2018 | Commuter Rail, DOT, Headlines
(Source: Meriden Record-Journal, June 11, 2018) WALLINGFORD, Conn. — The state Department of Transportation has begun running “test trains” in preparation of the new Hartford Line rail service, scheduled to begin Saturday. Full story:...
