SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director John Risch has sent a message to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives seeking their support of a “clean” Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA) bill, which would authorize and fund Amtr [...]
Please contact your Congressman and urge them to support a clean version of H.R. 749 the Passenger Rail Reform and Infrastructure Act. (PRRIA) This important legislation funds and sustains a key component of our national transportation system. We fully support this legislatio [...]
LOS ANGELES – One week after being gravely injured in a collision between a Metrolink train and a pickup truck, the train’s engineer has died. Glenn Steele, 62, died early Tuesday of injuries suffered in the Feb. 24 crash in Oxnard, the Los Angeles County coroner said. [...]
The Federal Railroad Administration is considering a rule that would require Class I freight railroads and railroads with poor safety performances to develop and implement formal risk reduction programs. A risk reduction program would involve employees working together to ide [...]
Norfolk Southern Corporation March 2 announced that James A. Squires will succeed Charles W. “Wick” Moorman as chief executive officer. The action by the company’s board of directors is part of its planned succession process and will be effective June 1, 2015. Squires will co [...]
Retired former Local Chairperson Michael C. Ruffner, 72, of Local 1379 at Pittsburgh, died just before midnight on Friday, Feb. 27. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Ann (Foradori) Ruffner. After graduating from Sts. Cosmas and Damian High School in 1960, Ruffner [...]
One afternoon during the summer of 2000, her first year as a bus driver in Oregon’s Portland, Hope Okazaki had a troubling episode of gastrointestinal distress while on the job. She had just finished an almost two-hour tour through the east side of town, and her bus was parke [...]
WASHINGTON – As part of its ongoing effort to improve safety at railroad grade crossings, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Feb. 27 announced the first step in a new, multi-faceted campaign aimed at strengthening enforcement and safety awareness at grade crossings. Th [...]
Tens of thousands of union members and supporters turned out for a massive rally in the Wisconsin state capital of Madison on Saturday February 28th. Among them were hundreds of SMART members and family members who will be effected by the Wisconsin GOP’s attack on orga [...]
A week after a CSX train hauling crude oil derailed and exploded 30 miles southeast of Charleston, W. Va., on Feb. 16, its mangled, charred tank cars were still being hauled from the crash site. Of the 27 cars that derailed, 19 had been engulfed in flames. The wreckage burned [...]