NTSB dockets opened for NJT, LIRR crashes

Dockets for the fatal Sept. 29, 2016, NJ Transit commuter rail collision in Hoboken, N.J., and the Jan. 4, 2017, Long Island Rail Road collision at the Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, were opened to the public Sept. 21 by the National Transportation Safety Board as part of its ongoing investigations of the two accidents.

NJT touts safety initiatives

On Sept. 21, the same day the National Transportation Safety Board opened the docket on New Jersey Transit’s Sept. 29, 2016 Hoboken Terminal crash to the public, NJT announced it “has implemented a variety of rail safety upgrades over the past year and is looking at additional enhancements for the future, as part of its commitment to safety.”

Buncher heading Siemens Mobility

Siemens has named Marc Buncher President of Siemens Mobility Division in the U.S. and Canada. He will be based out of Siemens Mobility headquarters in New York, N.Y.

Metra, CN replace Rock Island track

Canadian National (CN) and Metra have replaced track on the Rock Island Line, the 40-mile district between LaSalle Street station in Chicago and Joliet.

BNSF, WSDOT awarded W.W. Hay Award

INDIANAPOLIS: At Railway Interchange 2017, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) presented the 2017 Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence to BNSF and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for the Improvements for Passenger Rail Service and Reliability on BNSF Railway in Washington State project.

Commentary

NMB nominees and labor talks advance

Senate confirmation of two new Republican members to the three-member National Mediation Board (NMB), and confirmation of a Democrat to a third NMB term, is anticipated in the next few weeks. The NMB will then be under Republican control for the first time since 2009.

TIGER, Calif. HSR absent from House spending bill

Amtrak and New York’s Gateway project got a prospective funding boost as the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.2-trillion omnibus package to provide all discretionary funding for the federal government for the 2018 fiscal year.

Railway Interchange: Wait until 2018 for infrastructure bill

INDIANAPOLIS – It will likely be 2018 before Congress makes good on President Trump’s pledge to pass an infrastructure spending bill, according to a member of his inner circle, just one item on a long waiting list of legislative issues concerning the rail industry.

Metra marks 40 years for F40PH locomotive

Metra unveiled a special wrap on one of its F40PH locomotives, commemorating 40 years of continuous passenger service for the power mainstay of the Chicago agency’s passenger fleet.

Amtrak 188 wreck engineer cleared of criminal charges

Citing a lack of evidence, a judge on Tuesday dismissed criminal charges including involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment against Brandon Bostian, the engineer of Amtrak train 188 that derailed in Philadelphia the night of May 12, 2015, killing eight and injuring 200.

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