WASHINGTON – Just when federal funding for high-speed rail appeared dead as a rusted rail spike, Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois exercised his clout and reopened the door – if only slightly.
On Sept. 20, the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee voted to zero-out all federal funds for high-speed rail. Coming on the heels of a similar House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee vote, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) – one of the most ardent congressional supporters of high-speed rail – declared that elimination of high-speed rail funding is “a casualty of the cuts mandated in the debt-limit deal.”
But when the entire Senate Appropriations Committee met Sept. 21, Durbin was successful in having the entire committee overrule the transportation subcommittee and, instead, approve $100 million for high-speed funding for fiscal year 2012.
True, the $100 million, while seeming a large sum, is relatively small given the hundreds of billions of dollars required to build a series of high-speed rail lines in America. Consider that President Obama, earlier in the year, had urged $8 billion for high-speed rail in FY 2012, on top of $10.1 billion previously approved by Congress – with $7 billion of that $10.1 billion already allocated to numerous high-speed rail proposals nationwide.
With the door for high-speed rail funding reopened, the battle now turns to the House and Senate floors, where more money might be appropriated when the final votes are cast for FY 2012 high-speed rail funding.
Amtrak funding also faces a tough battle in the House and Senate.
In the Senate, appropriators are recommending $544 million in Amtrak operating subsidies for FY 2012 ($18 million less than FY 2011 funding) plus $937 million toward capital spending and debt service (an increase of $15 million from the FY 2011 appropriation).
But In the House, appropriators are recommending considerably less for Amtrak in FY 2012 — $227 million for operating subsidies and $899 for capital and debt service.
Also awaiting further House action is a House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee recommendation to eliminate all federal funding for state-supported Amtrak service in FY 2012. No action on that anti-Amtrak initiative has surfaced in the Senate.
It is unlikely that the House and Senate will reach agreement on FY 2012 Amtrak funding prior to the start of the new fiscal year Oct. 1. More likely is a continuing resolution that will extend FY 2011 funding levels into FY 2012 while lawmakers continue debating FY 2012 funding levels.
WASHINGTON – House Republicans are supporting a budget plan that Amtrak says will eliminate all state-supported Amtrak service nationwide beginning Oct. 1 — the start of a new federal fiscal year.
Fifteen states currently provide Amtrak with subsidies in exchange for Amtrak operating additional intercity trains in their states that transport nine million passengers annually.
The Sept. 8 budget proposal would prohibit federal funds from being used for those state-supported trains.
While the Amtrak budget cuts – proposed by the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee — could likely pass the entire Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee and Republican-controlled House of Representatives, the provisions could face strong opposition in the Senate. Still, given the budget-cutting pressure in Congress, nothing is easily predicted.
The proposed budget cuts fly in the fact of a provision of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 that encouraged Amtrak to leverage federal subsidies of 80 percent with state contributions of 20 percent to develop new intercity passenger routes and improve existing ones.
The Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee’s budget proposal would also:
* Restrict the use of federal funds for any overtime costs in excess of $35,000 for any individual employee.
* Require Amtrak to achieve savings through operating efficiencies, including modifications to food and beverage service, first-class service and long-distance routes.
“The House Republican plan is shortsighted and is the wrong policy for America,” said Amtrak President Joseph Boardman. “It will result in the loss of jobs and reverses significant progress made to use passenger rail to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.”
Following are the 15 states — and the Amtrak trains — targeted:
* California: (Capitol Corridor, San Jose-Oakland/San Francisco-Sacramento/Auburn); Pacific Surfliner (San Luis Obispo-Los Angeles-San Diego); San Joaquin (Bakersfield-Oakland-Sacramento).
*Illinois and Wisconsin: (Hiawatha, Chicago-Milwaukee). Illinois: Lincoln (Chicago-St. Louis); Illini & Saluki (Chicago-Carbondale); Zephyr & Carl Sanburg (Chicago-Quincy).
*Maine: (Downeaster, Portland-Boston).
*Michigan: (Blue Water, Port Hurton-East Lansing-Chicago); Pere Marquette (Grand Rapids-Chicago).
*Missouri: Missouri River Runner (Kansas City-St. Louis).
*New York: Adirondack (New York City-Montreal).
*North Carolina: Carolinian (Charlotte-New York City); Piedmont (Charlotte-Raleigh).
*Oklahoma and Texas: Heartland Flyer (Oklahoma City-Ft. Worth).
