SMART UnionNew Jersey Transit is planning to conduct a sweeping safety review of its rail operations.
The agency has hired an outside consultant and is forming a 17-member committee that will be made up of employees at all levels to take a hard look at maintenance procedures, work practices, equipment and its “overall safety culture,” NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said.
Read the complete story at lohud.com.
ORLAND, Calif. – A FedEx tractor-trailer crossed over a grassy median on a Northern California freeway and slammed into a bus carrying more than 40 high school students in an explosive crash that left 10 people dead, authorities said.
Among the students on the trip to visit Humboldt State University was Steven Clavijo, 18, a senior at West Ranch High in Santa Clarita, who planned to enroll in the school. Just as Clavijo was trying to catch a nap Thursday afternoon, he said he felt the big vehicle begin to shake from left to right and then he heard a loud boom.
Read the complete story at the Associated Press.
The federal Medicare program provides hospital and medical insurance protection for railroad retirement annuitants and their families, just as it does for social security beneficiaries. Medicare has the following parts:
The following questions and answers provide basic information on Medicare eligibility and coverage, as well as other information on the Medicare program.
1. Who is eligible for Medicare?
All railroad retirement beneficiaries age 65 or over and other persons who are directly or potentially eligible for railroad retirement benefits are covered by the program. Although the age requirements for some unreduced railroad retirement benefits have risen just like the social security requirements, beneficiaries are still eligible for Medicare at age 65.
Coverage before age 65 is available for disabled employee annuitants who have been entitled to monthly benefits based on total disability for at least 24 months and have a disability insured status under social security law. There is no 24-month waiting period for those who have ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
If entitled to monthly benefits based on an occupational disability, and the individual has been granted a disability freeze, he or she is eligible for Medicare starting with the 30th month after the freeze date or, if later, the 25th month after he or she became entitled to monthly benefits. If receiving benefits due to occupational disability and the person has not been granted a disability freeze, he or she is generally eligible for Medicare at age 65. (The standards for a disability freeze determination follow social security law and are comparable to the medical criteria a person must meet to be granted a total disability.)
Under certain conditions, spouses, divorced spouses, surviving divorced spouses, widow(er)s, or a dependent parent may be eligible for Medicare hospital insurance based on an employee’s work record when the spouse, etc., turns age 65. Also, disabled widow(er)s under age 65, disabled surviving divorced spouses under age 65, and disabled children may be eligible for Medicare, usually after a 24-month waiting period.
Medicare coverage at any age on the basis of permanent kidney failure requiring hemodialysis or receipt of a kidney transplant is also available to employee annuitants, employees who have not retired but meet certain minimum service requirements, spouses, and dependent children. The Social Security Administration has jurisdiction of Medicare in these cases. Therefore, a social security office should be contacted for information on coverage for kidney disease.
2. How do persons enroll in Medicare?
If a retired employee, or a family member, is receiving a railroad retirement annuity, enrollment for both Medicare Part A and Part B is generally automatic and coverage begins when the person reaches age 65. For beneficiaries who are totally and permanently disabled, both Medicare Part A and Part B start automatically with the 30th month after the beneficiary became disabled or, if later, the 25th month after the beneficiary became entitled to monthly benefits. Even though enrollment is automatic, an individual may decline Part B; this does not prevent him or her from applying for Part B at a later date. However, premiums may be higher if enrollment is delayed. (See question 5 for more information on delayed enrollment.)
If an individual is eligible for, but not receiving an annuity, he or she should contact the nearest Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) office before attaining age 65 and apply for both Part A and Part B. (This does not mean that the individual must retire, if presently working.) The best time to apply is during the 3 months before the month in which the individual reaches age 65. He or she will then have both Part A and Part B protection beginning with the month age 65 is reached. If the individual does not enroll for Part B in the 3 months before attaining age 65, he or she can enroll in the month age 65 is reached, or during the 3 months that follow, but there will be a delay of 1 to 3 months before Part B is effective. Individuals who do not enroll during this “initial enrollment period” may sign up in any “general enrollment period” (Jan. 1 – March 31 each year). Coverage for such individuals begins July 1 of the year of enrollment.
3. Are there costs associated with Medicare Part A (hospital insurance)?
Yes. While individuals don’t have to pay a premium to receive Medicare Part A, recipients of Part A benefits are billed by the hospital for a deductible amount ($1,216 in 2014), as well as any coinsurance amount due and any non-covered services. The remainder of the bill from the hospital, as well as bills for services in skilled nursing facilities or home health visits, is sent to Medicare to pay its share.
