The Metrolink passenger railroad Thursday (Feb. 20) will become the first commuter service in the nation to roll out a sophisticated collision avoidance system designed to overcome human error.
Had so-called positive train control been in place five years ago, experts say, it would have prevented Metrolink’s deadly Chatsworth crash. In that accident, an engineer missed a red stop signal while text-messaging on his cellphone and struck a Union Pacific freight train head-on. Twenty-five people died and 135 were injured.
Airlines sell a commodity and buy from monopolies, i.e., the airports that provide landing rights. So it isn’t surprising they have such a tough time making money. Now they have another problem: There aren’t enough pilots and co-pilots willing to work for the low pay offered by regional carriers.
Airlines call this a “shortage” and blame a recent rule from the Federal Aviation Administration that mandates co-pilots have at least 1,500 hours of flying experience, up from 250. At the margin, the rule does reduce the number of people qualified to serve as a first officer on a plane, but that doesn’t mean there is a shortage.
Telephone communications both to and from the SMART Transportation Division and United Transportation Union Insurance Association offices located in North Olmsted, Ohio, are currently disabled due to hardware issues.
Telephone contact with the offices above will be unavailable indefinitely while the SMART TD’s Information Technology Department assesses and repairs the damaged hardware.
SMART TD and UTU Insurance Association apologize for the inconvenience.
Railroad employees and their spouses closing in on retirement will be able to learn the latest benefit information and application requirements as part of a new program announced by Labor Member of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Walter A. Barrows.
Designed for railroad employees and spouses planning to retire within five years, the new Pre-Retirement Seminars will familiarize attendees with the retirement benefits available to them, and also guide them through the application process. Individuals who have not previously submitted documents required when filing a railroad retirement annuity application, such as proofs of age, marriage, or military service, are encouraged to bring this material to the seminar.
The program will begin this year on a pilot basis, with seminars planned for St. Louis on April 4, Omaha, Neb., on May 16, and Huntington, W.V., on June 20. Additional details regarding registration and locations will be announced soon.
RRB field personnel will lead the Pre-Retirement Seminars, which will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. On those same dates and in those same locations, Informational Conferences sponsored by the Office of the Labor Member will be conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for invited rail labor representatives.
News 4 has obtained a memo from the president of a huge school bus company telling its employees if they want to make extra money they need to cut serious corners.
And that, employees told News 4, is at the root of all the dangerous problems we’ve been uncovering.
Members of the Long Island congressional delegation are beginning to pressure the MTA to settle a contract dispute with Long Island Rail Road union workers and avert a strike that could cripple the nation’s largest commuter rail system as soon as next month.
But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has still not said whether it intends to defuse the strike threat by requesting a second Presidential Emergency Board after earlier rejecting the recommendations of the first emergency board.
Companies that transport massive amounts of flammable crude oil say that, after several fiery explosions, they’re not waiting for the U.S. government to issue new regulations and will replace tank cars with new safer cars as fast as they can.
Two oil companies, two Canadian railroads and a tank car manufacturer all have in recent days announced plans to increase the production and use of an updated tank car known as the DOT-111, shunning an older version of the car that many experts believe contributed to recent explosive accidents including the deadly July 6, 2013, derailment in Lac Megantic, Quebec, which killed 49 people.
James R. Young, who advanced to become Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) chairman, president and chief executive officer after starting with the railroad company in an entry-level finance position, died today. He was 61 years old. He died after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, the company said in a statement distributed by PR Newswire. Read the complete story at Bloomberg News.
Jesse E. Carr Jesse E. Carr, 95, retired general chairperson of former Southern Railway – Lines West General Committee of Adjustment GO 903 died Dec 26. A member of SMART Transportation Division Local 338 at Chattanooga, Tenn., Carr retired in 1982 following 41 years of continuous membership and railroad service. Carr was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served 33 months in Iran with a railway operating battalion. He was a member of the Chattanooga Lodge #199 of the Free & Accepted Masons for over 70 years, the Order of the Eastern Star and Southern Railway Retirees. Graveside services were held Dec. 28 at Hamilton Memorial Gardens in the Chapel of Devotion in Hixson, Tenn. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Maxine.
