Author: amyr

Home>Articles by: amyr

NEW ORLEANS – Federal Railroad Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg and New Orleans Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin hosted the eighth of 11 nationwide regional forums on the Beyond Traffic draft framework at the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority Building. The Beyond Traffic report examines the trends and choices facing America’s transportation infrastructure over the next three decades, including a rapidly growing population, increasing freight volume, demographic shifts in rural and urban areas, and a transportation system facing more frequent extreme weather events. The report predicts increased gridlock nationwide unless changes are made in the near-term.

The town-hall style meeting allowed citizens, elected officials, metropolitan planners, transportation industry partners, business owners, and community leaders to learn more about the framework and ask questions about the trends identified in it. Acting Administrator Feinberg and Deputy Mayor Kopplin also solicited input from the participants on their region-specific experiences and asked for ideas on how to solve those challenges.

“Beyond Traffic recognizes that New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast megaregion will be uniquely impacted by critical transportation challenges and immense population growth over the next 30 years,” said Acting Administrator Feinberg. “As we finalize the framework, we wanted to hear directly from the residents who know their transportation systems the best. The insightful and productive discussion we had this morning is one that all Americans should be having about our country’s transportation needs.”

By 2050, the population of the Gulf Coast megaregion – which includes Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Jackson, Mobile and New Orleans – is expected to increase by more than 76 percent. But, as the condition of transportation infrastructure continues to worsen, leaders within the region have critical investment decisions to make in order to accommodate this growth in population while preserving quality of life.

“As New Orleans continues to experience unprecedented population growth, smart transportation will remain a key priority,” said New Orleans Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the federal government and our local and regional stake holders.”

Following remarks by the Deputy Mayor and Acting Administrator and a presentation from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Beyond Traffic team, Deputy Mayor Kopplin, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden, Natchez MS Mayor Larry L. “Butch” Brown, and Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development Secretary Sherri H. LeBas participated in a panel focusing on the impact of Beyond Traffic trends in the region. The last half of the program engaged attendees in a facilitated conversation, giving them the opportunity to share feedback that will inform the final Beyond Traffic report when it is published in 2016.

To learn more about Beyond Traffic or to read the full framework, click here.

Tags Beyond Traffic, Feinberg, FRA, transportation infrastructure

Ohio State Senators Joe Schiavoni (D – Dist. 33) and Kenny Yuko (D – Dist. 25) have introduced Senate Bill 229 – a bill calling for two-person crews on locomotives – in the state.
The bill has bi-partisan support and has been co-sponsored by nine state senators: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), Sen. Jim Hughes (R – Dist. 16), Sen. Capri Cafaro (D – Dist. 32), Sen. Sandra Williams (D – Dist. 21), Sen. Scott Oelslager (R – Dist. 29), Sen. Michael Skindell (D – Dist. 23), Sen. Charleta Tavares (D – Dist. 15), Sen. Cecil Thomas (D – Dist. 9) and Sen. Lou Gentile (D – Dist. 30).
The bill reads, “A train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight shall have a crew that consists of at least two individuals. No superintendent, trainmaster, or other employee of a railroad shall order or otherwise require a train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight to be operated unless it has a crew that consists of at least two individuals.”
The bill excludes hostler service and/or utility employees.
The bill calls for penalties of $250-$1,000 for a first violation, $1,000-$5,000 for a second violation and $5,000-$10,000 for a third violation.

CLEVELAND – Buried under the rust, the decades of peeling paint jobs, the thousands of miles, the dirt and the gunk is a golden era.

It was a time when today’s industrial wastelands employed most of America, and the railroad was the country’s lifeline.

“Look, it’s like you just walked into the 1950s,” said Steve Korpus Jr., as he pulled on the brake lever of a hulking locomotive and pointed out at a crumbling part of a roundhouse that has seen better days. “This is what America used to be like.”

Yes, those were different days. But the dream and the romance with trains live on at the Midwest Railway Preservation Society.

Read more from RailwayAge.

Tags BNSF, frac sand train, fracking

bus2 The maintenance workers of First Student Inc. of Bus Local 1908 in Rochester, N.Y. have ratified a four-year agreement. The agreement was approved with 17 members voting for the agreement and one against, for a total of 18 votes.

A collective effort improved work rules, created a travel time per diem for techs, increasing boot and tool allowance. Additionally, a wage increase of 9.5 percent with an Automated Service Excellence (ASE) incentive program increasing hourly wages up to 80 cents per hour.

