July 18, 2024 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Transport Topics, July 17, 2024) Transportation and Infrastructure’s Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee will convene July 23 for a hearing specific to train safety. Senior lawmakers intend to press stakeholders on industry best...
July 17, 2024 | East Palestine-NS, FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety
(Source: Trains.com, July 16, 2024) The Federal Railroad Administration has updated its 2023 safety advisory that encourages railroads to make better use of data from wayside hot-bearing detectors. The second supplement to the advisory, issued in draft form on Friday,...
July 16, 2024 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety, Train Length
(Source: Progressive Railroading, July 15, 2024) U.S. Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) on July 11 introduced a bill calling for enhanced safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials. H.R. 8996 would incorporate aspects of...
July 9, 2024 | East Palestine-NS, Legislation, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) are pressuring Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and skeptical Republicans to pass the Railway Safety Act. The NTSB’s damning investigation of Norfolk Southern’s toxic 2023 train derailment in East...
June 12, 2024 | News, Railroad Safety
Missouri State Representatives Robert Sauls (front row, 3rd from left) and Patty Lewis (front row, 4th from left) with BLET members from Missouri. _____________________ Elected government leaders from the State of Missouri addressed BLET members during the Western...
June 9, 2024 | Legislation, News, Railroad Safety
It’s been a year since Nevada’s governor vetoed an important rail safety bill, and the BLET is marking this anniversary by calling on Nevada legislators to put rail safety over corporate profits. A joint message from Brother Matt Parker, Chairman of the Nevada State...
June 7, 2024 | Legislation, News, Railroad Safety
Dr. Michele Grim (front row, fourth from right) marched with BLET members at the 2023 Toledo Labor Day parade. ____________________ The Ohio House of Representatives has passed a BLET-backed railroad safety bill. The bill’s primary sponsor — Dr. Michele Grim, Ohio...
June 2, 2024 | News, Railroad Safety, Remote Control
In his remarks to The New York Times, BLET First Vice President Mark Wallace was highly critical of the Union Pacific Railroad regarding remote control train operations. “We have seen an aggressive approach by Union Pacific to take remote controls outside the...
June 1, 2024 | News, Railroad Safety, Remote Control
The BLET questions the safety of remote control train operations and demands safety reforms in a sweeping investigative report published by the New York Times on May 27 (via Yahoo, no subscription necessary). This major news story with national implications came about...
May 30, 2024 | FRA, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Train Length
(Source: Trains.com, May 29, 2024) The risk of derailment increases with freight train length, according to an academic study published today, which found that a 200-car train is 24% more likely to derail than a 50-car train. The study — by researchers from Brigham...
