Author: paul

Home>Articles by: paul

Transport Canada recommends ‘voluntary’ recorders in trains

Transport Canada is leaving it up to rail companies to decide whether to install video and audio recorders in locomotives, despite a decade of recommendations by accident investigators to install the devices.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in 2003 that recorders, which serve a similar function as black boxes in airplanes, should be installed to better determine what happened in locomotives in the event of accidents. The issue came to the forefront again following the VIA Rail derailment in Burlington, Ont., in February, 2012.

Read the complete story at The Globe and Mail.

 

MINOT, N.D. — To bolster its ability to haul freight, including crude oil, Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway Co. plans to spend $4.1 billion on capital improvements in 2013, a single-year record for an American railroad, the company says.

Such grand business plans, though, didn’t mean anything to a young moose wandering through the huge Gavin Yard here recently. Train activity halted for a time. Moose sightings are not unusual in this town about 50 miles from Canada. The animals follow the river bottoms looking for food.

Read the full story at The Dallas Morning News.

 

carper_web
Carper

MACOMB, Ill. — President Barack Obama has re-nominated former Macomb mayor Tom Carper to the Amtrak Board of Directors.

Carper got confirmation June 5 from staff members in the White House.

Read the full story at the Quincy Herald-Whig.

Amtrak LogoWASHINGTON – The reduced level of federal investment in Northeast Corridor (NEC) infrastructure has resulted in a cumulative degradation of its components, nearing the loss of asset functionality and decreased reliability of the system that threatens the successful continuity of passenger rail operations, Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman told a Congressional committee June 7.

“There is insufficient NEC infrastructure investment to meet both the on-going normalized replacement and the backlog capital requirements. And that means we are eating our assets alive,” he explained.

Boardman said this de-capitalization of NEC assets leads to rapidly increasing degradation of ride quality, reliability, and the ability to support major improvement projects.

He urged the federal government to act now and use the opportunity of rail reauthorization legislation to take the lead in funding a major program to build out the NEC infrastructure needed for the coming century. Amtrak shares the NEC with eight commuter railroads and its infrastructure supports the movement of 260 million intercity and commuter rail passengers each year. Several of the most important segments, such as the New York tunnels, are at capacity with ridership demand at record levels and growing.

Boardman noted Amtrak needs $782 million every year for the next 15 years just for the costs of NEC normalized replacement ($386 million) and the backlog of infrastructure work ($396 million). That level of funding will allow Amtrak to run a safe railroad at maximum allowed track speed, maintain an excellent on-time performance and meet the basic needs of those who want to develop real estate along the NEC and fill their development with the people who they expect to come by train. However, it will not address needed capacity improvements, trip-time reductions or other new initiatives.

He reminded committee members that after Amtrak was given control of the NEC in 1976 during the Conrail process, it was followed by several significant, federally-funded repair and improvement programs which transformed the dilapidated mid-century rail operation it inherited into the successful high-rail speed rail route it is today.

A copy of Boardman’s full written testimony can be found here.

oklahoma_tornadoLocal 1188 at Oklahoma City, Okla., has established a relief fund to assist their brothers and sisters who have been affected by May’s tornado in Moore, Okla.
“Several members of Local 1188 and Local 1042 in Oklahoma City have had their homes damaged or completely destroyed. There were also other brothers and sisters of other unions that had damage. We would like to assist our railroad family as much as possible and get their lives back together. All proceeds will go directly to members,” said Secretary & Treasurer Steve Freeman.
Donations may be made to “UTU Local 1188 Tornado Relief” at Arvest Banks or sent to Arvest Bank, 9350 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73139.
An typographical error in June issue of the SMART Transportation Division News omits a portion of the bank’s address above. We apologize for the omission.

Stem
Stem

As our Washington staff interacts with decision makers here in the nation’s capital, our focus is to improve our members’ job security and safety and to create more job opportunities in our industries.

We are presently involved in a number of efforts to fulfill those goals.

