Washington — Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued this statement in response to a House-Senate deal on a long overdue surface transportation reauthorization bill: “The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act is a [...]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has launched a nationwide transit-oriented development (TOD) initiative to encourage development near transit systems that boosts the local economy; provides easy access to jobs and serv [...]
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine no longer will disclose to the public any details about shipments of crude oil by rail through the state, an official said Wednesday, a move that has angered activists who say the information is critical to public safety. The state’s Department of Envi [...]
Frank “Dwayne” Adkins died Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, at his residence in Dupo, Ill. He was 84 years old. Adkins, a member of SMART TD (then United Transportation Union) Local 1929 of East St. Louis, Ill., hired out as an engineer with the Alton & Southern Railway in 1956. Ad [...]
Harper’s Magazine blogger Kevin Baker put together what he feels are the 23 best American songs about trains ever written. In his blog post, Baker explores train songs by Johnny Cash to “I’ve been working on the railroad.” Below is his list of songs. C [...]
A congressional conference committee yesterday completed work on a five-year surface transportation bill that would strengthen tank-car safety standards, increase funding for transit and create a rail title that authorizes funding for Amtrak and intercity passenger-rail grant [...]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2016 Part B premium and deductible costs for 2016. Railroad Medicare processes claims for Part B services. The 2016 monthly premiums will remain unchanged for approximately 70 percent of Medicare benefic [...]
Investment in infrastructure critical for future growth of passenger rail WASHINGTON – Amtrak ridership and ticket revenue remained steady in its Fiscal Year ended Sept. 30, 2015, reflecting continued demand for passenger rail; however, significant and predictable inves [...]
The crowd that gathered in the committee hearing room, the overflow room and Statehouse hallways was reminiscent of Senate Bill 5, the law aimed at public sector unions. Ohio voters overturned it back in 2011. The bill Republican Representative Tom Brinkman is sponsoring woul [...]
Evoking the investment in American infrastructure by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton on Monday unveiled the most sprawling — and costliest — government program of her campaign to date. Mrs. Clinton said her five-year, $275-billion federal i [...]