*Oregon and Washington: Cascades (Eugene-Portland-Seattle-Vancouver).
*Pennsylvania: Keystone Corridor (Harrisburg-Philadelphia-New York City).
*Vermont: Ethan Allen (Rutland-New York City); Vermonter (St. Albans-Washington, D.C.).
WASHINGTON – Some $745 million of the $2 billion in federal stimulus money Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejected for a high-speed rail line linking Tampa and Orlando is now headed to Amtrak for improvements along the 456-mile-long Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor connecting Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
The Department of Transportation grant will be used by Amtrak to improve track, signals and overhead catenary, allowing an increase of top speed from 135 mph to 160 mph for Acela Express trains over a 24-mile segment in New Jersey. The grant, which includes a “buy America” provision, will also go toward eliminating congestion at a choke point east of New York City.
Amtrak has a 30-year vision to accelerate speed along the entire length of the Northeast Corridor, with maximum speed of 220-mph over a new two-track route that would supplement existing service and create capacity for 80 million passengers annually by 2040.
The project would require some 420 miles of mostly dedicated high-speed track and a $4.7 billion annual investment for at least 25 years. Amtrak President Joseph Boardman says the plan is feasible as a public-private partnership involving 11 Northeast states plus Virginia and the District of Columbia, privately owned freight railroads, and the private sector.
By 2040, Amtrak would offer passengers travel times of 38-minutes between New York and Philadelphia; 84 minutes between New York and Boston; and 96 minutes between New York and Washington.
Facts about the Northeast Corridor:
* On 65 percent of Northeast Corridor track, Amtrak trains can operate at speeds between 110 mph and 150 mph – and is the only rail passenger operator in the United States maintaining track for speeds in excess of 100 mph.
* Between Washington, D.C., and New York, Amtrak has 69 percent of the air-rail market share – up from 37 percent in 2000 when Acela service was introduced. And between New York and Boston, Amtrak has 52 percent of the air-rail market share – up from 20 percent in 2000 when Acela service was introduced
* The Northeast Corridor hosts almost one million intercity and commuter passengers daily on more than 2,000 trains – some 75,000 passengers riding Amtrak daily and more than 850,000 riding commuter trains operated by 18 publicly controlled commuter agencies, making Amtrak a minority user of the Northeast Corridor.
* Amtrak is the only railroad that uses the entire length of the Northeast Corridor.
WASHINGTON – Passenger and commuter train conductors and engineers face new hours-of-service rules effective Oct. 15 under a final rule published Aug. 12 by the Federal Railroad Administration.
The new rules differ in certain areas from hours-of-service regulations imposed on freight railroad employees.
Among the differences is that passenger and commuter train hours-of-service regulations are more stringent for assignments between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.; there is no cumulative-hours limit for passenger and commuter train crews; passenger and commuter train operators must submit certain employee work schedules for scientific study to determine schedule-specific risks of fatigue; and passenger and commuter carriers must take steps to mitigate fatigue among crews on-duty between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
The FRA said that based on its “understanding” of current fatigue science, and information received through the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), FRA determined that the requirements imposed on train employees by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 were not appropriate for passenger train employees.
The FRA said that while it “agrees that [a 10-hour call requirement] would provide predictability as to when an employee will be called to work, adopting a 10-hour call requirement is not possible at this time, as it was not a part of the proposed rule … The regulation requires labor involvement in the determination of fatigue mitigation tools to be applied, so there may be opportunities to voluntarily make use of this schedule practice.”
Following are key provisions, as outlined by the FRA, of the new hours-of-service rules scheduled to go into effect for conductors and engineers on passenger and commuter trains Oct. 15 (unless otherwise noted):
* Limitations on time-on-duty in a single tour: 12 consecutive hours of time on duty or 12 nonconsecutive hours on duty if broken by an interim release of at least four consecutive hours in a 24-hour period that begins at the beginning of the duty tour.
*Limitations on consecutive duty tours or total duty: If employee initiates an on-duty period each day for six consecutive calendar days include at least one “Type 2” assignment (between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.), employee must have 24 consecutive hours off-duty at the employee’s home terminal.
Additionally, if an employee initiates an on-duty period on 13 or more calendar days in a period of 14 consecutive days, then the employee must have two consecutive calendar days without initiating an on-duty period at the employee’s home terminal. Employees may be permitted to perform service on an additional day to facilitate their return to their home terminal.
These limitations on consecutive duty tours or total duty do not take effect until April 15, 2012.