WASHINGTON – On the floor of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Feb. 10 shared the heroic story of Geoff Andersen, an engineer in training for Burlington Northern Santé Fe railroad, from Larimore, N.D., whose actions during the recent train derailment near Casselton, N.D., prevented the dangerous explosions from the crash from spreading farther. (Andersen is a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 525 at Grand Forks, N.D.) As a former civilian firefighter for the Grand Forks Air Force Base, Geoff was quick to think of a plan to unhook remaining oil cars and pull them safely away from the explosion. Donning fire-fighting gear he borrowed from the Casselton Fire Department, Geoff bravely walked towards the fire to connect the tanker cars in danger of exploding to the rear facing locomotive and haul 25 cars away from the fire. Had it not been for Geoff, the explosions following the train derailment would have been much worse. Click here for video of of Heitkamp telling Anderson’s story on the Senate floor. Here are Sen. Heitkamp’s floor remarks to honor the heroics of Geoff Andersen: Mr. President – I rise today to honor the heroics of Geoff Andersen, an engineer in training for Burlington Northern Santé Fe railroad whose bravery following the recent train derailment near Casselton, North Dakota, prevented the dangerous explosions from the crash from spreading farther. For many of us in the Senate, the Casselton derailment has trained our focus on efforts to improve safety for the rail shipments of crude oil. From increased track inspections to updated tanker car standards to the consideration of new routing options for crude shipments – all angles for improving the safety of crude rail shipments are being considered. What should not be overlooked in our efforts, however, is the importance of skillful and well trained railmen on the lines. Railmen like Geoff Andersen are the backbone of the industry, and when one goes above and beyond the call of duty to prevent a disaster from spreading, they deserve to be recognized. On December 30th, a grain train carrying soybeans to the Pacific Northwest derailed near Casselton, North Dakota. An axel broke on a car near the middle of the train, forcing the car off the rail and onto the tracks of the adjacent line carrying trains in the opposite direction. Conductor Bruce Anderson and Road Foreman of Engines Paul Douglas radioed the emergency to the oncoming train on the opposite tracks, but there was insufficient time to slow down the train heading their way. In the brief moments following the derailment, an eastbound train carrying crude oil collided with the soybean car laying over the tracks and exploded. Following the crash, Geoff and the entire crew from the westbound grain train sprang into action. Immediately following the derailment Conductor Bruce Anderson went back and pulled approximately 50 cars away from the fire. Recognizing the fire would soon spread to the remaining tanker cars, Geoff worked with Assistant Fire Chief Adrian Kieffer to hatch a plan to couple back onto the remaining oil cars and unhook the tanker cars and pull them away to safety. Geoff – a former civilian firefighter for the Grand Forks Air Force Base – borrowed two radios and fire protection gear from the Casselton Fire Department. His Engineer and trainer, Tom Cooks, jumped into the rear engine of the train to reverse the locomotive towards the fire and connect the train to the tanker cars in danger of exploding. Geoff, armed in fire protection gear, walked towards the fire to connect the train to the cars. He then walked even closer to the fire to pull the pin on the closest tanker car within a safe distance, getting 25 more cars away from the fire. Once the pin was pulled, Geoff radioed to Tom to pull the cars away. Because of Geoff’s heroics, the dangers from the derailment were minimized and the explosions were isolated to the tanker cars adjacent to the derailments. Had it not been for Geoff, this disaster would have been much worse. I would like to take this time to thank not only Geoff Andersen – but all those involved in the response including Engineer Tom Cooks, Conductor Bruce Anderson, Road Foreman of Engines Paul Douglas, Casselton Fire Chief Tim McLean, and Casselton Assistant Fire Chief Adrian Kieffer – for their presence of mind and decisive action following the crash to minimize the damage from the derailment. SMART Transportation Division member Geoff Andersen of Local 525 in fire-fighting gear.
The Metrolink passenger railroad Thursday (Feb. 20) will become the first commuter service in the nation to roll out a sophisticated collision avoidance system designed to overcome human error.
Airlines sell a commodity and buy from monopolies, i.e., the airports that provide landing rights. So it isn’t surprising they have such a tough time making money. Now they have another problem: There aren’t enough pilots and co-pilots willing to work for the low pay offered by regional carriers.
Railroad employees and their spouses closing in on retirement will be able to learn the latest benefit information and application requirements as part of a new program announced by Labor Member of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Walter A. Barrows.
News 4 has obtained a memo from the president of a huge school bus company telling its employees if they want to make extra money they need to cut serious corners.
Companies that transport massive amounts of flammable crude oil say that, after several fiery explosions, they’re not waiting for the U.S. government to issue new regulations and will replace tank cars with new safer cars as fast as they can.
James R. Young, who advanced to become Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) chairman, president and chief executive officer after starting with the railroad company in an entry-level finance position, died today. He was 61 years old.
