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.
Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. (MM&A) had been the subject of repeated infraction notices for violations of the rules surrounding the securing of trains for years before the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic, but Transport Canada never imposed any sanctions on the company.
Those violations, documented in Transport Canada files obtained by Radio-Canada’s investigative program, Enquête, were noted several times in 2004 and 2009, and again in 2011 and 2012.
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 Sante Fe Railway, 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.
A 120-car train making its way across Pennsylvania derailed Thursday morning, spilling thousands of gallons of oil and alarming observers who have called for stricter safety standards on trains hauling hazardous material.
The train is owned by the New Jersey-based Norfolk Southern Corp — company officials told Reuters that 21 tank cars went off the tracks at a turn near the Kiskiminetas River in Vandergrift, a small town in western Pennsylvania.
The Federal Aviation Administration Feb. 12 issued a final rule that reinforces that airline pilots cannot use portable electronic devices for personal use in all operations.
The rule codifies existing FAA policies and procedures and meets an FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 mandate by prohibiting all commercial airline (passenger and cargo) flight crews from using personal wireless communications devices or laptop computers for personal reasons during all aircraft operations.
The agency’s 1981 “sterile cockpit” rule already forbids pilots to engage in distracting behavior during critical phases of flight, including take-off and landing, and we have previously asked carriers to address the distraction issue through their crew training programs.
The rule reflects current flight deck operating procedures and imposes minimal cost to the airlines. This rule follows a Jan. 15, 2013, proposal and takes effect in 60 days.
Kara Clarke, daughter of member and engineer George Clarke, has been nominated to compete on the U19 United States girls’ soccer team this summer at the 2014 United World Games in Klagenfurt, Austria, Local 446 Chairperson Tyler Thompson reports. Members of the local are assisting the family in a fundraising effort to raise money for the family’s travel expenses and accommodations. To view a flyer detailing the Clarke family’s three fundraising raffles, click here.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced a proposed rule to establish a drug and alcohol clearinghouse for all national commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders. The clearinghouse would help improve roadway safety by making it easier to determine whether a truck or bus driver is prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle for failing to comply with federal drug and alcohol regulations, including mandatory testing.
“Safety is our highest priority, and we will continue to embrace new tools and opportunities that protect the travelers on our nation’s roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Today’s proposal will help ensure dangerous drivers stay off the road, while encouraging the employment of the many safe drivers who follow our drug and alcohol requirements.”
Current federal regulations require employers to conduct mandatory pre-employment screening of a CDL driver’s qualifications based upon his or her driving record. However, there has not been a single federal repository recording positive drug and alcohol tests by CDL holders that employers would be able to search to ensure that the driver is able to perform safety-sensitive duties.
The proposed rule announced today would create such a repository and require employers to conduct pre-employment searches for all new CDL drivers and annual searches on current drivers.
“We are leveraging technology to create a one-stop verification point to help companies hire drug and alcohol-free drivers,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “This proposal moves us further down the road toward improving safety for truck and bus companies, commercial drivers and the motoring public everywhere.”
Under the proposed rule announced today, FMCSA-regulated truck and bus companies, Medical Review Officers, Substance Abuse Professionals, and private, third party USDOT drug and alcohol testing laboratories would be required to record information about a driver who:
Fails a drug and/or alcohol test;
Refuses to submit to a drug and/or alcohol test; and
Successfully completes a substance abuse program and is legally qualified to return to duty.
Private, third-party USDOT drug and alcohol testing laboratories also would be required to report summary information annually. This information would be used to help identify companies that do not have a testing program.
To ensure the privacy of drivers involved, each CDL holder would need to provide his or her consent, before an employer could access the clearinghouse.
Drivers who refuse to provide this information could still be employed by the truck or bus company; however, they could not occupy safety-sensitive positions, such as operating a commercial motor vehicle.
It is a violation of federal regulations to drive a truck or bus under the influence of controlled substances or alcohol. Federal safety regulations require that truck and bus companies that employ CDL drivers conduct random drug and alcohol testing programs. Carriers must randomly test 10 percent of their CDL drivers for alcohol and 50 percent of their CDL drivers for drugs each year.
For each of the past three years, federal and state safety inspectors have conducted approximately 3.5 million random roadside inspections of commercial vehicles and of their drivers.
In 2013, on 2,095 occasions, or in 0.23 percent of the unannounced inspections, a CDL holder was immediately placed out-of-service and cited for violating federal regulations governing alcohol consumption. In 2012, FMCSA records show that there were 2,494 violations of this regulation.
In 2013, on 1,240 occasions, or in 0.13 percent of the unannounced inspections, a CDL holder was placed immediately out-of-service and cited for violating federal regulations governing controlled substances. In 2012, FMCSA records show that there were 1,139 violations of this regulation.
In addition to random testing, truck and bus companies are further required to perform drug and alcohol testing on new hires, drivers involved in significant crashes, and whenever a supervisor suspects a driver of using drugs or alcohol while at work.
The proposed rule announced today was directed by Congress in the most recent transportation bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.
For a copy of the Federal Register announcement, click here.
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.
The Federal Aviation Administration Feb. 12 issued a