*Cumulative limits on time on-duty: None.
* Mandatory off-duty periods: Eight consecutive hours (10 consecutive hours if time on duty reaches 12 consecutive hours).
*Specific rules for nighttime operations: Schedules that include any time on duty between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. must be analyzed using a validated biomathematical model of human performance and fatigue approved by FRA.
Additionally, schedules with excess risk of fatigue must be mitigated or supported by a determination that mitigation is not possible and the schedule is operationally necessary and approved by FRA.
The analysis must be completed and required submissions made by April 15, 2012.
*Specific rules for unscheduled assignments: The potential for fatigue presented by unscheduled work assignments must be mitigated as part of a railroad’s FRA-approved mitigation plan.
*Use of fatigue science: Passenger train employees’ work schedules are to be analyzed under an FRA-approved validated biomathematical fatigue model with the exception of certain schedules (completely within the hours of 4 a.m. and 8 p.m., or nested within other schedules that have been previously modeled and shown to present an acceptable level of risk for fatigue, and otherwise in compliance with the limitations in the regulation).
UTU National Legislative Director James Stem added his perspective, saying the final rules:
* Provide a permanent separation from freight hours of service regulations because of the predictable work schedules of our intercity passenger and commuter rail assignments. Now we have two systems of HOS coverage – freight and passenger
* Require at least two days of rest every 14 days for all assignments, with some flexibility allowed for assignments not working after midnight (i.e., 6-1, 12-2, 1-12-1, 14-2.)
* Require, for the first time, use of a scientific validated biomathematical fatigue model tool to analyze all assignments for risk of fatigue.
* Require consultation and agreement between the carrier and general chairman on adjusting identified assignments for fatigue mitigation.
* Continue to require eight hours off-duty between assignments for passenger operations because of the predictable work schedules.
* Create a tool box of acceptable fatigue mitigation strategies that the carrier and the general chairman may select. Also there is encouragement to adopt a napping strategy, even for assignments that are only off-duty at an interim release location for 90 minutes.
* Require improved facilities at interim release locations of four hours or more.
* Require much stronger reporting requirements of all aspects of hours-of-service operations.
Said Stem: “These final rules recognize and maintain the significant contribution to safety that a defined reporting time makes for safety-critical operations. Our operating employees are professionals. When they know the time they must report for service, they show up rested and fatigue is not a factor.
“Also, a napping policy for our assignments that turn in fewer than four hours is a significant improvement for safety. Sleep scientists confirm that a 30-minute nap is a great fatigue mitigation tool.”
To read the final hours-of-service rule for passenger and commuter train conductors and engineers as published Aug. 12 in the Federal Register, click on the following link:
WASHINGTON — New jobs building and operating high-speed rail “are American jobs that can’t be shipped overseas and would be a Godsend in this economic downturn,” UTU Alternate National Legislative Director John Risch told a congressionally sponsored forum here Aug. 3.
“Railroad operating jobs are not just good paying jobs; they are great careers,” Risch told his audience, which included a bi-partisan group of lawmakers and their staff interested in advancing high-speed passenger railroading, as well as officials of the American High Speed Rail Alliance.
“Amtrak and its workforce should be the backbone for high-speed rail in America,” Risch said. “Amtrak, by law, is America’s national intercity rail passenger network and the nation’s only provider of high-speed rail with its Acela Express service in the Northeast Corridor.”
Risch told the forum the UTU supports Amtrak’s Next Generation Plan for development of high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor, which would include speeds as fast as 220-mph and significantly reduced travel times.
“Amtrak’s plan would support 44,000 jobs annually over the 25-year construction period and some 120,000 permanent jobs,” Risch said.
“If we were instead to build more highways, we would have to build eight new lanes of Interstate between Washington, D.C., and Boston to accommodate the same number of travelers Amtrak will carry on the Northeast Corridor upon completion of the Next Generation Plan,” Risch said.
“Amtrak,” said Risch, “has extensive experience operating passenger trains in America, has long-standing relationships with the freight railroads and has a proven track-record partnering with state and local governments to provide passenger rail service,” Risch said.
“Most importantly, Amtrak employs the experienced conductors, engineers, on-board service workers, machinists, signalmen, train dispatchers, and others who know how to run a railroad,” Risch said. “These are the best trained passenger-rail workers in the nation, and Amtrak is the best choice to implement any high-speed rail program.”
WASHINGTON — America learned a tragic lesson a decade ago when armed terrorists gained entry to the flight decks of multiple commercial airliners. The results of 9/11 will live in infamy.
