Author: amyr

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Amtrak LogoOn Tuesday night, an Amtrak train spectacularly derailed on its way through Philadelphia, killing at least seven people. On Wednesday morning, a House appropriations subcommittee voted to cut federal funding for Amtrak by about 20 percent. Those are two dots Republicans don’t want you to connect.

“Don’t use this tragedy in that way,” Rep. Mike Simpson is quoted in a POLITICO article as saying, after Democrats on the appropriations subcommittee for transportation and housing criticized Republicans for proposing and eventually approving the cuts.

The vote took place before news reports that the train may have been going around a curve at speeds of about 100 miles per hour when the derailment occurred. If those reports had surfaced earlier, the Republican objections to linking budget cuts to the derailment would likely have been much louder.

Read more from Moyers & company.

BNSF_Color_LogoBNSF Railway has reopened its tracks north of Fort Worth after multiple storm-related incidents during the weekend, the company’s executives say.

“Railroading is an outdoor sport, but we should also say these storms have over the last couple of weeks been really terrific in terms of damage,” said Matt Rose, BNSF executive chairman. “Certainly it’s a dangerous business. We’ve weathered it, so to speak, and we’ll get repaired and hopefully see sunnier skies.”

BNSF, which is based in Fort Worth, was hit by a triple-whammy of unfortunate events during the past several days.

Read more from the Star-Telegram.

DOT_Logo_150pxThe Department of Transportation’s Inspector General is conducting an audit into concerns about the “timeliness and effectiveness” of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s reviews of carriers that pose a greater risk.

The IG audit, announced in a May 5 memo, cited investigations in 2013 by the National Transportation Board of four motor carriers involved in crashes that resulted in a total of 25 fatalities and 83 injuries.

“The investigations revealed that FMCSA conducted safety reviews of these motor carriers prior to their crashes, one carrier only five days before, yet did not uncover or act on certain preexisting safety deficiencies until after the crashes,” the IG memo said.

Read more from Transport Topics.

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Menges

Transportation Division Missouri State Legislative Director Ken Menges asks members for their support. Next week is the final week of the 2015 legislative session and the senate is planning to debate the state’s “right to work” anti-labor bill.

“We are being asked by the Mo. AFL-CIO to ‘pack’ the gallery of the senate next week. If any SMART member could spend a few hours in Jefferson City next week at the Capitol it would be greatly appreciated,” Menges said. “I know that our schedules are hectic, but a few hours any day would be a great help.”

Mo. AFL-CIO President Michael Louis said, “We are faced with the worst attack on labor and working families ever. Right to work has passed the house and now awaits floor debate to pass the senate. We must all unite to stop this unfair and unnecessary attack.

“Everyday next week, Monday through Friday, there is a very good chance that right to work will be on the senate floor. With one stroke of the pen all of the working conditions, wages and fringe benefits that have been fought for decades can be taken away from Missouri workers.”

Members planning to fill the senate gallery should call the Mo. AFL-CIO at (573) 634-2115 so that they can create a schedule to spread out the crowds over the course of the week. Monday’s session begins at 11 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. the rest of the week. Members can also call the Mo. state legislative board at (573) 634-3303 for further assistance.

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Foxx

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are on the scene today of a BNSF Railway Co. crude-oil train that derailed and caught fire yesterday morning in Heimdal, N.D.

The BNSF train consisted of 109 total cars, 107 of which were loaded with crude oil. Two buffer cars were loaded with sand. Six of the crude oil cars derailed at about 7:30 a.m., resulting in a fire and the town’s evacuation. All other cars were pulled away from the scene to a safe distance. No injuries were reported, according to a statement issued by BNSF. 

The tank cars involved in the incident were the unjacketed CPC-1232 models, which are among the tank-car models slated for retrofits or phasing out under new federal rules governing the safety of crude-by-rail transportation.

Read more from Progressive Railroading.

FRA_logo_wordsHARTFORD, Conn. – Federal transportation officials and the Metropolitan Transportation Agency have agreed on a nearly $1 billion federal loan to install technology that could slow trains when necessary on Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Railroad.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Wednesday the Federal Railroad Administration and Metropolitan Transit Authority agreed on a $967 million loan to install Positive Train Control technology. It automatically slows the train if the operator or a malfunction places it in jeopardy.

Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the MTA, said Metro-North and the LIRR are putting in place the system, which includes installing on-board components for 1,455 rail cars and transponders.

Read more from CBS Connecticut.

BNSF_Color_LogoA train carrying crude oil through Wells County, North Dakota derailed May 6. At least six rail cars have caught fire, sending thick, black plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. The village of Heimdal and nearby farms were evacuated.

The BNSF Railway oil tanker derailed around 7:30 a.m. local time, Wells County Emergency Manager Tammy Roehrich said, the Grand Forks Herald reported.

Emergency crews from several fire departments across the region responded, as well as hazardous materials teams from Devils Lakes and Grand Forks, Cecily Fong, public information officer for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, said.

Read more from RT.

BNSF_loco_K.D.McLaughlin_150pxGENOA, Wis. – Charles Burch was heading to his favorite ice fishing spot, a Mississippi River backwater south of Genoa, when he ran into a railroad detective.

The 74-year-old angler said the cop asked where he was headed.

“Obviously, I’m going fishing,” Burch said, retelling the story.

The railroad cop told him if he went across the tracks he’d get a trespassing ticket.

There was no other way to reach the water, so Burch turned around and hasn’t been back to that spot since. Never mind that he’d been fishing that slough for 40 years.

Read more from the StarTribune.

 

Homeland Security sealLegislation that would “address serious security vulnerabilities identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) and the Comptroller General about how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) carries out expedited airport checkpoint screening has been introduced in the House. 

The legislation comes on the heels of TSA having drawn fire during a congressional hearing in March for allowing a former member of a domestic terrorist group convicted of murder and other crimes involving explosives “was permitted to travel with expedited screening through the PreCheck process,” according to the DHS IG. 

The redacted public version of the IG’s report, Allegation of Granting Expedited Screening Through TSA PreCheck Improperly, “stemmed from a whistleblower disclosure which alleged that a notorious felon was improperly cleared for TSA PreCheck screening and was allowed to use the PreCheck lanes,” the IG said.

Read more from Homeland Security Today.

Authorities debating whether the benefits outweigh the risks

cameraThe debate over video cameras in airplane cockpits is heating up, as a string of high-profile aviation disasters prompt concerns over whether accident investigators have sufficient information.

The United Nations’ aviation arm is expected to make a big push later this year to install video cameras in airliner cockpits, the Wall Street Journal reports. The discussions over the additional technology will likely take years; the regulation will ultimately fall into the hands of individual countries.

Read more from Time.