Category: Transportation
FRA just reduced the prospects of a safer railroad industry
By John Previsich, SMART TD President, and Dennis Pierce, BLET National President On Thursday, May 23, 2019, we were informed that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) had released a notice, withdrawing a 2016 notice of proposed rulemaking establishing a minimum train cr [...]
John Risch: FRA, Trump administration halt all crew safety efforts
Dear SMART TD, Today the Trump administration did everything it could to stop all railroad crew safety issues. In a Federal Register posting published at 4 p.m. today, the FRA formally withdrew the pending proposed rulemaking dating from 2016 that would have set a mandatory c [...]
Time for action in Minnesota! Let senators know about two-person crews
The Minnesota House of Representatives has passed H.F. 286, Minimum Train Crew Requirement, a stand-alone version of two-person crew legislation. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Frank Hornstein, passed Wednesday, May 15, by a 78-52 vote along party lines with the DFL majori [...]
2019 Regional Meeting: Night at Padres’ Petco Park offers food and fun
SMART Transportation Division has a grand slam of a time planned at San Diego’s Petco Park for registered attendees of the 2019 Regional Meeting on the evening of Tuesday, July 2. Food, fun and baseball will be the name of the game as registered meeting attendees watch the Pa [...]
Photos released in shooting of SEPTA conductor
Police continue to search for two suspects in the attempted robbery of a SEPTA conductor May 10 that ended with the conductor being shot in the hip. A $6,000 reward has been offered and video footage showing the suspects in the Carpenter Station incident has been released to [...]
Nevada two-person crew legislation signed into law
The advocacy and hard work of SMART Transportation Division members and retirees, the Nevada State Legislative Board and a coalition that included Sheet Metal brothers and sisters, other rail unions and safety-conscious members of the public has paid off. Nevada Gov. Steve Si [...]
Tour schedule set for San Diego Regional Meeting
A pair of tours has been finalized on June 30 and July 1 for attendees of the 2019 SMART Transportation Division Regional Meeting in San Diego. Day 1 (June 30): High Spirits Hornblower yacht luncheon/tour: Attendees will be picked up at the hotel dock at 9:45 a.m. to enjoy si [...]FRA announces notice of proposed rulemaking revising locomotive engineer regulation
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) May 8 announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to update the regulation that governs locomotive engineer qualification and certification to make it consistent with the cor [...]