Inexplicably, neither railroads nor the federal government has moved to require the securing of locomotive cab doors and windows to prevent terrorists – whether foreign or domestic – from taking control of a train and wreaking a new calamity on Americans.
A similar security breach is possible at commercial bus terminals, and with commercial motor coaches, where drivers and passengers are vulnerable to armed attacks and hijackings.
That was the message delivered to the House Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection by UTU Alternate National Legislative Director John Risch July 12.
The FBI warned in 2002 that rail facilities are vulnerable to attacks by terrorists; and following the killing of Osama bin Laden, it was revealed he was planning an attack on railroads. Terrorist attacks already have been carried out on passenger trains in Madrid, Spain, and London, England.
Most chilling is a warning from the Chlorine Institute — that a terrorist-induced release of chlorine from a tank car could create a toxic cloud 40 miles long and 10 miles wide that could kill upwards of 100,000 people in an urban area within 30 minutes. In fact, a limited chlorine release from a tank car following a derailment in rural Graniteville, S.C., in 2005 killed nine and forced the evacuation of thousands.
Securing locomotive cabs is also essential for crew safety. In June 2010 in New Orleans, a conductor was shot to death and an engineer wounded in their locomotive cab during an armed robbery. In 1998, a commuter train was hijacked near Philadelphia; the engineer held at gunpoint.
“We believe it should be a requirement that all locomotives be equipped with locks for the doors and windows to prevent unauthorized entry into the operating compartment,” Risch told the subcommittee, which was seeking advice on how to enhance transportation security.
The UTU also recommends that fencing, video surveillance and security personnel be required for bus terminals, and that protective shields be installed on buses to protect drivers from unruly or deranged passengers.
Proper training of rail operating crews and bus drivers to recognize, respond to and report potential terrorist activities is a high priority of the UTU, Risch told the subcommittee.
“We need to adequately train bus, rail and transit workers across America so they are ready in the event of a terrorist threat or attack,” Risch said. “Properly training frontline workers is vital to surface transportation security, and is a cost-effective way to secure and safeguard our bus, rail and transit systems.
“In the event of an incident or attack, our members are the first on the scene — even before police, fire fighters, and emergency medical responders — and what they do in the first few minutes is crucial to minimizing destruction and loss of life,” Risch said.
The UTU already is working in partnership with Amtrak to develop a training program for on-board employees; and on Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, the UTU is helping to develop a program to train front-line employees on how to recognize, respond to and report potential terrorist activity. Although the UTU has reached out to other freight railroads for partnerships to develop similar safety training programs, railroads are hamstrung due to a lack of federal funding.
“Officials from the Federal Transit Administration and the Transportation Security Administration testified previously before Congress on the need for, and the inherent value of, worker security training,” Risch said. “Yet too little has been done to actually ensure that employees receive adequate security training.”
Although the congressionally passed 9/11 Commission Act mandated that all frontline rail, transit and over-the-road bus employees undergo live training exercises, receive training on evacuation procedures and are instructed on crew and passenger communications and coordination, little has been accomplished, and training mandates are long overdue, Risch said.
“This is unacceptable and further delay only perpetuates the existing dangers,” he said. “Security training should not be a one-time, check-the-box exercise. Regularly scheduled follow-up training is critical.”
Risch also recommended that major rail terminals, where chemicals are stored, be fenced and equipped with video surveillance and security personnel; and that outdated FRA window glazing standards be improved, as current standards protect against only small-arms fire such as a .22 caliber bullet.
“Workers must be treated as partners in the battle to protect our vulnerable bus, rail and public transit systems,” Risch said.
WASHINGTON – The Republican leadership of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will introduce legislation July 8 to slash Amtrak’s federal subsidy by 25 percent, prevent federal funds from being used to create additional rail passenger services unless they are high-speed projects, and cut federal transit funding by 30 percent.
Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), and Rail Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) have previously made known their dislike for Amtrak and intention to destroy the national intercity rail passenger network through funding cuts and privatization of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
The senior Democrat on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, put the Mica/Shuster legislation in perspective: “The bill, as we have seen so far, cannot pass the [Democratic-controlled Senate].”
Opposition to the bill also is being voiced by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has joined with the AFL-CIO to lobby against it. The UTU’s National Legislative Office already is working with members in the House and Senate against Amtrak and transit funding cuts.