4. What are the costs associated with Medicare Part B (medical insurance)?
Anyone eligible for Medicare hospital insurance (Part A) can enroll in Medicare medical insurance (Part B) by paying a monthly premium. The standard premium is $104.90 in 2014. Monthly premiums for some beneficiaries are greater, depending on a beneficiary’s or married couple’s modified adjusted gross income. The income-related Part B premiums for 2014 are $146.90, $209.80, $272.70, or $335.70, depending on the extent to which an individual beneficiary’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $85,000 ($170,000 for a married couple), with the highest premium rates only paid by beneficiaries whose modified adjusted gross incomes are over $214,000 ($428,000 for a married couple).
There is also an annual deductible ($147 in 2014) for Part B services.
Palmetto GBA, a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, generally processes claims for Part B benefits filed on behalf of railroad retirement beneficiaries in the Original Medicare Plan (the traditional fee-for-service Medicare plan). An individual in the Original Medicare Plan should have his or her hospital, doctor, or other health care provider submit Part B claims directly to:
Palmetto GBA
Railroad Medicare Part B Office
P.O. Box 10066
Augusta, GA 30999-0001
Contact Palmetto GBA at (800) 833-4455 or visit www.palmettogba.com/medicare.
Persons with questions about Part B claims under the Original Medicare Plan can contact Palmetto GBA as notated above.
5. Can Medicare Part B premiums increase for delayed enrollment?
Yes. Premiums for Part B are increased 10 percent for each 12-month period the individual could have been, but was not, enrolled. However, individu
als age 65 or older who wait to enroll in Part B because they have group health plan coverage based on their own or their spouse’s current employment may not have to pay higher premiums because they may be eligible for “special enrollment periods.” The same special enrollment period rules apply to disabled individuals, except that the group health insurance may be based on the current employment of the individual, his or her spouse, or a family member.
Individuals deciding when to enroll in Medicare Part B must consider how this will affect eligibility for health insurance policies which supplement Medicare coverage. These include “Medigap” insurance and prescription drug coverage, and are explained in the answers to questions 6 through 8.
6. What is Medigap insurance?
Many private insurance companies sell insurance, called “Medigap” for short, that helps pay for services not covered by the Original Medicare Plan. Policies may cover deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, health care outside the United States and more. Generally, individuals need Medicare Part A and Part B to enroll, and a monthly premium is charged. When someone first enrolls in Medicare Part B at age 65 or older, he or she has a six-month “Medigap open enrollment period.” During this period, an insurance company cannot deny coverage, place conditions on a policy, or charge more for a policy because of past or present health problems.
7. Do Medicare beneficiaries have choices available for receiving health care services?
Yes. Under the Original Medicare Plan, the fee-for-service Medicare plan that is available nationwide, a beneficiary can see any doctor or provider who accepts Medicare and is accepting new Medicare patients.
However, a beneficiary may opt to choose a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C) instead. These plans are managed by Medicare-approved private insurance companies. Medicare Advantage Plans combine Medicare Part A and Part B coverage, and are available in most areas of the country. An individual must have Medicare Part A and Part B to join a Medicare Advantage Plan, and must live in the plan’s service area. Medicare Advantage Plan choices include regional preferred provider organizations (PPOs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), private fee-for-service plans and others. A PPO is a plan under which a beneficiary uses doctors, hospitals, and providers belonging to a network; beneficiaries can use doctors, hospitals, and providers outside the network for an additional cost. Under a Medicare Advantage Plan, a beneficiary may pay lower copayments and receive extra benefits. Most plans also include Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D).
8. How do Medicare prescription drug plans work?
Medicare contracts with private companies to offer beneficiaries voluntary prescription drug coverage through a variety of options, with different covered prescriptions and different costs. Beneficiaries pay a monthly premium (averaging about $32 in 2014), a yearly deductible (up to $310 in 2014) and part of the cost of prescriptions. Those with limited income and resources may qualify for help in paying some prescription drug costs.
The Affordable Care Act requires some Part D beneficiaries to also pay a monthly adjustment amount, depending on a beneficiary’s or married couple’s modified adjusted gross income. The Part D income-related monthly adjustment amounts in 2014 are $12.10, $31.10, $50.20, or $69.30, depending on the extent to which an individual beneficiary’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $85,000 ($170,000 for a married couple), with the highest amounts only paid by beneficiaries whose incomes are over $214,000 ($428,000 for a married couple).
