Category: Uncategorized
Mexican company announces deal to acquire Florida East Coast Railway
MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The Railway Gazette reported that Grupo México announced that its transportation division – México Transportes (GMXT) – reached an agreement to acquire Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) from Fortress Investment Group. The announcement wa [...]Trump’s budget would end Amtrak’s long-distance service
President Trump’s 2018 proposed budget seeks to cut federal funding for Amtrak’s long-distance train services, which would end coast-to-coast commuter rail services and would kill regional and long-distance services, including the following popular commuter rail r [...]Missing teen found safe after 300 mile ride on coal train
LUBBOCK, Texas – According to an AP report recently posted on KWTX.com, a thirteen-year old girl who went missing while on a family vacation in Colorado, was found safe four days later by a Texas farmer. The missing teen had apparently hitched a ride on a coal train hea [...]
2-person crews mandated for Boston duck boats – trains next?
BOSTON – 7 News Boston reported that the Massachusetts state legislature recently mandated that all duck boats must be operated by two-person crews. The measure came in response to a growing number of duck boat-related injuries and fatalities. Read the complete story he [...]
Rail coalition rallies; FRA denies CSX bid to remove track signals
A collective of rail unions and Michigan citizens lobbied the FRA to deny a CSX request that would discontinue use of vital safety signals along a busy freight rail line in Michigan – and won. SMART Transportation Division, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, B [...]
SMART TD’s Risch – DC Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies
WASHINGTON – John Risch, SMART TD National Legislative Director, participated in hearings as a member of the Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies on March 21, 2017. Discussion focused on new and emerging trends in railroad safety including train crew size, recen [...]
Young woman killed by train during photo shoot
NAVASOTA, Texas – Fredzania Thompson, a mother-to-be and an aspiring model, was tragically killed during a photo shoot on train tracks. Read the complete article here. According to John Risch, SMART TD national legislative director, there is a dangerous and growing tren [...]
Maryland House passes two-person crew bill
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On March 17, the Maryland House of Representatives voted in favor of HB 381, a measure that would require at least two crew members on all freight trains operating in the state of Maryland. The bi-partisan bill has moved to the Senate finance committee. [...]