News Archive
Georgia Members Join Fellow Unionists To Repair State Park
Under the banner of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) Work Boots on the Ground program, members of the Columbus Metal Trades Council (CMTC) volunteered their time and skills on Saturday, Feb. 21, to inspect six boat docks and 66 boat slips at Florence Marina State Park for [...]Train carrying crude oil derails in Illinois
A freight train loaded with crude oil derailed in northern Illinois on Thursday, bursting into flames and prompting officials to suggest that everyone with 1 mile evacuate, authorities said. The BNSF Railway train derailed around 1:05 p.m. in a rural area where the Galena Riv [...]NTSB seeking candidate for rail accident investigator
The National Transportation Safety Board is seeking a qualified candidate to serve as a railroad accident investigator and would like to hear from interested SMART Transportation Division members with expertise in railroad operations, railroad accident investigations and rail [...]Senators seek to extend PTC deadline to 2020's end
U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) yesterday introduced a bill (S. 650) that proposes to extend the federally mandated deadline for positive train control (PTC) implementation by five years from 2015’s en [...]TTD applauds passage of Amtrak reauthorization
Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, issued the following statement about the U.S. House Representatives passage of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA): “Today the House of Representatives took an important step [...]House passes Passenger Rail Reform, Investment Act
The United States House of Representatives March 4 overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that will provide critical investments in our nation’s passenger rail system. H.R. 749, the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA) will ensure that our national p [...]
LA Metrolink Engineer Passes Away
On February 24, 2015, Glenn Steele, an engineer in Los Angeles, CA was involved in a horrible train accident that was no fault of his own. After departing Metrolink station in Oxnard, his train hit a truck that was left parked on the tracks. The conductor and his student engi [...]Contact your U.S. rep. now for passenger rail funding
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 [...]