Amtrak funding has previously and regularly been in the crosshairs of its detractors, and another tough fight is brewing. On Amtrak’s — and transit’s — side are tens of millions of Americans who continue to make clear to their elected congressional lawmakers that they want more, not less, rail passenger and transit service.
The proposed cuts for Amtrak and transit are contained in a six-year bill entitled, “The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU.” Senate Democratic leaders are pushing for a two-year bill that would be more generous toward Amtrak and transit – although at lower spending levels than sought by the Obama administration.
The House bill would also extend the deadline beyond 2015 for implementation of positive train control (PTC).
The bill also would remove a federal requirement that states use Highway Trust Fund revenue for non-highway transportation purposes, such as mass transit; but would allow states to make such decisions unilaterally.
There are, however, provisions in the House bill that have been sought by the UTU – and those provisions are expected to survive. They include:
Increasing a low-interest loan program for state transportation projects.
Encouraging states to create and capitalize state infrastructure banks to provide loans for transportation projects.
Improving transit options for the elderly and disabled.
Insulating motor carrier safety programs from any spending cuts.
Requiring federal regulators to keep unsafe buses off the road.
Improving access to the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program; and making high-speed rail projects eligible for RRIF loans.
Strengthening the rail transit safety oversight program.
Establishing annual inspection programs for buses.
Requiring regulations to establish minimum training requirements for commercial drivers.
This is a story about heroes. It is a story about two UTU conductor heroes in Fallon, Nev., June 24. In utter disregard of their own safety, these UTU conductor heroes braved intense flames and choking smoke, repeatedly returning inside two burning Amtrak passenger cars to save the lives of dozens of disoriented, injured and frightened passengers — passengers who otherwise would have been hopelessly trapped in the burning wreckage hit by a tractor-trailer combination at a highway-rail grade crossing. And in the custom of American band-of-brothers soldiers, one of these UTU conductor heroes went back one last time to bring out one of his own – removing the body of a fellow conductor before the growing flames could consume the body. Senior military officers would be considering Bronze or Silver stars, a Navy Cross — even the Medal of Honor — for such selfless acts of extreme bravery. Amtrak President Joe Boardman is said to be considering a special honor for these two UTU conductor heroes. Don’t expect these UTU heroes to be anything but modest. Fact is, you find UTU conductor heroes everywhere who serve and protect. On 9/11, it was UTU conductors on Port Authority Trans Hudson in New York City who wouldn’t allow the doors of the last train below the World Trade Center to close until every person on the platform was safely on board. Hundreds of lives were saved by these selfless UTU conductor heroes. In Covington, Va., in February, UTU conductor Dale Smith disregarded his own safety to dash down a steep embankment and into the partially frozen Jackson River to save the life of fellow conductor Alvin (A.J.) Boguess, who had fallen from a trestle, 55-feet above the water. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.” UTU conductors regularly prove Fitzgerald had it backwards. Time and again, UTU hero conductors validate, “Show me a tragedy and I’ll write you a story about heroes.” Indeed. Six died in this tragic Amtrak accident; many more likely would have had it not been for these UTU conductor heroes. In the harrowing moments following the horrendous accident, assistant conductor and UTU Local 166 member Richard d’Alessandro, who initially was knocked unconscious in a dormitory car that took the initial hit from the truck, recovered finding himself laying outside in the desert to discover his arm broken and a finger missing. In complete disregard for his personal safety, and ignoring his own painful injuries, he took to his radio to broadcast help – “Dispatch everything you have.” He climbed back into the burning cars, worked his way through the dark smoke and flames in search of passengers who were completely disoriented – many injured — leading one, then another, and still others to safety through emergency exit windows. His rescues complete, d’Alessandro’s next action was to obtain water for the elderly, which he began distributing. Also in the dormitory car was off-duty conductor and UTU Local 1525 (Carbondale, Ill.) member Loxie Sanders, traveling to California to be with a daughter facing surgery. With flames surrounding him, Sanders knocked out emergency windows, joining with d”Alessandro to lead injured, disoriented and frightened passengers to safety. As he heard a voice, he led the passenger to an exit window, helping them out and down to other rescuers 10-feet below the car. Only when all passengers he could find had been led to safety did Sanders, suffering from smoke inhalation, exit the burning car. But he went back. He went back in search of 68-year-old conductor and UTU Local 166 member Laurette Lee, whom he found dead under a metal door. Ignoring the flames and dense smoke, Sanders lifted the body and carried it outside the car away from the all-consuming flames. Concerned that more passengers might still be in the growing inferno, Sanders went back again – his hand severely burned from scaling the car to gain entry. Listening for voices, Sanders worked his way to more disoriented passengers, leading them, also, to safety. Only when there were no more voices to be heard in the smoke that made vision almost impossible did Sanders consider his own safety and exit the burning car a final time. Said NTSB investigator Ted Turpin, “That was the greatest act of heroism I’ve seen in my [15 years] as an [accident] investigator.” More heroes appeared – from a Union Pacific freight train following the ill-fated westbound Amtrak California Zephyr. Unidentified crew members from the UP train ran to the scene and assisted the passengers. d’Alessandro and Sanders were transported to a local hospital. Among their first visitors was Amtrak President Boardman, who had taken the first available flight to Reno to be at the scene of the disaster. As injured passengers were interviewed by investigators, they recalled most and vividly the heroic actions of these selfless rails – d’Alessandro, Sanders, and the still unnamed UP crew. Hardened accident investigators from the NTSB and Federal Railroad Administration choked with emotion as they listened, reports UTU Arizona State Legislative Director Greg Hynes, a member of the UTU Transportation Safety Team, who was assisting the NTSB in the investigation. “Brave men. Brave men,” was all Hynes could say. It was more than enough.
