Transportation News

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Mexican company announces deal to acquire Florida East Coast Railway

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The Railway Gazette reported that Grupo México announced that its transportation division – México Transportes (GMXT) – reached an agreement to acquire Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) from Fortress Investment Group. The announcement wa [...]

Trump’s budget would end Amtrak’s long-distance service

President Trump’s 2018 proposed budget seeks to cut federal funding for Amtrak’s long-distance train services, which would end coast-to-coast commuter rail services and would kill regional and long-distance services, including the following popular commuter rail r [...]

Missing teen found safe after 300 mile ride on coal train

LUBBOCK, Texas – According to an AP report recently posted on KWTX.com, a thirteen-year old girl who went missing while on a family vacation in Colorado, was found safe four days later by a Texas farmer. The missing teen had apparently hitched a ride on a coal train hea [...]

2-person crews mandated for Boston duck boats – trains next?

BOSTON – 7 News Boston reported that the Massachusetts state legislature recently mandated that all duck boats must be operated by two-person crews. The measure came in response to a growing number of duck boat-related injuries and fatalities. Read the complete story he [...]

Furloughed UP workers rehired in North Platte, Nebraska

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. –  The North Platte Telegraph reported that of the 4,600 Union Pacific Railroad (UP) workers that were furloughed in April of 2016, nearly 3,000 of those workers have been rehired. The jobs that were cut last year were mostly train, engine and rail ya [...]

Rail coalition rallies; FRA denies CSX bid to remove track signals

A collective of rail unions and Michigan citizens lobbied the FRA to deny a CSX request that would discontinue use of vital safety signals along a busy freight rail line in Michigan – and won. SMART Transportation Division, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen,  B [...]

SMART TD’s Risch – DC Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies

WASHINGTON – John Risch, SMART TD National Legislative Director, participated in hearings as a member of the Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies on March 21, 2017. Discussion focused on new and emerging trends in railroad safety including train crew size, recen [...]

Young woman killed by train during photo shoot

NAVASOTA, Texas – Fredzania Thompson, a mother-to-be and an aspiring model, was tragically killed during a photo shoot on train tracks. Read the complete article here. According to John Risch, SMART TD national legislative director, there is a dangerous and growing tren [...]

Maryland House passes two-person crew bill

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On March 17, the Maryland House of Representatives voted in favor of HB 381, a measure that would require at least two crew members on all freight trains operating in the state of Maryland. The bi-partisan bill has moved to the Senate finance committee. [...]