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STB_logoCongress over the weekend sent to President Obama for his signature a two-month extension of federal funding of highway and transit programs. The surface transportation law known as MAP-21 was set to expire May 31.

The House passed its bill — sponsored by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Bill Shuster (R-PA.) and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) — a week ago, while the Senate passed the bill on Saturday. 

Although pleased that the legislation will prevent a shutdown of summer projects, some transportation industry leaders expressed frustration and disappointment that Congress passed another short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund.

Read more from Progressive Railroading.

NASA LOGOCAPE CANAVERAL — The NASA Railroad has reached the end of its line.

Last month, the Florida East Coast Railway pulled NASA locomotives No. 1 and No. 3 from Kennedy Space Center on their way to new homes.

Their departure closed another chapter in the story of the space shuttle program’s retirement.

One of the trains’ primary responsibilities was to haul large solid rocket booster segments from the Jay Jay yard near Mims, Fla., across the river to the Launch Complex 39 area.

The segments were joined to form the twin, 149-foot boosters placed on either side of a shuttle, which last launched nearly four years ago.

Read more from 12News.

FRA will take additional steps in coming days to address speed and curves on all passenger corridors 

FRA logoWASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued an Emergency Order that will assist in controlling passenger train speeds at certain locations on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Today’s order is the latest in a series of actions the FRA has taken in the wake of last week’s derailment of Amtrak Train #188. 

FRA also announced today its intention to take additional actions in the coming days to address potential speed issues on all other passenger corridors.

Last Saturday, FRA instructed Amtrak to immediately take several actions to improve safety along the NEC.  As stated in that weekend announcement, today’s Emergency Order formalizes those instructions.

“Although we do not yet know what caused the derailment of Amtrak Train #188, the information we do have underscores the need to continue to do all we can to further promote safety along the Northeast Corridor,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Today’s action will help prevent similar incidents from occurring on the NEC until Amtrak completes its installation of Positive Train Control later this year.”

The Emergency Order requires Amtrak to take a series of steps to improve safety along the Northeast Corridor, including implementing Automatic Train Control (ATC) code changes and modifications, adopting other safety procedures at several curve locations with significant speed reductions, and submitting an action plan to FRA outlining additional steps.

FRA will take additional steps in the coming days and weeks to ensure other corridors are addressing potential over-speed issues as well.

“The Northeast Corridor is the busiest rail corridor in the country, and the steps we have ordered Amtrak to take will immediately improve safety on this busy corridor,” said Acting Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg. “But in the days and weeks to come, we will also do more – while FRA will continue to push Amtrak and other commuter lines to achieve full implementation of Positive Train Control, we will also work with them in the short term to immediately address potential over-speed issues.”

The Emergency Order requires Amtrak to immediately implement a code change to its ATC system near the Frankford Junction curve in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The change must enforce the passenger train speed limit of 50 mph, or lower, for northbound trains approaching the curve. Amtrak implemented this change prior to the restart of service on Monday.

In addition, Amtrak must survey the NEC to identify each main track curve where there is a reduction of more than 20 mph from the maximum authorized approach speed to that curve for passenger trains, and provide a list of each location to the FRA.

Following Amtrak’s identification of the curves referenced above, Amtrak must develop and submit an action plan to FRA that accomplishes each of the following:

  • Identify appropriate modifications to Amtrak’s existing ATC system or other signal systems (or alternative operational changes) to enable warning and enforcement of applicable passenger train speeds at identified curves. 
  • Target dates for implementing each identified modification to Amtrak’s existing ATC system or other signal systems (or alternative operational changes) to enable warning and enforcement of passenger train speeds at the identified curves. 

 Amtrak must submit the action plan to the FRA within 20 days of the date of the Emergency Order.

In addition, Amtrak must begin to install additional wayside signage alerting engineers and conductors of the maximum authorized passenger train speed throughout its Northeast Corridor system no later than 30 days after the date of the order.

To view a copy of the Emergency Order, click here.

searchWASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators concerned about the potential dangers of oil being transported via rail sent a letter calling on President Obama to nominate a permanent administrator to head the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the agency responsible for overseeing pipeline and crude-by-rail safety.

“It is important to states like ours that PHMSA have a permanent administrator to ensure accountability, to develop long-term plans for pipeline transport and crude-by-rail safety, and to respond quickly when things unfortunately go wrong,” the Senators wrote.

Washington senators Maria Cantwell, D-WA, and Patty Murray, D-WA, joined by Senators Jon Tester, D-Mont., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., all signed the letter.