FALLON, Nev. – The truck driver who died when his tractor-trailer slammed into Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr here June 24, had accumulated nine traffic tickets since 2007 – five for speeding in a commercial vehicle, twice for speeding in his personal automobile, once for a seat belt violation and once for illegally using a cellphone while driving.
Also killed in the highway-rail grade crossing accident was an Amtrak conductor and UTU member – Laurette Lee – and four passengers. Scores were injured, including Amtrak assistant conductor and UTU member Richard d’Alessandro.
Three of truck driver Lawrence Reuben Valli’s five speeding violations were issued while he was a school-bus driver for an unnamed California school system, reports The Los Angeles Times, citing information from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.
In 2007, according to the San Francisco Examiner, Valli, while operating his own automobile, slammed into the rear of another auto near Reno on I-80 and was ticketed for speeding.
There has been no statement from the National Transportation Safety Board whether Valli was traveling in excess of the highway’s posted speed limit when his truck crashed into the Amtrak train. Skid marks on the highway were found and may help investigators determine the truck’s speed prior to impact.
NTSB member Earl Weener, serving as the agency’s spokesperson at the accident scene, said an outward facing camera in the Amtrak locomotive recorded that the signals and gates were working.
The NTSB said June 27 that a cellphone found in the wreckage, and thought to belong to Valli, will be examined to determine if it was in use while he was driving.
The San Francisco Examiner quoted a spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles that Valli had other offenses on his driving record that could not be disclosed – “Oh, yeah, lots more. He was a busy guy,” the spokesman said. Yet, according to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, there is no record of Valli having had his commercial driver’s license suspended or revoked.
As for the trucking company that employed Valli, the Associated Press reported that it had been issued seven safety violations over the past year, and one vehicle had been ordered out of service.
A trucking publication, Fleet Owner, reported, “Make no mistake, along with the lives lost and the injuries caused by the wreck, the crash is a sharp stick in the eye of all those in trucking and government alike who have been very publicly working across numerous fronts this year to increase commercial-vehicle safety performance.”
WASHINGTON – Legislation to privatize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, as a first step toward destruction of Amtrak, will almost certainly be dead-on-arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and will face a tough challenge in the Republican-controlled House; but the authors of the bill – House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and House Rail Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) – continue to press ahead.
And beyond the slim likelihood this legislation might pass both the House and Senate, it is highly unlikely to survive a judicial challenge.
According to the senior Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, the bipartisan Congressional Research Service reported to him that the Mica/Shuster proposal is probably unconstitutional.
The Mica/Shuster bill violates the Appointments Clause and the Takings Clause of the Constitution, Rahall said in referencing the information he obtained from the Congressional Research Service.
The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO warned that the Mica/Shuster proposal would cancel labor agreements covering all of Amtrak’s unionized workers, and eliminate coverage under the Railway Labor Act and the Railroad Retirement Act.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) previously said the Mica/Shuster bill has “no legs” in the Senate. Nonetheless, said a UTU official, “The legislation remains a rat hole worth watching, and our National Legislative Office will work diligently toward its defeat.”
WASHINGTON – Just when federal funding for high-speed rail appeared dead as a rusted rail spike, Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois exercised his clout and reopened the door – if only slightly.
