News - Page 388 of 647

FRA issues directive to replace tank car valves

March 13, 2015 WASHINGTON – The Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) March 13 issued a Railworthiness Directive requiring railroad tank car owners to replace unapproved valves currently installed in some tank cars. The valves in question are UNNR ball valves [...]

Tags Federal Railroad Administration, FRA, railroad tank cars

Oakland Old Rails Club planning April 12 dinner

March 13, 2015 The Oakland Old Rails Club is planning its annual dinner and get together for Sunday, April 12, 2015, at the Elios Family Restaurant at 260 Floresta Blvd., San Leandro, Calif. The event will begin at noon with a no-host bar, with dinner to be served at 1:00 p.m. There are thr [...]

Tags Oakland Old Rails

Former MTA chief expected to head Metrolink

March 13, 2015 The Metrolink commuter rail system’s board of directors on Friday is expected to hire Art Leahy, the former head of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as the railroad’s chief executive officer. Leahy, 66, is a veteran transit official wh [...]

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Washington House passes railroad crew van bill

March 12, 2015 OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington House of Representatives voted 84-14 March 10 to pass Rep. Derek Stanford’s (D – Bothell) bill to strengthen safety regulations for the transportation of railroad workers to and from work. Prior to 1977, railroad companies operated van services [...]

Tags crew vans, Washington

Dangerous trains, aging rails

March 12, 2015 A CSX freight train ran off the rails last month in rural Mount Carbon, W.Va. One after another, exploding rail cars sent hellish fireballs hundreds of feet into the clear winter sky. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency, and the fires burned for several days. [...]

Tags crude oil, Federal Railroad Administration, FRA, National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, railroad track maintenance, railroad vridges, tank cars

Great Lakes Airlines ending service to Sheridan, Wyo.

March 11, 2015 SHERIDAN, Wyo. – Great Lakes Airlines cited “reasons beyond our control” in a letter announcing it would terminate air service at Sheridan County Airport on March 31. Airport Manager John Stopka received the notice of termination on Monday. Stopka said the termination of air [...]

Tags Great Lakes Airlines, Sheridan, Wyo.

Renzenberger Drivers Vote Unanimously for SMART Representation

March 11, 2015 On March 6th, Sheet Metal Local 71 in Buffalo won a representation election at Renzenberger, Inc. This came by way of a unanimous vote by the company’s drivers for SMART representation. The election was a three way race between SMART, an independent union called the National [...]

Amtrak renames Chicago operations center for Szabo

March 11, 2015 Amtrak on Tuesday renamed its operations center in Chicago to honor Joseph Szabo, a fifth-generation railroader who headed the Federal Railroad Administration for 51/2 years of the Obama administration. Szabo, 56, left the administration in December to return to Chicago, wher [...]

Tags Amtrak, Szabo

Train-crew bill progressing in Washington state

March 11, 2015 OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington’s Republican-controlled Senate could set a national precedent with a bill passed Monday night (March 9) that would require up to two railroad workers in the rear of trains carrying crude oil and other hazardous cargo. Currently, BNSF Railway, the l [...]

Tags Herb Krohn, two-person crews, Washington

Two-person rail crew bills introduced in Minnesota

March 10, 2015 Two Minnesota lawmakers have introduced legislation in the state’s legislature that would require two persons on all Class I and II carrier freight trains operating in the state. State Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Dist. 61A) and State Sen. Ann H. Rest (DFL-Dist. 45) introduced H [...]

Tags H.F. 1166, Minnesota, Phil Qualy, S.F. 918, two-person crews