Category: News

Amtrak marks 42 years of service with funding plea

May 3, 2013 Amtrak marked 42 years of service on May 1 with a plea for more money from Congress. CEO Joe Boardman said Amtrak remains a “vital part” of the nation’s transportation system, but can’t continue to fulfill its “national mission” without mor [...]

Tags Amtrak, Amtrak funding

Oregon working to pass pro-union legislation

May 2, 2013 The state of Oregon’s House and Senate have been working to pass bills that are labor-friendly. Most recently, H.B. 3342 passed through the House and has made its way into the Senate. If passed, the bill would outlaw public sector union-busting. Public employers will no [...]

Tags labor-friendly, Oregon, Pro-Union, union busting

Ohio joins in the fight against right-to-work bills

May 1, 2013 05/02/13 UPDATE: Ohio right-to-work bills were considered “dead-on-arrival” as Senate Republic President Keith Faber rejected the bills last night in an after-hours press conference. “We have an ambitious agenda focused on job creation and economic recovery, and R [...]

Tags anti-union, anti-union legislation, John Kasich, Keith Faber, Ohio, right-to-work, SB 5, Senate Bill 5, unions

BNSF partners with Ill. colleges to offer certificate

May 1, 2013 Spoon River College (SRC) of Canton, Ill., Carl Sandburg College (CSC) of Galesburg, Ill. and BNSF has partnered together to offer a new Rail Transportation & Power System Technology Certificate. Students enrolled in the program will study circuits, hydraulics, welding, d [...]

Tags BNSF, certificate, Classes, College, Courses, safety, University

Obama nominates Charlotte Mayor Foxx to head DOT

April 30, 2013 The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a confirmation hearing on transportation secretary nominee Anthony Foxx May 22, according to Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.). President Obama announced April 29 Anthony Foxx as his nominee for t [...]

Tags Anthony Foxx, DOT, Secretary of Transportation

Administration drops redundant driver’s license rule

April 26, 2013 The federal government is relaxing a rule for drivers of buses and large trucks who are involved in out-of-state traffic violations. ?? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an office of the Department of Transportation, is eliminating a requirement that drivers no [...]

Tags bus, cdl, commercial drivers license, FMCSA

Man admits to illegally collecting railroad retirement

April 25, 2013 BANGOR, Maine – Gerald E. Bailey, 68, of Pittston, Maine pled guilty on Tuesday, April 23 to charges of collecting pension that he was not entitled to. Bailey retired from Springfield Terminal Railway in 2004 and began receiving his pension payments from the Railroad Retireme [...]

Tags railroad retirement, Railroad Retirement Board, RRB

Bill to allow Texas bus drivers to discipline students

April 25, 2013 SAN ANTONIO – A bill giving school bus drivers in Texas the power to discipline students by sending them to the principal’s office has passed in the Texas Senate. Although the bill passed the Senate, it still has to pass in the House before it can become law. The Public [...]

Tags school bus, School Bus Drivers

Santa Fe Depot to host Railroad Days festival

April 25, 2013 SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A steam powered excursion train will be operated to San Bernardino Railroad Days this weekend. The train will have six private passenger cars that will be pulled by the 1927 AT&SF Steam Locomotive 3751. A diesel-powered Metrolink Locomotive [...]

Tags Festival, locomotive, Railroad Days, steam engine

Academy adds rail degree program

April 25, 2013 VANCOUVER, Wash. — The International Air and Hospitality Academy has added a new program called the Northwest Railroad Institute. The new degree program will be the fourth such program offered in the U.S. Students taking the six-month program will be provided with train [...]

Tags brakemen, conductor, degree, degree program, rail, railroad, switchmen