Category: Positive Train Control
FRA denies railroads’ request to run without watchdog technology
FRA nixed an attempt by two Class I carriers and three passenger carriers to be able to shut down critical safety tech for as long as three days. The SMART-TD railroad union’s public comment was a big reason why.
FRA issues safety bulletin on securing rolling stock
The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Railroad Safety issued the following bulletin on Feb. 13, 2024, in response to an industry fatality earlier this year. The text is reproduced below: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is investigating an accident th [...]
Safety, tech report links back online in SMART app
Links to the Transportation Division’s workplace Safety Condition Report and the railroad Technology Event Report in the SMART app are again functional for Transportation Division members. The links to the report submission forms should work upon opening the app and the [...]
When technology failed, our NS members rose up during outage
On August 28, the Norfolk Southern rail network’s technological infrastructure failed. Crews couldn’t print off their pre-departure paperwork at the terminals. No one was able to report their hours of service. Many were unable to verify the consists of their trains. Emails we [...]
FRA NPRM: The truth behind the need for two-person crews
It’s a shame, really, that the safety of my members, the public and the infrastructure are nothing more than political pawns in the railroads’ game of never-ending greed. And it’s a shame, frankly, that the railroads manipulate woefully inept individuals – having never meanin [...]
Infrastructure bill’s passage a huge win for passenger rail funding, plus enhances freight, bus safety measures
The U.S. House of Representatives in the waning hours of Nov. 5 passed H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the bipartisan infrastructure framework, by a 228-206 vote. The bill provides $1.2 trillion in funding for infrastructure, with a [...] The INVEST in America Act and how it protects TD members
A surface transportation reauthorization bill introduced June 4 by chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) has a wide-reaching positive impact for members of the SMART Transportation Division. Mostly mirroring the identically n [...]
SMART-TD Leaders Pledge Support to 2021 INVEST in America Act
CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 4, 2021) – Leaders of the SMART Transportation Division today announced their full support of the 2021 version of the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act. The transformational $547 b [...]