Category: Amtrak/Commuter News
RRB: Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Insurance taxes in 2020
The amounts of compensation subject to Railroad Retirement Tier I and Tier II payroll taxes will increase in 2020, while the tax rates on employers and employees will stay the same. In addition, unemployment insurance contribution rates paid by railroad employers will not inc [...]
Illinois SLD testifies at Amtrak hearing in U.S. House
SMART Transportation Division Illinois State Legislative Director Bob Guy testified Nov. 13 before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials regarding the future of Amtrak as members of Congress continue the reauthorization process for the n [...]Virginia SLD reminds state voters: Absentee voting has begun!
SMART Transportation Division Virginia State Legislative Director Ronnie Hobbs issued a reminder Oct. 16 that absentee voting in-person or by mail has begun for the state’s Nov. 5 general elections. Voters can cast absentee ballots in person at their local voting regist [...]Poll claims Coloradans are willing to pay more taxes for rail service
A recent poll conducted by RBI Strategies & Research in conjunction with Magellan Strategies found that 61% of those surveyed would support a sales tax increase to fund a passenger rail service project along Colorado’s Front Range. Although a sales tax increase is support [...]Railroad unemployment and sickness benefits reduced again due to sequestration
Starting October 1, 2019, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will reduce railroad unemployment and sickness insurance benefits by 5.9%, down from the current 6.2% reduction, as required by law. The adjusted reduction is based on revised projections of benefit claims and [...]
NJT boss to Trains Magazine: Carrier has a way to go to meet PTC deadline
In an interview with Trains Magazine’s Ralph Spielman, New Jersey Transit (NJT) President and CEO Kevin Corbett said that the passenger carrier has much progress to make in its implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) in order to meet the deadline for full impleme [...]
APTA reports U.S. rail ridership up in second quarter compared with 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans took more than 2.5 billion passenger trips on public transportation in the second quarter of 2019, according to the quarterly Transit Ridership Report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), representing 11 million trips [...]
Golf outing to honor Donald Wheaton
Local 898 in Boston will be holding the Donnie Wheaton Memorial Golf Tournament on Oct. 5 at Maplegate Country Club in Franklin, Mass. Holes are available for sponsorship by SMART TD locals for $150. A 42-year employee for Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, which became Keo [...]