WASHINGTON – A two-year blueprint for transportation spending has emerged from the Senate, but House action still is required before a bill is ready for President Obama’s signature into law. Notwithstanding the headlines, the Senate’s passage of the two-year S. 1813, “Moving [...]
Positive train control (PTC) is modern technology to reduce train accidents, save lives and limbs, improve on-time performance and produce revenue-enhancing business benefits for railroads. PTC utilizes the satellite global positioning system (GPS), wireless communications an [...]
WASHINGTON – In a Feb. 29, 2012, Federal Register notice, the Federal Railroad Administration provides its interpretation of hours-of-service laws “arising out of some of the complex and important amendments enacted in 2008 to the Federal railroad safety laws that govern such [...]
WASHINGTON – Whistleblower protection administered by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been elevated in agency priority, with the program now administered directly by OSHA’s assistant secretary of labor. The Department of Labo [...]
A daily fact of life for train crews is transportation to and from terminals in shuttle-vans operated by firms under contract to railroads. Over the past year, four crew members died and another was seriously injured in two separate accidents while riding in shuttle vans. Shu [...]
WASHINGTON – Qualification requirements for first officers who fly for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines would be “substantially” raised under a proposed Federal Aviation Administration new rulemaking to be published in the Federal Register Feb. 29. The agency, in a notice of [...]
Just ask UTU District of Columbia Legislative Director Willie Bates about safety standards for rail-transit systems. Unlike freight and passenger railroads, rail-transit systems are not bound by federal construction standards, nor are their workers in safety senstive position [...]
Never underestimate the impact of your communications to Congress. Combined with the tens of thousands of messages from others, the House Republican leadership has pulled back a planned vote Feb. 17 on a draconian transportation bill that would cost jobs, menace transportatio [...]
There are occasions when something so horrible is pending in Congress that we ask your immediate help in taking to the phones and email to alert your lawmaker to the concerns. In this case, it is especially important if you are represented in the House of Representatives by a [...]
WASHINGTON – Federal spending on transportation projects, including aviation, highway, conventional and high-speed passenger rail and transit, would increase by 2 percent under a proposed fiscal year 2013 budget presented Congress Feb. 13 by President Obama. Transit spending [...]