March 14, 2024 | DOT, East Palestine-NS, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Associated Press, March 12, 2024) Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has reiterated his concerns about railroad safety and scolded the industry for not doing more to improve since last year’s fiery Ohio derailment. In a new letter to the freight...
February 13, 2024 | DOT, East Palestine-NS, News, Railroad Safety
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg: “Just basic common sense to me says that you at least want to have two people on board a train that might be carrying hazardous materials, that might be going at a high speed through communities.” IBT Image ____________________...
January 24, 2024 | DOT, Headlines, High Speed Rail
(Source: U.S. Department of Transportation press release, January 23, 2024) The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced the approval of $2.5 billion in private activity bonds authority allocated for the Brightline West High-Speed Intercity Passenger...
January 4, 2024 | DOT, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com analysis by Bill Stephens, January 3, 2024) Why is it that no one notices railroads until there’s a derailment, blocked grade crossing, or a massive supply chain problem like we saw in 2022? Full story: Trains.com
December 8, 2023 | Amtrak, BNSF, DOT, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com, December 8, 2023) BNSF Railway will receive a federal grant for $14.9 million toward infrastructure improvements in and around Malta, Mont., U.S. Sen. Jon Tester announced Thursday. Full story: Trains.com
December 8, 2023 | Amtrak, DOT, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com, December 7, 2023) Infrastructure improvements to accommodate a second daily round trip of Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pa., will receive more than $143 million in federal funding, the state’s two U.S. senators have...
December 8, 2023 | Amtrak, Commuter Rail, DOT, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Federal Railroad Administration press release, December 8, 2023) WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced that it has awarded $8.2 billion for 10 passenger rail projects across the...
November 8, 2023 | DOT, East Palestine-NS, Headlines
(Source: Lancaster Online, November 6, 2023) Attorneys General from Pennsylvania and 12 other states signed a letter last month to the U.S. Department of Transportation supporting a proposed federal rule to require railroads to make information about hazardous...
September 5, 2023 | DOT, News
The rail industry prefers to discipline workers rather than take their confidential input regarding safety improvements. That’s the hypocritical policy of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) in a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg...
June 22, 2023 | DOT, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: U.S. Department of Transportation press release, June 21, 2023) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, USDOT has taken steps to improve rail safety and called on Congress to pass the Railway Safety Act — working to...