ASE are certification tests (diesel engines, suspension and steering, heating and A/C, brakes, preventative maintenance, etc.) taken by mechanics. After passing, the mechanics will receive 10 cents per test with a maximum of eight tests. First Student has agreed to pay for each test and for one retest if the test is failed the first time. Each certification lasts for five years before the mechanics will have to be re-certified. A mechanic can pick and choose which tests he or she would like to take and receive the incentive.

“I would like to give recognition to Local Chairperson Jonathan Connors, with the negotiating committee; Vice Local Chairperson Doug Pearce, Local Committee Secretary Todd Clevenger, Shop Steward Mark Meuse and Technicians Sean Irwin and Chris Divens. Everyone worked long evenings in the effort to bring a superior agreement to the membership in Rochester,” Alternate Vice President-Bus Alvy Hughes said.

Tags contract ratified, First Student, Maintenance Workers

MONTGOMERY, W.Va.— The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced the cause of the February 16, 2015 CSX/Plains All American derailment in Mount Carbon, W.Va. The accident resulted in 27 derailed cars, a fire that ignited immediately and eventually burned for days and the evacuation of hundreds of local residents.

FRA was the lead agency tasked with responding to and investigating the February accident. Following a thorough investigation, the FRA announced the cause of the derailment to be a broken rail, resulting from a vertical split head rail defect. The defect that eventually resulted in the derailment was missed by CSX, and their contractor, Sperry Rail Service, on two separate inspections in the months leading up to the accident.

In addition to announcing the cause of the derailment, FRA also provided a path forward to prevent similar rail-caused accidents in the future:

The agency announced it will release a Safety Advisory, which urges closer and more detailed inspections where defects and flaws are suspected, and stronger training for rail inspection vehicle operators
FRA announced it will explore the need for rail-head wear standards and potentially require railroads to slow trains or replace a rail when certain conditions pose a safety risk
FRA secured a commitment from CSX to require internal rail flaw operators to review previous inspection data alongside real-time data in order to assist in identifying conditions and flaws that have changed or worsened between inspections

“Our country relies on the safe transportation of large quantities of energy products across the nation, and it is our responsibility to require operators to implement strict safety standards,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “FRA’s findings and action today should make it clear to rail operators that we will do exactly that.”

The cause of the derailment – the vertical split head broken rail – was missed in at least two separate rail inspections in December 2014 and January 2015. Data from both inspections show evidence of the defect, but neither CSX or CSX’s contractor, Sperry Rail Service, discovered the defect which led to the broken rail. FRA has issued $25,000 fines against both CSX and Sperry Rail Service for failure to verify a potential rail defect.

The broken rail was also near the location of a previous broken rail discovered by an FRA inspector and repaired in May 2014.

“When we see a need for action, we will take it, and that is what FRA is doing today. Broken rail is one of the leading causes of accidents. Railroads moving crude and other hazardous materials through and alongside communities bear significant and special responsibility. All railroads, not just CSX, must be more diligent when inspecting for internal rail flaws or when contracting out inspection work,” said FRA Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg. “This is just our latest effort to increase the safe transportation of crude and other energy products.”

Over the last two years, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has taken more than two dozen actions to improve the safety of the transport of crude and other flammable liquids. In May 2015, DOT released its final, comprehensive rule that raises the bar on the safe transportation of flammable liquids by rail. The rule requires stronger tank cars and a better, faster, more efficient braking system – electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. ECP brakes can reduce the distance and time needed for a train to stop and keep more tank cars on the track in the event of a derailment. The DOT rule also supplements FRA’s actions to add an Automated Track Inspection Program car to inspect crude routes, focus track inspectors on crude routes via our CORETEX program, and secure voluntary agreements from railroads to inspect track more frequently than current regulations require.

Read the accident findings report: Accident Findings Report.

Tags CSX, DOT, ECP brakes, FRA, Mount Carbon, W. Va.

A Blue Ribbon Panel, which was chosen last year by Amtrak‘s President and CEO Joe Boardman to identify ways to ease the massive “Chicago Gateway” delays to passenger and freight traffic, has released its findings.

The panel also released a study it commissioned that shows the Chicago congestion problem creates an economic vulnerability of up to $799 billion every year, impacting six key industries, including agriculture and natural resources, automotive, manufacturing, retail and services, and constituting 85 percent of the U.S domestic product.

Boardman said, “The panel interviewed experts with the freight rail industry, Metra commuter rail, the states of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan and others and the verdict was unanimous: the implications of failing to act are dire for the economy of the nation in general and the Chicago area in particular.”