To enroll, individuals must have Medicare Part A and live in the prescription drug benefit plan’s service area. Beneficiaries can join during the period that starts 3 months before the month their Medicare coverage starts and ends 3 months after that month. There may be a higher premium if an individual doesn’t join a Medicare drug plan when first eligible. In most cases, there is no automatic enrollment to get a Medicare prescription drug plan. Individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans will generally get their prescription drug coverage through their plan.
9. Where can I get more information about the Medicare program?
Railroad retirement beneficiaries should contact the RRB toll-free at (877) 772-5772 for general information on their Medicare coverage.
More detailed information on Medicare’s benefits, costs, and health care options is available from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publication Medicare & You, which is mailed to Medicare beneficiary households each fall and to new Medicare beneficiaries when they become eligible for coverage. Medicare & You and other publications are also available by visiting Medicare’s website, www.medicare.gov, or by calling the Medicare toll-free number, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
WASHINGTON – More than a dozen U.S. senators, including North Dakota Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and John Hoeven, are pushing to put more federal railroad inspectors in the field.
Boosting inspector numbers – which haven’t grown in the Bakken region even as oil production and crude-by-rail traffic has boomed – has become a top priority for federal officials and lawmakers after a year marked by several high profile crude oil accidents on railroads.
Read the complete story at The Jamestown Sun.
Federal Railroad Administration chief Joseph Szabo testified April 10 before members of the Surface Transportation Board regarding the negative impact service degradation on the nation’s railroad network could have on rail safety and Amtrak on-time performance.
His prepared oral testimony follows:
Chairman Elliott and Vice Chairman Begeman, on behalf of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the negative impact service degradation in our Nation’s rail network can have both on rail safety and on Amtrak’s on-time performance.
Let me first talk about FRA’s top priority – rail safety.
Over the past decade, our-data based oversight and enforcement has helped the industry achieve a 47 percent decrease in both train accidents and derailments, and a 35 percent decrease in highway-rail grade crossing accidents.
By most measures, Fiscal Year 2013 was the safest year on record. But we owe it to the public to always do better.
And that’s why the railroad’s weekly metrics showing railroad performance declines among Class I carriers are a big concern to us.
As railroad performance declines, rail velocities diminish, cars on line increase, terminal dwell time increases – and above all, our experience tells us, safety can suffer, too.
We learned this with the significant service degradation Union Pacific/Southern Pacific faced about 15 years ago – when we testified before the Board – as an example of how quickly operating conditions can change and affect safety.
Experience tells us there can be a safety breakdown, for example, when it comes to the ability of supervisors to perform their jobs, as a consequence of additional work pressures.
Ineffective crew utilization can lead to employee fatigue. And in order to ensure adequate rest, crews need absolute predictability as to when they go to work.
And, as a railroad rushes to gain the upper hand on service issues, it becomes necessary to hire new employees. Without adequate training that instills the proper safety culture, the number of accidents is likely to rise.
As large of a role as the Nation’s freight railroads have in serving our Nation’s businesses and economy, no concern must ever come before safety.
That’s why we have been monitoring this service situation closely and meeting with railroad CEOs to gain assurances that the carriers are operating in the safest manner.
In BNSF’s letter to the Board in response to the Western Coal Traffic League’s request for a proceeding concerning rail service problems, the railroad announced that it will be hiring 5,000 employees in 2014 to relieve these service pressures.
While laudable, it is imperative that the railroad undertake the proper training to ensure that the railroad operates in the safest manner.
We also have noticed a marked increase in delays to Amtrak trains and an associated degradation in on-time performance.
DOT and FRA provide financial assistance to Amtrak to partially fund its operations and capital investments, and work to support Amtrak’s efforts to enhance its passenger rail services. For these reasons, Amtrak’s financial performance is of great interest to us.
And in keeping with our nationwide mandate to improve the safety of passenger and freight railroads, we focus closely on the safety of Amtrak’s facilities, equipment, and transportation operations.
It should be noted that Amtrak has set ridership records in 10 out of the last 11 years – and last year was relied upon by more than 32 million travelers. So, service issues that ultimately delay intercity passenger trains have many negative implications for travelers, Amtrak, and the transportation network as a whole.
Late trains may cause travelers to miss connections or abandon their travel plans entirely. Reduced ridership and additional operating delays cause Amtrak immediate and, potentially, long-term financial harm.
