The number of pedestrians killed in U.S. train collisions increased 25 percent in the first eight months of this year, setting a pace unseen in more than a decade, according to new federal data. There were 352 pedestrian railroad deaths, classified as trespasser fatalities, t [...]
WASHINGTON – Cheers of support from a flag-waving crowd watching a parade turned into shouts of horror when a freight train rammed into a float carrying veterans and their wives in Midland, Texas, last year. Four veterans were killed and 16 others were injured in the collisio [...]
With 85 percent of eligible ballots returned, SMART Transportation Division conductors and assistant conductors on the Northern Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp. (known as Metra) have approved a seven-year mediation agreement governing wages and working conditions, th [...]
Railroad members covered under the national and health and welfare plans have received an extension to enroll in a health flexible spending account (FSA). The enrollment period extension is from Nov. 5 through Dec. 1, 2013. This special enrollment extension is only for the he [...]
MINNEAPOLIS – A Hennepin County jury has awarded a former Burlington Northern Santa Fe conductor more than $2.6 million for emotional damage suffered in a Fridley derailment two years ago. Sean Nelson won the verdict after a two-week trial and four hours of deliberation earli [...]
The following are Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo’s opening remarks to those attending the 50th meeting of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) in Washington on Oct. 31, 2013. Today marks the end of a stressful month. The government shutdown forced [...]
While politicians can’t agree on much, Iowans and the majority of Americans surely agree on one thing: They want more Amtrak service, not less. On the heaviest traveled passenger rail corridor in the nation, the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak keeps breaking ridership records. But [...]
In a rare display of bipartisan functionality on Capitol Hill, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation has released its final report on the current state of freight transportation in the U.S. and its recommendations [...]
WASHINGTON – Social Security benefits for nearly 58 million people will increase by 1.5 percent next year, the government announced Wednesday. The increase is among the smallest since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975. It is small because consumer prices haven’ [...]
The Northeast Corridor is a national transportation asset and Congress should stop taking it for granted, Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Boardman told a Senate committee yesterday. The corridor is aging, failure prone and lacks redundant systems to keep it o [...]
SMART Union