OLI’s “The Risk Is Real” PSA is available in 60, 30 and 20-second versions. (Video screengrab courtesy of OLI)

Watch: OLI’s New ‘The Risk Is Real’ PSA

Ahead of Rail Safety Week, Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) has released a new public service announcement (PSA) in English and Spanish to illustrate the consequences of unsafe choices around railroad tracks and crossings.

DOT-113C120W9 LNG tank car. (Chart Industries Photograph)

LNG by Rail: PHMSA Finalizes Temporary Reg Rollback (Updated)

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will suspend its July 24, 2020, authorization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport in DOT-113C120W9-specification rail tank cars, pending the earlier of either completion

AAR: Class I’s Remain Committed to ‘Appropriate Confidential Close-Call Reporting’

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) in an Aug. 24 letter provided a progress report to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose on the Class I railroads’ pending

Under FRA’s proposed rule for dispatcher certification, railroads would be required to have “formal processes for training prospective dispatchers, as well as verifying that each dispatcher has the requisite knowledge, skills, safety record, and abilities to safely perform all of the safety-related dispatcher duties mandated by federal laws and regulations, prior to certification.” (Union Pacific Photograph)

FRA: Comment Period Extended Again for Proposed Dispatcher, Signal Employee Certification Regs

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) on June 21 reported filing petitions with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting a 60-day extension of the comment period for two proposals that would require freight railroads, Amtrak and commuter railroads to develop certification programs for network dispatchers and signal employees. FRA on July 5 and again on Aug. 22 extended the comment period by 30 days and 15 days, respectively.

In 2022, an STC program grant of up to $1.44 million went toward the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) Avalanche Control project.

FRA: Applications Open for STC Grant Program

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Aug. 18 reported that it will make available more than $139 million for projects that upgrade and safeguard rail infrastructure in Alaska, South Dakota and Wyoming through the Special Transportation Circumstances (STC) grant program.

Class I Participation in FRA C3RS Still Pending

The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has written letters to all six Class I railroads (download below) urging them to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) voluntary Confidential Close Call Reporting

Commentary

Welcome to Amtrak Study Hall (UPDATED Aug. 14 with Additional Commentary)

The Federal Railroad Administration’s Congressionally mandated Long-Distance Service Study, launched in late October 2022, is roughly 50% complete. An interim, 120-page report (download below) was recently posted to the study’s website. It

Pictured: Parallel’s prototype railcar loaded with a shipping container. (Photo courtesy of Parallel Systems)

GC, HOG File Petition with FRA to Pilot Parallel Systems Technology

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) subsidiaries Georgia Central Railway, L.P. (GC) and Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG) on Aug. 10 filed a petition with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to pilot

FRA: NS Safety Culture at ‘Involving Level of Maturity‘

The Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 9 issued its Norfolk Southern Safety Culture Assessment Report, undertaken in early March as a 60-day supplemental assessment following the East Palestine derailment and other safety

FRA: Amtrak Seeks ACSES II Amendments

On July 14, 2023, Amtrak submitted two Requests For Amendment (RFA) to the Federal Railroad Administration for its ACSES II system. The first, for Amtrak’s FRA-approved Positive Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP)

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