A slower, less efficient passenger rail network reduces travel options for some and may put more strain on other modes of transportation, as well.
DOT and FRA closely monitor the on-time performance of Amtrak services, because even just a few months of poor performance have the potential to cascade into long term problems.
Over the past twelve months, we have witnessed a steady decline in timeliness of Amtrak trains, particularly those that operate over the freight rail network.
Only about 63 percent of Amtrak’s Long Distance trains reached their endpoint on time between March 2013 and February 2014 – 12 percent worse than the previous 12 months.
From December 2013 to February 2014, half of all Long Distance trains were late to their final destination.
On-time arrivals to intermediate stations on Long Distance routes were even less frequent, at 48 percent over the last 12 months and just under 40 percent this past December through February.
Shorter, State Corridor trains did not fare much better, with nearly a quarter, 22 percent, of all such trains arriving late over the past 12 months.
Amtrak’s on time performance has been a long-term interest of this Department and of Congress – and Amtrak tracks and reports all train delays to the FRA.
For February 2014, the month for which data was most recently reported to FRA, delays attributable to the host freight railroad were the highest in over 5 years. The largest category of Amtrak delays in recent months has been host freight train interference.
Such a designation is based on the Amtrak conductor’s immediate observable cause.
The extreme delays to Amtrak and other users of the network are a symptom of a fragile network that is strained and struggling to react.
Thank you for providing DOT the opportunity to comment in the proceeding. I would be happy to answer questions.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Wednesday asked oil-by-rail leaders to create a tank car fit to carry the kinds of fuel involved in recent fiery derailments even as he dodged lawmaker questions about when such a plan would be ready.
Rail shipments of oil have been on the rise in regions that lack sufficient pipelines such as North Dakota’s Bakken energy patch, where production is nearing 1 million barrels per day and roughly 72 percent of that fuel moves on the tracks.
Read the complete story at Inforum.com.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration April 9 announced its intention to issue a proposed rule requiring two-person train crews on crude oil trains and establishing minimum crew size standards for most main line freight and passenger rail operations. The FRA also intends to advance a rulemaking on train securement and recommends a rulemaking on the movement of hazardous materials.
“Safety is our highest priority, and we are committed to taking the necessary steps to assure the safety of those who work for railroads and shippers, and the residents and communities along shipping routes,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “The proposed rulemaking on crew size is the latest effort in our comprehensive strategy to ensure crude oil is transported as safely as possible.”
The announcement follows the deliberations of three Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) Working Groups on Appropriate Train Crew Size, Securement and Hazardous Materials Issues. All three working groups were created at DOT’s request last summer in response to the Lac-Mégantic derailment. The emergency meeting was held to evaluate and consider wide-ranging proposals to further enhance railroad safety including the safe shipment of crude oil by rail. Two of the working groups produced recommendations that were adopted by the full RSAC for consideration in future rulemakings. In light of the working group’s failure to reach consensus on crew size, the FRA took action today to move forward with a rule-making.
“We believe that safety is enhanced with the use of a multiple person crew – safety dictates that you never allow a single point of failure,” FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo said. “Ensuring that trains are adequately staffed for the type of service operated is critically important to ensure safety redundancy. We commend the RSAC’s efforts and will use the valuable input received to formulate a proposed rule that protects the public and recognizes the nuance of railroad operations.”
“The FRA’s RSAC process confirmed that rail operational safety is enhanced with the use of a multiple-person crew,” said SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich. “Both the conductor and locomotive engineer are certified and licensed under federal regulations and work cooperatively as a team. During this working group process, the committee also confirmed that there are many required tasks that are performed by our train crews each day in normal operations that a single crew member cannot perform by themselves.
“It takes two skilled and qualified employees to perform a normal brake test, to separate a train at a highway-rail crossing, to receive and acknowledge mandatory directives while moving, to make routine pick up and set out of cars from the train, and also to act as a first responder for indicated defects in equipment, derailments, unexpected application of brakes, and highway-rail crossing collisions.”
While existing FRA regulations do not mandate minimum crew staffing requirements, current industry practice is to have two-person crews for over-the-road operations. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) will most likely require a minimum of two-person crews for most mainline train operations, including those trains carrying crude oil. It is also expected to include appropriate exceptions.
“Safety is good business in the rail industry. We are very disappointed that the Association of American Railroads and some short line railroads continue to keep their head in the sand when confronted with critical safety concerns. AAR continues to ignore the preventable accident that occurred less than 20 miles north of our border,” Previsich added.
FRA plans to issue an additional NPRM based on the consensus recommendations of the Securement Working Group and approved by the full RSAC that would prohibit certain unattended freight trains or standing freight cars on main track or sidings and require railroads to adopt and implement procedures to verify securement of trains and unattended equipment for emergency responders. It would also require locomotive cabs to be locked and reversers to be removed and secured. Railroads would also be required to obtain advance approval from FRA for locations or circumstances where unattended cars or equipment may be left.
The full RSAC also approved four recommendations of the Hazardous Materials Issues Working Group relating to identification, classification, operational control and handling of certain shipments. The four recommendations, directed to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), include amending or revising the definitions of “residue” and “key train,” and clarifying its regulatory jurisdiction over the loading, unloading and storage of hazmat before and during transportation. PHMSA continues to advance a rulemaking addressing the integrity of DOT Specification 111 tanker cars and the safe shipment by rail of flammable materials such as crude oil.
On Aug. 29, 2013, the first-ever emergency session of the RSAC was held in response to the July 6, 2013, derailment of an unattended Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway freight train containing crude oil in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada. Building upon Foxx’s February agreement with the rail and petroleum industries, the FRA’s Emergency Order 28 and Safety Advisory 2013-06, PHMSA’s Operation Safe Delivery, Safety Alerts and a DOT Emergency Order, the three RSAC working groups reviewed existing regulations and standards to identify and mitigate the risks posed by such shipments and prevent future accidents.
“The unfortunate tragedy in Lac-Mégantic highlighted the need for sanity in intercity rail operations,” said SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director James Stem. “Operating a long freight train through the communities that our industry serves with only one person on a crew is not only unsafe, but is also unsustainable.
“The safety improvements in our industry are directly linked to the training and certification of the two professionals on the locomotives and the other professional employees and their managers that are operating, repairing and maintaining our rail network throughout the United States. Our rail industry today is enjoying record profits, record productivity, and every stock broker is recommending a ‘buy’ on all railroad stocks. There is no argument that the current regulatory scheme in place today is a critical component of that productivity, and thus the high level of profitability.”
Start time variability in work schedules is often assumed to be a cause of railroad employee fatigue because unpredictable work-start times prevent employees from planning sleep and personal activities.
A new report published by the Federal Railroad Administration examines work start time differences from three different databases previously published by the FRA. The studies conclude that high variability in shift start times is found to contribute to human fatigue, which is known to increase the probability of accidents. Thus, a potential way of increasing safety is to reduce shift start-time variability.
Discussions about employee fatigue in the U.S. railroad industry often focus on the predictability of work start times for employees engaged in train and engine (T&E) freight and passenger service.
According to the FRA, labor union representatives often argue that unpredictable work start times heavily prevent employees from planning sleep and personal activities, which then results in fatigue.
Train and engine employees who work in yards, local freight service, and passenger and commuter operations have jobs with regular start times and high work start time predictability. However, employees on the extra board, which sometimes offers employees additional compensation for volunteering to work additional hours within the statutory limit, have work schedules that may vary from day to day because they fill in for employees with regular assignments.
These jobs have lower work start time predictability. Jobs in passenger service often have a split assignment in which the employee works the morning rush, has time off in the middle of the day (referred to as “interim release”), and returns to work for the evening rush. Interim release is usually four hours or more. These jobs often have high work start time predictability.
Train and engine employees who work in road freight service often do not have a regular work schedule as far as the days that they work or the time that their work starts. These jobs have low start time predictability.
To view the FRA report, click here.
A new report, “The Northeast Corridor and the American Economy,” produced by the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission (NEC Commission) details how the Northeast Corridor (NEC), carrying 750,000 daily Amtrak and commuter/regional rail passengers, “is a critical national asset, an economic engine for the U.S., and contributes about $50 billion a year to the national economy.”
The report, accessible by clicking here, also calculates that a loss of the NEC for a single day would cost nearly $100 million in transportation-related impacts and productivity losses.
Read the complete story at Railway Age.
Conductors assaulted on trains. Employee facilities that are filthy and infested with rodents. A culture where “an on-time train is better than a safe train.”
An New Jersey Transit union official said Tuesday (April 8) there is no culture of safety at the statewide transportation agency.
“We just go about our work every day and we’re not told anything — nobody ever talks to us about safety,” Michael J. Reilly, general chairman with the United Transportation Union, said during the monthly NJ Transit board meeting in Newark.
Read the complete story at NJ.com.