NTSB, TSB issue joint CBR safety recommendations

The National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, on Jan. 23, 2014 issued a series of recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), both of which are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, to address the safety risks of crude by rail (CBR). The recommendations are not unusual or groundbreaking; that NTSB and TSB have issued them jointly is indicative of increased cooperation among U.S. and Canadian regulatory bodies regarding CBR.
Commentary

Emergency Order 29: Where’s the consistency?

When we investigate accidents and injuries, when we analyze failures of any sort on any railroad, we are searching for a root cause—that determining factor, or factors, that drive the accident from a potential condition to a manifest event.

Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway CBR train derails, explodes

A 90-car Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway CBR (crude by rail) train derailed and exploded in a rural area of western Alabama early on Friday, Nov. 8, 2013, leaving 26 cars burning. Thirty cars derailed or were damaged. The main line was expected to be out of service for about a week.

Maine House rep introduces two-person-crew bill

Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Me.) on Aug. 2, 2013 introduced “The Safe Freight Act,” a bill requiring a minimum of two-person crews for freight trains. Fellow Maine Democrat Rep. Chellie Pingree is an original cosponsor of the bill.

Metro-North derailment injures 60, shuts down NEC north end

Updated Monday, May 20, 2013

At the height of the Friday, May 17 evening rush hour, an outbound MTA Metro-North Railroad M8 electric multiple-unit train carrying 300 passengers derailed, sideswiping an inbound M8 trainset carrying 400 passengers.

Commentary

The camera never blinks

“Here’s looking at you, kid,” is a cherished line from the movie Casablanca,but when the looking is through a hidden camera lens in the locker room or even visibly trained on crewmembers inside a locomotive cab, well, you won’t hear the more famous line, “This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

Commentary

Will face-time determine new DOT secretary?

It is said that the most dangerous place to stand is between a television camera and the publicity hungry Democratic Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer.