The FBI on Friday will offer a new reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for a train derailment caused by an act sabotage in Arizona – nearly 20 years after it occurred.
The FBI did not say why the new reward is being offered now to find whoever sabotaged rail tracks in a remote area 70 miles southwest of Phoenix and caused the Amtrak passenger train the Sunset Limited to derail and fall off a bridge at around 1:35 a.m. on Oct. 9, 1995.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A Wyoming man is facing sentencing after pleading guilty to a charge in connection with taking two locomotives from a coal mine and crashing them into another train — telling authorities he was angry at a supervisor.
Derek Skyler Brux, 22, will learn his punishment Friday before U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl in Cheyenne.
A gubernatorial task force is looking for ways to pay for improving the state’s ability to prevent and respond to derailment of trains carrying millions of gallons of highly volatile crude oil through the heart of Virginia, including downtown Richmond.
The potential options include a hazardous materials or rail service fee on the shipments.
The uncertain path of Amtrak’s Hoosier State line took another curve Monday when state officials said they are close to a deal to keep it running for the long term.
The Indiana Department of Transportation said it has reached an “understanding” with federal railway officials to keep the Chicago-to-Indianapolis route running.
Union Pacific named Sherrye Hutcherson vice president of Human Resources effective May 4. Hutcherson will be responsible for leading the company’s human resources function, which includes talent management, training and development, strategic workforce planning, recruiting, compensation and benefits, and diversity initiatives.
Hutcherson h more than 20 years of experience in corporate and non-profit settings, with responsibilities ranging from human resources and finance to business development and customer satisfaction.
“Sherrye brings expertise in human resources, plus immense knowledge in employee engagement and strategic planning to Union Pacific,” said Diane Duren, Union Pacific executive vice president and corporate secretary. “Her leadership experience will be invaluable as Union Pacific continues to focus on recruiting, supporting and developing a talented and engaged workforce.”
In her most recent role as vice president of Corporate Services and chief administrative officer for Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), Hutcherson was responsible for human resources and labor relations, as well as corporate services, information technology and sustainability efforts. She previously served division manager roles for the utility’s human resources, customer solutions, and market research and product development teams. Prior to joining OPPD, Hutcherson was executive director of the Omaha Small Business Network, Inc. She started her career in Union Pacific’s Corporate Audit Department.
Hutcherson holds a master’s of business administration from Creighton University and a bachelor’s of science in accounting from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She is passionate about volunteerism, voting advocacy, and civil and women’s rights, having served on the boards of 75 North Revitalization, Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, the Urban League of Nebraska, and Women’s Center for Advancement (WCA).
?The National Transportation Safety Board April 6 issued four urgent recommendations calling for more robust and fire-resistant rail cars to be produced to safely carry flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol.
In its recommendations, the Board calls for an aggressive schedule of replacing or retrofitting the current rail car fleet with better thermal protection against heat from fires, such as through a ceramic thermal blanket, and increasing the capacity of pressure relief devices.
“We can’t wait a decade for safer rail cars,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart. “Crude oil rail traffic is increasing exponentially. That is why this issue is on our Most Wanted List of Safety Improvements. The industry needs to make this issue a priority and expedite the safety enhancements, otherwise, we continue to put our communities at risk.”
The Board said the current fleet of DOT-111 tank cars rupture too quickly when exposed to a pool fire caused by a derailment or other accident with resulting spillage and ignition. And based on a series of accidents the Board has investigated in recent months, performance of the industry’s enhanced rail car, the CPC-1232, is not satisfactory under these conditions.
“The NTSB concludes that the thermal performance and pressure relief capacity of bare steel tank cars that conform to current federal and industry requirements is insufficient to prevent tank failures from pool fire thermal exposure and the resulting overpressurization,” said the letter that included the recommendations from the Board to Acting Administrator Timothy P. Butters of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The Board also called for swiftness in changing the fleet and called for intermediate deadlines and transparent reporting to ensure the tank car fleet is being upgraded as quickly as possible.
WASHINGTON – Over the past year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has visited more than 100 communities and heard one common story – shared by all – about crumbling infrastructure and dwindling resources to fix it with. Secretary Foxx March 30 sent to Congress his solution to this problem: a long-term transportation bill that provides funding growth and certainty so that state and local governments can get back in the business of building things again.
The GROW AMERICA Act reflects President Obama’s vision for a six-year, $478 billion transportation reauthorization bill that invests in modernizing America’s infrastructure. As lawmakers try to fund transportation beyond May 31, GROW AMERICA provides members of the House of Representatives and Senate with the option of increasing investment in surface transportation by 45 percent, and supporting millions of jobs repairing and modernizing roads, bridges, railroads and transit systems in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
“All over the country, I hear the same account: the need to repair and expand our surface transportation system has never been greater, and yet federal transportation funding has never been in such short supply,” Secretary Foxx said. “Our proposal provides a level of funding and also funding certainty that our partners need and deserve. This is an opportunity to break away from 10 years of flat funding, not to mention these past six years in which Congress has funded transportation by passing 32 short-term measures.”
