May 21, 2024 | East Palestine-NS, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Associated Press, May 20, 2024) New federal certification rules finalized Monday for train dispatchers and signal repairmen will set minimum standards to counteract the investor pressure on railroads to continually cut costs while making sure those employees...
May 15, 2024 | Amtrak, Commuter Rail, DOT, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Federal Railroad Administration press release, May 14, 2024) The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that makes available over $2 billion in Federal-State Partnership...
May 3, 2024 | BNSF, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Unions
(Source: Federal Railroad Administration press release, April 25, 2024) In a win for rail safety and rail workers, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced that the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) and BNSF Railway (BNSF) will partner...
May 3, 2024 | Amtrak, FRA, Headlines
(Source: White House press release, May 2, 2024) Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration: Elaine Marie Clegg, Nominee to be a Member of the AMTRAK Board of Directors Ronald L....
May 2, 2024 | FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety, UP
(Source: Associated Press, May 1, 2024) Union Pacific managers undermined the U.S. government’s efforts to assess safety at the railroad in the wake of several high-profile derailments across the industry by coaching employees on how to respond and suggesting they...
April 25, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, News, Teamsters
As rail labor unions celebrated the Federal Railroad Administration’s new regulation requiring two-person crews on freight trains, airline pilot unions raised the question: Can the same policy continue for aircrafts? While current U.S. regulations require two pilots...
April 16, 2024 | FRA, News, Railroad Safety, Technology
The BLET has filed formal comments with the Federal Railroad Administration opposing a safety waiver that would allow the introduction of autonomous train technology in the United States. BLET Vice President & National Legislative Representative Vince Verna said...
April 15, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, News, Railroad Safety
The Federal Railroad Administration’s two-person crew rule announced earlier this month — which requires railroads to “staff every train operation with a minimum of two crewmembers (including a locomotive engineer and an additional crewmember who will typically be a...
April 11, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Virginia Public Media, April 10, 2024) Should freight trains — which can stretch up to 3 miles in length — have more than one crewmember? That was the gist behind a recent General Assembly bill that made it to Gov. Glenn Youngkin in early March. It was also...
April 3, 2024 | 2-man Crews, DOT, FRA, News, Railroad Safety
Pictured: BLET VP & NLR Vince Verna during a DOT press conference announcing the two-person crew regulation on April 2. In the background, from left, is David Hoagland, President, Washington D.C. Firefighters Association, IAFF, Local 36, and Pete Buttigieg,...
