News - Page 356 of 664

Two New Members Elected By General Executive Council

November 3, 2015 Brothers Rick Werner and Chris Griffey were both unanimously elected to the SMART General Executive Council starting November 1, 2015. They replace Bruce Word (Local 104 – Northern California) and Norm Whiteman (Local 68 – Dallas, TX) who both retired in late summer after lon [...]

Operation RedBlock Director Bobby Bonds dies

November 3, 2015 Robert “Bobby” Bonds, 61, long-time Amtrak Operation RedBlock director and a 39-year Amtrak employee, died Oct. 29, 2015. Bonds had committed his life to Operation RedBlock, a labor-developed, management-adopted drug-and alcohol-prevention/intervention program begun more than [...]

Tags Amtrak, Bobby Bonds, Operation Redblock

AAR safety alert: blade found in chock

November 3, 2015 The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports that a homemade knife was found in a chock in the storage bin (pictured below), with the blade facing in toward the railcar at a Subaru facility in Vancouver, Wash. The knife was found when a rail loader went to remove a cho [...]

Tags AAR, AAR safety alert

Tenn. railroads turn to chemicals as coal declines

November 3, 2015 Thousands of rail tank cars roll through the cities, suburbs and rural areas of East Tennessee day and night, moving chemicals and energy products desperately needed by a variety of industries that provide thousands of jobs throughout the region. The commodities these tank ca [...]

Tags coal cars, CSX, hazmat

U.S. leader in light rail transport

November 3, 2015 Take a wild guess: Since the turn of the century, what nation has opened more new light rail and streetcar systems than any other on earth? Germany? Nein. Italy? No. China? 否. France? Non. Russia? Нет. Japan? いいえ. The Netherlands? Nr. It’s actually (drumroll please) . . . [...]

Tags light rail transport, LRT

A Tribute To Bobby Bonds 1954-2015

November 2, 2015 Robert “Bobby” Bonds passed from this life October 29, 2015 at the age of 61. Bobby is survived by his wife, Ronna, and four (4) children, Max, Madalyn, Danielle and Andrew, his mother Marie and brother Richard. Bobby was employed by Amtrak for nearly 4 decades. Most of his [...]

Railroad workers say long shifts unsafe

November 2, 2015 Some BNSF Railway employees are sounding the alarm about what they say are unsafe working conditions as a result of long shifts that could lead to extreme fatigue while hauling hazardous materials. According to one BNSF employee who contacted the Pilot, the company has impose [...]

Tags BNSF, fatigue, unsafe working conditions

Audit finds Montana railroad safety lacking

November 2, 2015 Montana’s oversight of railroad safety falls short at a time when volatile crude oil train traffic from the Bakken region, already high, is only expected to increase, a new audit found. Montana has no active rail safety plan and employs only two inspectors to cover the [...]

Tags Bakken region, Montana, oil trains, railroad safety

Previsich, Wytkind: 'We want trains to be safer'

October 30, 2015 [As published By John Previsich And Edward Wytkind in The Modesto Bee] California has more museums dedicated to railroads than any other state in our country – and it’s easy to see why. From the transcontinental railroad to the developing high-speed rail system, rail transpor [...]

Tags AFL-CIO, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, Amtrak, Edward Wytkind, John Previsich, safety, Transportation Trades Department, TTD

Senate passes PTC extension, confirms Feinberg as FRA administrator

October 29, 2015 The U.S. Senate yesterday passed a short-term surface transportation funding extension that includes a long-term extension of the positive train control (PTC) implementation deadline. The Senate’s action followed the House’s approval of the bill on Tuesday, and Pr [...]

Tags FRA, FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg, positive train control, PTC, Sarah Feinberg, senate