June 1, 2023 | DOT, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Yahoo Finance, May 31, 2023) US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is ramping up pressure on the country’s largest freight railroads to improve safety after a series of high-profile derailments. Full story: Yahoo Finance
June 1, 2023 | Headlines, Railroad Safety, Train Length
(Source: GAO Blog, June 1, 2023) Some recent derailments and other rail incidents have had something in common: they involved longer freight trains. Federal rail regulators are investigating the exact causes of these incidents and GAO has not examined them. But, we...
June 1, 2023 | Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Times Observer, June 1, 2023) Pennsylvania’s House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee gave 19-2 approval to House Bill 1028. It would authorize the state to maintain a tighter grip on the way trains operate. But while East Palestine...
May 31, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety, Train Length
(Source: Trains Magazine, May 30, 2023) Following a nationwide legislative trend in the wake of February’s derailment and toxic-chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio, the New York state Senate has passed a series of bills seeking to regulate the way railroads...
May 31, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: WCVB, May 30, 2023) The Federal Transit Administration has ordered the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to resubmit a safety work plan it shared with the federal agency at the beginning of May. Full story: www.wcvb.com
May 31, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Progressive Farmer, May 29, 2023) While the Bipartisan Rail Safety Act has yet to be made into law, some states are enacting their own safety laws, one of them being the two-person crew requirement that unions fought for, but did not get, in the recent 2023...
May 25, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Legislation, News, Railroad Safety
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Minnesota is known for these numbers — 10,000 lakes and two-person crews. In a victory for railroad safety, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a two-person crew bill into law on May 24. The requirement was included in HF 2887, the Transportation...
May 23, 2023 | Congressional Hearing, East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Press release from the ranking members of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, May 22, 2023) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), Ranking Member ...
May 23, 2023 | Congressional Hearing, East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Meadville Tribune, May 22, 2023) Democrats in the Pennsylvania Senate hosted a policy meeting Friday toward strengthening safety regulations for the rail industry and if the tenor of that meeting is any indication, effective legislation will be hard to enact....
May 22, 2023 | AFL-CIO, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety, TTD
(Source: Freight Waves, May 17, 2023) Rail union representatives are poised to adopt a policy statement that urges Congress to pass a rail safety bill — one that mandates a minimum of two-person crew sizes on all passenger and freight trains, regulates train lengths...
