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,...
April 3, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: CNBC, April 2, 2024) One year after the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment created an environmental disaster, the Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled new regulations intended to shore up freight rail safety. A new rule finalized by the Federal...
April 3, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: New York Times, April 2, 2024) The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it had finalized a new rule that will require the nation’s largest freight railroads to maintain their current staffing of two crew members per train, settling a contentious...
April 3, 2024 | Fatigue, FRA, Headlines
(Source: Progressive Railroading, April 1, 2024) The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently found that the Federal Railroad Administration needs to improve its oversight of procedures related to railroad hours of...
April 2, 2024 | 2-man Crews, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Washington Post, April 2, 2024) The Biden administration on Tuesday required the largest freight railroads to operate their trains with at least two people on board, seeking to improve rail safety with a new mandate that immediately drew stiff industry...