Fatigue is a major safety issue for our members in the rail, bus and airline industries. In 2012, the FRA published a final rule on passenger rail hours-of-service that requires the use of scientific models to measure the likelihood of fatigue. This is a first for our industry. We are working with other rail unions, the rail industry and FRA to finalize language on federally-mandated “risk reduction plans” that we hope will move us further along in addressing fatigue in the rail industry.

We have also been working with other transit unions to find legislative and regulatory ways to address fatigue for our over-the-road bus operators and operators with early starts.

We have new rules from the Federal Aviation Administration on pilot hours-of-service requirements and we are working with other pilots’ unions to find improved applications of the new rules.

Other safety issues we are addressing are distractions caused by the use of electronic devices and the American culture that leads us to expect instant communication. This issue impacts all transportation employees, especially safety critical and CDL-qualified workers.

We are working with several other unions on coal-related issues, because hauling coal by train is such a big part of what our members do. The clean air and clean water laws are pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to issue regulations on gas emissions from coal-fired power plants that we think are too stringent. The low price of natural gas is our main concern, with many power plants converting to gas to take advantage of the lower prices. We have a big challenge here.

We are also working with groups to promote the growth of transit and public transportation options, and stable funding sources for transit operations, inter-city passenger and commuter rail.

There is an effort in the House of Representatives to raise truck weights from the current 80,000 lb. limit to 97,000 lbs. This would cause some traffic to shift from our nation’s railroads onto our already overburdened highways, causing more damage to our crumbling roads and bridges and increasing the stopping distances required for these trucks.

The U.S. DOT is conducting a comprehensive study to determine the impact increased truck weights would have on our infrastructure, but several members of Congress are pushing increased truck weights before the DOT study is complete.

I urge all our members and their families to get registered and to vote in every election. Our transportation industry is most sensitive to legislation and regulation. What government does at every level matters to transportation workers, so your participation in the election process is not just a civic responsibility, it is an important way for you to protect your livelihood and personal safety.

Your UTU PAC contributions are also desperately needed to help us deliver your message to the decision makers who can make a difference. UTU PAC is a tool that opens the door and provides access to lawmakers. So, give to UTU PAC like your job depends on it…because it does.

Previsich
Previsich

Increasing the contributions of the SMART Transportation Division’s input in shaping public transportation policy, SMART Transportation Division General Secretary & Treasurer John Previsich May 30 was named to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Freight Advisory Committee by DOT Secretary Ray LaHood.

The committee is a diverse group of professionals that will provide advice and recommendations aimed at improving the national freight transportation system.

LaHood said a strong freight transportation system is critical to the nation’s economy and is essential for helping meet President Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015.

“The strength of our economy and the strength of our national freight system go hand in hand,” LaHood said. “The members of this committee understand firsthand the critical importance of freight movement, and their valuable insight will help ensure that our system is more secure and better connected.”

Previsich was nominated for the panel by SMART Transportation Division President Mike Futhey.

“This appointment will permit the concerns of our members in the rail, airline and bus transportation industries to be placed squarely on the table for consideration and inclusion in the talks leading to the establishment of a ‘national freight plan’ for the 21st century,” Previsich said.

“The inclusion of labor representatives at the highest level of such discussions is an opportunity for input into the decision making process that will benefit our members, and all of labor, for years to come.

“The Obama administration deserves credit for ensuring that the interests of working people are a part of the nation’s long term transportation planning.”

Members of the committee provide various perspectives on freight transportation and represent various modes of transportation, geographic regions, and policy areas. Freight customers and providers, labor representatives, safety experts and government entities are all represented.

By engaging members representing diverse interests, the committee will provide recommendations to the secretary of transportation on how DOT can improve its freight transportation policies and programs.

The DOT solicited nominations in February and LaHood selected members with input from the MAP-21 Freight Implementation Team, as well as the Freight Policy Council, an internal body of DOT leadership created to facilitate cross-modal implementation of freight provisions in the recently signed surface transportation bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21. 
MAP-21 established a national freight policy and called for the creation of a National Freight Strategic Plan.

