Following Rail Safety Week, the U.S. Department of Transportation is running a $6.6 million “Stop. Trains Can’t” public awareness campaign through Nov. 8. In addition, Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) has made available online versions of its most popular highway-rail grade crossing safety materials for children.
RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2020 ISSUE: Ingenuity and innovation have made rail one of the safest modes of transportation. Among the cutting-edge technologies now making their mark is artificial intelligence.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has selected five rail capital projects in South Dakota and Alaska for Special Transportation Circumstances (STC) grants totaling $6.9 million. The grants are made available by the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2019 and 2020.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that it is distributing $320.6 million to 50 projects that improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of freight rail and intercity passenger service in 29 states.
As a lifelong railroader, I’m especially pleased to join Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) and others across the nation in observing Rail Safety Week (RSW). In addition to Canada, this year we also welcome our colleagues in Mexico in helping all of us in North America to raise the profile of rail safety awareness.
The Railway Supply Institute (RSI) today released the RSI-100 Product Quality Certification Standard for tank car components.
A $47.55 million grant has been awarded to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for the purchase of CSX’s S-Line rail corridor from Raleigh to Ridgeway, N.C., near the Virginia state line, which will eventually contribute to higher-speed rail (HrSR) service to the Southeast.
I don’t often feel the need to defend our industry’s regulator, the Federal Railroad Administration. Part of that is me. Like many who have stumbled into a career in this industry (and I literally stumbled my way into railroad employment, half-blinded and three-quarters frozen by a blizzard in Chicago), I’ve always had a problem with authority. Not that I begrudge anyone his or her authority, title, rate of pay—any of that stuff. I just don’t like other people telling me what to do, and I positively hate it when others think they need to tell me what to do.
It’s a long-awaited rulemaking: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Aug. 28 submitted to the Federal Register its “Final Rule on Rail Integrity Amendments & Track Safety Standards,” which the agency says “focuses more on providing performance-based outcomes, rather than prescribing exactly how companies conduct effective tests. Railroads will be expected to utilize established methods to conduct required rail inspections, but they will also have the flexibility to utilize new technologies and methods as they are proven safe and effective.” Specifically, this final rule allows railroads to use ultrasonic inspection technology augmented with global positioning system (GPS) for continuous rail flaw testing.
The Surface Transportation Board and Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 24 sent joint, identical letters to the CEOs of the seven North American Class I’s—Carl Ice (BNSF), Keith Creel (Canadian Pacific), JJ Ruest (CN), Jim Foote (CSX), Pat Ottensmeyer (Kansas City Southern), Jim Squires (Norfolk Southern) and Lance Fritz (Union Pacific)—citing service problems and “increased communication and transparency with rail shippers.”
