2014 safest year on record

The most recent safety statistics released by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in April show that 2014 was the safest year on record for train operations in the United States, in terms of both the number of accidents and the accident rate per million train-miles, for a variety of causes. These numbers include passenger rail, though the majority are freight rail accidents.

Amtrak’s Oregon service under threat

Amtrak’s Cascades service between Portland and Eugene will end if Oregon’s state legislature enacts the budget adopted by its Joint Ways and Means Committee the week of March 30, 2015 that proposes slashing funding for the daily state-backed service on the corridor.
Commentary

Tank car builders don’t agree on DOT-111 obsolescence timeline

Tank car builder The Greenbrier Companies is urging the White House Office of Management and Budget to disregard advice by the company’s own industry trade group, the Railway Supply Institute-Committee on Tank Cars (RSI-CTC), and proceed full speed ahead with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s proposed schedule for fleet renewal.

FRA: Tank cars must upgrade valves

Under a fairly intense political spotlight spurred by a series of high-profile rail incidents involving crude-by-rail (CBR) shipments, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a “Railworthiness Directive requiring railroad tank car owners to replace unapproved valves currently installed in some tank cars.”

Amtrak honors Joe Szabo with Chicago dedication

Amtrak on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 dedicated its Chicago railroad operations center as the Joseph C. Szabo Chicago Control Center, “in recognition of Szabo’s contributions to the advancement of intercity passenger rail travel and railroad safety in the United States,” according to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).

Commentary

Implications aplenty in Supreme Court Amtrak ruling

The Supreme Court March 9 sent back to a federal appellate court for reconsideration a freight railroad challenge to a provision of the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) that allowed the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak to collaborate in establishing minimum on-time performance standards for Amtrak passenger trains operating on freight railroad-owned track. The 9-0 unanimous decision was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

PTC relief on the way?

The U.S. railroad industry has been scrambling since 2008 to meet the requirements of an unfunded federal government mandate—namely, having Positive Train Control installed and fully operational by Dec. 31, 2015 on 60,000 miles of track where hazmat and passenger trains operate. Parallel to the PTC initiative has been a battle waged on Capitol Hill to extend the end-of-the-year deadline. That effort may be paying off, and the railroads may one day be grateful that they have a Thune on their side.

FRA campaign tags grade-crossing safety

As part of its ongoing effort to improve safety at railroad grade crossings, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Monday, March 2, 2015 announced a first step in a new, multi-faceted campaign aimed at strengthening enforcement and safety awareness at grade crossings.

Commentary

Better rail safety? Buck stops with the Senate

Railroads live at the intersection of necessity and disaster—the disaster substantial when dangerous cargo goes boom, is accompanied by a highly visible fireball, or threatens human life through inhalation or skin absorption.

BNSF pauses on tank car purchase

BNSF Railway is taking a second look at an earlier plan to purchase up to 5,000 tank cars for hauling oil products, following feedback from some of its customers, according to BNSF Chairman Matt Rose.

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