Category: News

Light rail to LAX moving forward

October 18, 2010 A new light rail line from downtown Los Angeles to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is moving closer to reality thorough a $546 million federal loan to Los Angeles County, reports the Associated Press. The almost nine-mile line is expected to create 5,000 jobs; and, eq [...]

Seimens looking for Florida HSR contracts

October 18, 2010 Siemens, an international engineering firm with its U.S. headquarters in Washington, D.C., and plants throughout the United States, is hungry to build high-speed train sets for a proposed Florida high-speed rail line. Tampa Bay online (tbo.com) reports that Siemens, which has [...]

Tags contracts, florida, high-speed rail, HSR, Siemens

School-bus violence: We know it too well

October 18, 2010 UTU bus members know the violence aboard school buses all too well. The latest shocking outbreak occurred on Long Island, N.Y., last week, when a 14-year-old boy was beaten aboard a school bus over allegations he is gay, according to Longislandpress.com. The UTU is working wi [...]

Tags bus, school bus, school bus violence, violence

Good times continue to roll for railroads

October 18, 2010 For the first 40 weeks of this year – through Oct. 9 – rail carloadings are up almost 10 percent over last year, and intermodal loadings have soared by more than 15 percent, according to data from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Oct. 9, intermodal w [...]

Elect lawmakers who support public transit

October 15, 2010 By Bonnie Morr, Alternate vice president, Bus Department Right now in our country, economics are spelling out what transit and transportation will look like, now and in the future. The UTU Bus Department has been following politics and the trends for funding that are necessar [...]

Tags bus, candidates, election day, funding, lawmakers, public transit, vote

NS leases 36 miles of N.Y. track to short line

October 15, 2010 Norfolk Southern has leased 36 miles of track and trackage rights in New York to Middletown & New Jersey Railroad, reports progressiverailroading.com. The track connects Campbell Hall, N.Y., to a connection with the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway in Warwick, N. [...]

FMCSA shows off new bus safety technology

October 15, 2010 New technology to improve the safety performance of buses was showcased this week by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The FMCSA demonstrated the latest state-of-the-art technology to be used by law enforcement to conduct commercial motor vehicle safety inspect [...]

New technology sets train speed, saves fuel

October 15, 2010 A new technology to calculate optimal locomotive speed to save fuel has been developed by General Electric’s GE Transportation, reports the website, smartplanet.com. According to smartplanet.com, the technology, called Trip Optimizer, “can save 3.3 million gallons on th [...]

MBTA expanding routes into Rhode Island

October 15, 2010 The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will extend, by year-end, its commuter rail service from Boston to Providence and Warwick, both in Rhode Island, reports progressiverailroading.com. Trains will make six stops per day at the soon-to-be-completed InterLink [...]

AFL-CIO launching young worker outreach

October 14, 2010 A new survey by the AFL-CIO shows young workers worse off this year than they were last year. In response, the federation is ratcheting up its outreach program to connect with the next generation of workers. The survey shows young workers are more likely to be working part ti [...]