A recent study by the department, Beyond Traffic, confirmed that America’s infrastructure is failing. Drivers spend more than 40 hours annually stuck in traffic. Sixty-five percent of the roads they drive on are in less than good condition; one out of four bridges they cross needs to be replaced; and public transit faces an $86 billion repair backlog. The report also revealed that, over the next 30 years, Americans will ask more of our transportation system than ever before. The United States’ population will grow by 70 million; freight traffic will increase by 45 percent.
But rather than doing more, funding uncertainty has forced many states to do less instead. Tennessee, Arkansas, Delaware, and Wyoming have delayed more than a billion dollars in projects. Georgia, alone, has set aside $715 million in projects, while Mississippi has shifted its transportation dollars only to smaller maintenance efforts. As it stands, total investment in our roads, bridges, and transit systems is falling well below the level that is needed to keep them in good condition.
The GROW AMERICA Act will chart a new course. For one, it will increase investment in all forms of transportation, which will restore the ability of states and local governments to plan for both needed repairs and efforts that increase capacity to meet future demand. Additionally, the proposal ensures that taxpayer dollars are used more effectively and efficiently, and brings federal transportation policy into the 21st century. It will:
Increase safety across all modes of transportation, including by almost tripling the budget of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s automobile defects office;
Establish an $18 billion freight program so American businesses can compete effectively in a global economy and grow;
Increase connections so that more Americans have access to jobs and education, including by raising transit investment by 76 percent;
Put in place a transparent and clear permitting process to speed up project delivery;
Increase innovative financing by strengthening Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan programs, by making more Private Activity Bonds (PABS) available, and by nearly doubling funding for our TIGER grant program; and
Empower local government by providing more funding to high-performing Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).
“It is clear to me that transportation is still a bipartisan issue, and I am really encouraged to see members of both parties working to get something done,” Secretary Foxx said. “During these next two months, though, all of us who work in Washington need to be relentless in trying to get to ‘yes’ on a bill that is truly transformative and that brings the country together. And frankly, governors and state officials as well as mayors and local officials all over the country need to continue being relentless, too, by continuing to raise their voices in support of a transportation bill that meets both their immediate and long-term needs.”
For state fact sheets, and to learn how much more transportation funding your state will have if Congress passes the GROW AMERICA Act, go to www.dot.gov/growamerica.
OMAHA – BNSF Railway Co. has started taking additional safety measures for crude oil shipments because of four recent high-profile derailments in the U.S. and Canada, the railroad said Monday.
Under the changes, BNSF is slowing down crude oil trains to 35 mph in cities with more than 100,000 people and increasing track inspections near waterways. The Fort Worth, Texas, based railroad also is stepping up efforts to find and repair defective wheels before they can cause derailments.
Joseph J. Nigro is retiring as general president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART), effective April 30. He is stepping down in order to fully focus on recovering from a series of recent surgeries.
The SMART General Executive Council on March 12 unanimously voted to name General Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Sellers Jr. to fill the position of general president and Chief of Staff Richard McClees to fill the position of General Secretary-Treasurer.
Nigro, a career sheet metal worker from Local Union 17 in Boston, served as general president since July, 2011. In a letter to union leaders across the U.S. and Canada, he explained that, “I have committed my heart and mind to accomplishing the goals we have set, but my health has taken me in a direction I did not anticipate. Unfortunately, I have been unable to recover to a level I expect of myself as your general president – the level of effort the members deserve.”
Noting the succession plan put in place during his tenure, Nigro added, “Joseph Sellers Jr. and Richard McClees possess the leadership and management skills that will benefit the union for generations to come. I leave with a great deal of confidence, ready to improve my health and enjoy my family and friends for many more years.”
“I am grateful to our members for the steadfast support they have given me in merging our two great organizations,” Nigro said. “I have every confidence we have collectively built a team of International and local union leaders who can get the job done for the membership.”
The FBI on Friday will offer a new reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for a train derailment caused by an act sabotage in Arizona – nearly 20 years after it occurred.
A gubernatorial task force is looking for ways to pay for improving the state’s ability to prevent and respond to derailment of trains carrying millions of gallons of highly volatile crude oil through the heart of Virginia, including downtown Richmond.
Union Pacific named Sherrye Hutcherson vice president of Human Resources effective May 4. Hutcherson will be responsible for leading the company’s human resources function, which includes talent management, training and development, strategic workforce planning, recruiting, compensation and benefits, and diversity initiatives.
The National Transportation Safety Board April 6 issued four urgent recommendations calling for more robust and fire-resistant rail cars to be produced to safely carry flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol.
President Obama March 31 vetoed a Republican effort to overturn controversial union voting rules.
OMAHA – BNSF Railway Co. has started taking additional safety measures for crude oil shipments because of four recent high-profile derailments in the U.S. and Canada, the railroad said Monday.