Over the last four years, the Obama Administration has made considerable investments in our national freight network. Through four rounds of the TIGER Grant program, DOT has directed $1 billion toward projects that primarily address freight. This includes more than $650 million to projects that strengthen freight rail infrastructure, reduce freight bottlenecks and alleviate congestion issues.

Members will serve two-year terms and meet at least three times per year. The first NFAC meeting is scheduled for June 25, 2013, at the Department of Transportation and will include an overview of MAP-21 freight provisions and preliminary identification of NFAC activities.

grade_crossing_webThe Federal Railroad Administration June 3 issued a safety advisory on the importance railroad safety procedures to ensure the safety of the traveling public and railroad employees when highway-rail grade crossing warning systems and wayside signal systems are temporarily removed from service for purposes of testing, inspection, maintenance, or repair.

Safety Advisory 2013-04 also notes that “under certain circumstances, particularly where human error is involved, the fail-safe features [of warning systems] can be deactivated or circumvented, creating the potential for an accident. FRA has found that serious highway-rail grade crossing accidents and false proceed signal failures have occurred due to human error.”

According to the FRA, the most effective practices to prevent this include requiring railroad employees to obtain proper authority from the train dispatcher or other appropriate personnel responsible for the movement of trains through the territory before disabling a warning or signaling system, and a requirement that all disabled systems be properly inspected and tested to ensure they operate as designed before being restored to service.

The list of recommended actions include:

1. Each railroad responsible for the proper operation of a highway-rail grade crossing warning system or wayside signal system review and evaluate its specific railroadwide instructions for the proper method for temporary removal of these systems from service. These instructions should address the following items:

  • a. The manner in which the deactivation is authorized.
  • b. The personnel designated to authorize deactivation.
  • c. The protocols for notifying appropriate persons, especially personnel responsible for the movement of trains, that a grade crossing warning system or wayside signal system has been temporarily removed from service.
  • d. The appropriate methods of providing for the safety of train movements while the grade crossing warning system or wayside signal system is temporarily removed from service.
  • e. The requirements necessary to perform an inspection and operational test of the pertinent system components before restoring the grade crossing warning system or wayside signal system to service.
  • f. The protocols for documenting and notifying appropriate persons that the grade crossing warning system or wayside signal system has been properly tested and restored to service.

2. Each railroad provide regular periodic training to all affected employees to ensure their understanding of instructions for the proper procedures for the temporary removal from service of grade crossing warning or wayside signal systems, including the proper use of jumper wires.

Highway-rail grade crossing warning devices and wayside train signals are among the most important safety systems in the railroad industry for preventing train collisions and highway-rail grade crossing accidents. Despite the high degree of reliability of these systems, failures occasionally do occur.

FRA previously made related recommendations to railroads regarding the importance of clear safety procedures to ensure the safety of highway-rail grade crossing warning systems and wayside signal systems in Safety Advisory 2002–01.

To read the complete advisory and background, which was published June 3 in the Federal Register, click here.

 

No-Knives-on-Planes_mediumFacing strong opposition from flight attendants and lawmakers, the Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that it was abandoning a plan to allow passengers to carry small knives on board.

The proposal would have loosened some of the restrictions created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. John S. Pistole, the agency’s administrator, argued that the plan would allow airport security agents to focus on “higher threat” items. Looking for small pocketknives that pose little threat to an airliner, he said, was time-consuming and potentially distracting to agents looking for explosives that can bring down a plane, for instance.

Read the full story at The New York Times.

 

The Federal Railroad Administration June 3 issued a safety advisory on the importance railroad safety procedures to ensure the safety of the traveling public and railroad employees when highway-rail grade crossing warning systems and wayside signal systems are temporarily removed from service for purposes of testing, inspection, maintenance, or repair. Read more.