Read more from the Central Kitsap Reporter.

oil-train-railOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law Thursday a measure that attempts to improve the safety of oil transportation as a sharp increase in trains carrying volatile crude oil poses new safety and environmental risks in the state.

A compromise reached on the last day of the regular legislative session resolved differences between competing bills in the Senate and House.

“Even with the passage of this bill I remain very concerned about the safety of Washingtonians,” Inslee said.

Read more from The Washington Times.

BNSF_loco_K.D.McLaughlin_150pxGRAND FORKS — BNSF Railway Co., the largest railroad in North Dakota, is furloughing some employees across its network, including in Mandan and elsewhere in the region.

“Customers’ volumes in the near term have come down somewhat from their prior estimates; as a result we are having to adjust our workforce demand numbers down to match volume and the work required to move that volume,” BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth wrote in an email. “As part of that, we are reducing the hiring plans for the next several months and are, unfortunately, having to temporarily furlough some of our employees at different locations across our network.”

McBeth said BNSF expects to call the furloughed employees back “as soon as business needs require,” though she didn’t have any specific figures on affected employees by region.

Read more from The Bismarck Tribune.

BNSF_Color_LogoBNSF Railway is furloughing employees in Northwest Montana and across its 32,000-mile system as freight traffic on America’s rails declines.

According to the Association of American Railroads, the number of freight car loads moved during the first full-week of May was down 7.9 percent from the same week last year. Freight traffic on America’s railroads were also down 5.3 percent in April when compared to the same month last year.

In a statement to the Beacon, BNSF spokesperson Matt Jones said that the railroad has temporarily furloughed employees at its terminals across the country, including Whitefish, Shelby and Havre. However, Jones said the railroad plans on bringing back all of the furloughed workers as soon as business permits.

Read more from the Flathead Beacon.

oil-train-railBakken Shale crude oil shipments via train have resumed in North Dakota, but there remain unanswered questions about what caused 10 tanker cars to derail and ignite in Heimdal, ND, earlier this month.

A spokesperson for BNSF, the railroad involved in the derailment, told NGI‘s Shale Daily on Tuesday that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues to investigate the May 6 accident, and the company is prevented from disclosing “any information that is germane” to the investigation.

In Washington, DC, an NTSB spokesperson said a final report, including identifying the cause of the incident, is likely to take up to a year, but some interim reports may be issued. NTSB’s Jim Southworth has been the investigator-in-charge.

Read more from NGI’s Shale Daily.

Old RR CurrencyLAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) – Sam Harmison has been collecting rare coins and currency since he was 12. He’ll be 99 this month and is celebrating by displaying his collection of civil war and railroad currency. A friend found it and gave it to him.

“They were tearing down an old farm house between Front Royal and Winchester, Virginia,” said Sam. “They found this tin box full of old money. He said he thought I’d might like to have it.”

“The Railroads, which were really really big at that time, issued their own money,” said Mike Harmison, Lakeside Bank president and Sam’s son. “It became more acceptable throughout the nation. The railroad would take it for fare and for freight and shipping, etc.”

Read more from kplctv.com.

STB_logoThe Surface Transportation Board today approved Norfolk Southern Railway Company’s (NSR) acquisition of approximately 283 miles of rail line in Pennsylvania and New York from the Delaware & Hudson Railway Company, Inc. (D&H), subject to certain conditions. The lines at issue, known as D&H’s South Lines, consist of approximately 267 miles of the main line between Sunbury/Kase, Pa., and Schenectady, N.Y., and approximately 15 miles of the running track between Voorheesville Junction and Delanson, N.Y. 

In reaching its decision, the Board found that NSR’s acquisition of the South Lines from D&H is not likely to cause a substantial lessening of competition or create a monopoly or restraint of trade. The Board found this to be true, even when taking into account D&H’s planned discontinuance of trackage rights that connect to the D&H South Lines, which are the subject of a separate proceeding. The Board concluded that any anticompetitive effects are unlikely and, even if they were to occur, would be far outweighed by the very strong public benefits of the transaction. Such benefits include allowing NSR to provide more reliable, safe, and efficient service for shippers and allowing NSR and rail transportation generally to provide more effective competition with other modes of transportation, such as trucking and barge. The Board issued the approval subject to a number of conditions, including a condition that NSR enter into two voluntary commercial agreements with D&H to preserve certain shippers’ access to two carriers (NSR and D&H). 

The Board issued its decision today in Norfolk Southern Railway Company—Acquisition and Operation—Certain Rail Lines of the Delaware and Hudson Railway Company, Inc., FD 35873. That decision may be viewed and downloaded at the STB website, www.stb.dot.gov, under “E-LIBRARY/Decisions & Notices/05/15/2015.”