Category: Amtrak/Commuter
Former FRA deputy administrator Bose appointed to again fill post
Amit Bose, who served as deputy administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) during the Obama administration, was appointed to the same post last week by President Biden. “We’re excited to be working with Amit Bose,” said SMART Transportation [...]
SMART-TD Safety Condition Report is launched for members to submit info about unsafe conditions
To address the growing safety concerns of our membership, we have implemented a universal Safety Condition Report that is now available on the SMART-TD website for all members to use. This form will become the primary tool to report and collect data concerning unsafe working [...]FRA refuses to enhance passenger rail security in the wake of Capitol riots
Federal Railroad Administrator Ron Batory in a Jan. 14 letter to union leaders denied a request from the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) to issue an emergency order to safeguard passenger rail travelers [...]
Security concerns change Biden’s Amtrak plans
President-elect Joe Biden has decided not to take Amtrak to his inauguration ceremony after security concerns intensified following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, CNN reports. Biden had planned a journey similar to the one he had taken from Delaware to D. [...]
Rail unions petition Homeland Security to enhance passenger rail security after U.S. Capitol insurrection
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Jan. 13, 2021) — The leaders of two of the nation’s largest railroad worker unions urgently petitioned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a letter Jan. 13 to enact a “No-Ride List” on passenger rail carriers after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection in W [...]
Rail unions petition FRA to protect Amtrak passengers, personnel after U.S. Capitol insurrection
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Jan. 12, 2021) — The leaders of two of the nation’s largest railroad worker unions urgently petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a letter January 11 to prevent security vulnerabilities and to protec [...]FRA roundup – several actions published in Federal Register
Over the past 1.5 weeks, the Federal Railroad Administration has published several notices in the Federal Register. Below are portions of those postings, including: Drug and alcohol testing: Determination of minimum random testing rates for 2021 (notification of determination [...]SMART-TD leadership warns of FRA’s new brake rule, urges caution
December 18, 2020 Brothers and Sisters: As we find ourselves amid what is historically the most dangerous season of the year, I must unfortunately caution you of new additional intensified dangers borne from the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) most recen [...]