Category: Washington
Two-person crew bill adds cosponsors
The Safe Freight Act, the two-person crew bill introduced Jan. 30 by U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, has doubled its number of cosponsors in two weeks. On Feb. 12, U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Tina Smith of Minnesota joined in supporting the bill, [...]Bipartisan Budget Act provides transport, rail benefits
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 passed early this morning by both houses of Congress and signed by President Donald Trump provides some benefits to transportation workers and the industry. “Discretionary spending for domestic infrastructure will see a $20 billion incr [...]
NTSB finds nearly identical cause of two commuter rail accidents
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that two commuter railroad terminal accidents in the New York area were caused by engineer fatigue resulting from undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea. The Sept. 29, 2016, accident on the New Jersey Transit rail [...]
SMART TD announces two-person crew bill has been introduced in U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. (January 31, 2018) – SMART Transportation Division announced today the introduction of the Safe Freight Act (S.2360) by U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota), which would require two crew members — one certified locomotive engineer and one certified co [...]How did your member of Congress score in 2017?
By John Risch, National Legislative Director Last year, SMART Transportation Division tracked 10 votes and two bills in the U.S. House of Representatives that directly impacted our members, families and retirees. These votes ranged from federal funding for Amtrak and Essentia [...]
Secretary Chao pushes for autonomous buses, trains
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said at CES, an annual technology show in Las Vegas, that she plans to take steps toward creating policy guiding the development of self-driving transportation for trucks, buses, transit systems and trains. One of the steps that Ch [...]
Tentative agreement reached by SMART TD with Amtrak
SMART Transportation Division General Chairpersons Dirk Sampson (GO 769), Robert Keeley (GO 342) and Fran Ariola (GO 663) announced today that they have reached a tentative agreement with Amtrak on behalf of their members employed by the passenger railroad. The chairpersons c [...]
Railroad Safety Subject of four NTSB Safety Recommendations
WASHINGTON (Jan. 11, 2018) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued four railroad related safety recommendations in concert with the agency’s publication of two railroad accident briefs Thursday, Jan. 11. The recommendations and briefs stem from the NTSB’s inv [...]