Category: Amtrak/Commuter News
FRA takes proactive approach to help railroads meet Congressional PTC requirement
Railroads’ progress on Positive Train Control remains uneven WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (US DOT’s) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today released a status update on its efforts to assist railroads in implementing positive train control syst [...]
NTSB releases report on Amtrak/CSX collision
On February 4, 2018, southbound Amtrak train 91, operating on a track warrant, diverted from the main track through a hand-thrown switch into a siding and collided head-on with stationary CSX Transportation local freight train F777 03 on the CSX Columbia Subdivision in Cayce, [...]
NTSB issues urgent safety recommendations
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued three urgent safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), acting upon the agency’s findings in two ongoing railroad accident investigations. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) received one u [...]
Funeral services announced for Michael Cella
Services have been announced for Brother Michael Cella, the SMART Transportation Division conductor, who was killed in the Amtrak Train 91 collision Feb. 4 in Cayce, S.C. A gathering of Cella’s friends and family will be 10 a.m. to noon immediately followed by a celebra [...]
NTSB finds nearly identical cause of two commuter rail accidents
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that two commuter railroad terminal accidents in the New York area were caused by engineer fatigue resulting from undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea. The Sept. 29, 2016, accident on the New Jersey Transit rail [...]Fundraiser set up for men killed in Amtrak 91 collision
A memorial fund for Amtrak conductor Mike Cella, a current SMART Transportation Division member out of Local 30 in Florida, and engineer Mike Kempf, a former SMART TD member, who were tragically killed in the line of duty on Sunday, Feb. 4, has been established. Proceeds from [...]NTSB issues update on Amtrak Train 91 collision
Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reported some preliminary findings Monday afternoon of his agency’s investigation into the Amtrak-CSX train collision that occurred Feb. 4 near Cayce, S.C. The train had 139 passengers and eigh [...]