In comments submitted August 16 in response to a July 15th public hearing, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) again urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to withdraw its proposed rule mandating two-person crews on railroads. The AAR also called on the FRA to disclose the data sources it has used to inform its proposal, which AAR says is not supported by any publicly available safety data.
In 2012, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) launched NEC Future, to focus on upgrade possibilities of the critical Northeast Corridor (NEC). On July 28, as the process chugs along, FRA released its Comment Summary Report on the project.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a new, final rule on July 29 that requires passenger railroads to proactively identify potential safety hazards across their operations and work to reduce and mitigate them. FRA believes this rule will help prevent safety problems from escalating and resulting in incidents, injuries or deaths.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced on July 21 a Finding of No Significant Impact on the Northern New England Intercity Rail Initiative (Initiative). The finding clears the way for states and the federal government to invest in future passenger rail service in New England. The Initiative proposes to restore service between Boston and New Haven through Springfield and Hartford and add new service between Boston and Montreal.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have released 10 service and route options for new and improved conventional and high-speed passenger rail service connecting Oklahoma City, Okla., Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and South Texas.
The title of Larry Light’s “PTC vs. Legacy Train Control” article in the June 2016 issue of Railway Age (full text follows this article) promised a balanced discussion of the differences between newer and older versions of train control. In reality, the article focused on why he believes that legacy train control systems need to be maintained.
Three years ago, in the early hours of July 13, a runaway oil train exploded in the then-idyllic lakeside town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing 47 people.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown released the following statement regarding the Federal Railroad Administration’s June 23rd Preliminary Factual Findings Report on the June 3rd derailment of Union Pacific’s crude oil train:
The Federal Railroad Administration on June 23, 2106 released its preliminary findings on the June 3 Oregon crude oil derailment and found at fault: bolts, brakes and Union Pacific.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to abandon its call to require two-person crews in many types of service, citing lack of consideration for economic impact to its small business members in the implementation of a rule with no proven safety benefit.