CN meets federal PTC requirements
Thirteen months ahead of the December 2020 deadline, CN has successfully met the federal requirement to operate Positive Train Control (PTC) on all 35 of its U.S. subdivisions required to be equipped
Regulatory
Congress pushing back on Amtrak forced arbitration policy
Earlier this week, RT&S reported that the agreement with Amtrak that every passenger enters when they purchase a ticket now contains an arbitration clause that says, essentially, the passenger cannot sue the railroad
Amtrak – You can’t sue us if we crash
Those who are generally disgruntled with Amtrak have another reason for wishing the rail passenger carrier would change for the better or simply go away. The agreement with Amtrak that every passenger
CRRC’s “Chief Obligation is to the Chinese State”: Report
“CRRC AND BEIJING’S DASH FOR GLOBAL ROLLING STOCK DOMINANCE,” a report prepared by Radarlock, which describes itself as “a research organization that uses data-driven analysis to understand techno-economic dynamics in world affairs,”
Court rules against Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of International Brotherhood of Teamsters in automated track inspection case
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters recently filed a petition against the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) decision to allow BNSF to reduce physical,
Cybersecurity on freight railroads – a regulatory matter?
Concern over computer hacking of critical infrastructure, and even of our political elections, permeates the entire U.S. The more we come to rely on digital and automated processes, the more dependent we
Truck driver suing BNSF over railcar collision
Freightwaves is reporting that the driver of a tractor-trailer truck is suing BNSF for more than $75,000 after being hit on the passenger side by a pair of “uncontrolled” rolling boxcars at
Debate over moving liquefied natural gas by rail hits the fan
In April of this year, the Trump administration directed the U.S. Department of Transportation to allow railroads to haul liquefied natural gas in special tank cars within 13 months. This was driven
Texas high-speed rail moving forward
Archinect and the Houston Chronicle are reporting Texas Central has signed a deal with an Italian company to design, build, and put in the Texas Bullet Train, a 240-mile line between Dallas
U.S. lawmakers concerned that Chinese rail passenger car manufacturer is a national security threat
The New York Times is reporting that there is new tension between the United States and China. The issue involves CRRC Corporation, a Chinese state-owned company, which is the largest manufacturer of
A look ahead to automatic
Aug. 27, 2019, will arguably be one of the single most important days in North American freight railroading in recent history. On a test track at TTCI (Transportation Technology Center, Inc.) in
PTC interoperability moving forward, but slowly
Freightwaves is reporting that the Federal Railroad Administration’s Q2 PTC progress report released Monday said that 23.3 percent of the nation’s domestic railroad operations have achieved interoperability. Interoperability was at 16 percent at
Illinois joins debate on train crew size
The debate around the number of crew members who should be in a locomotive cab on a freight train has been going on the past several years. After a proposal by the
Nevada AFL-CIO takes stand on train crew issue
The debate between railroad management and agreement employees continued yesterday with the Nevada State AFL-CIO adopting a resolution that requests Federal action on the question of train crew size. The labor organization
CN to acquire CSX line in New York
Canadian National announced the signing of an agreement that will see CN acquire the Massena rail line from CSX, which represents more than 220 miles of track between Valleyfield (Quebec), in Canada,
Short Line association tells DOT, “we’re important, too”
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), represented by Jo Strang, Senior Vice President, Safety & Regulatory Policy, testified Monday before a Small Business Administration hearing on National Regulatory Fairness.
Observance of fatal train collision 50 years ago reaffirms need for PTC
National Transportation Safety Board Member Jennifer Homendy will join Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal and rail safety advocates at a press conference scheduled for today at 11 a.m., calling for the full implementation
Federal ruling on freight train crew size has states and unions up in arms
On May 29 of this year, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) withdrew from its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on the issue of the number of crew members on a freight train.
GAO reports PTC focus turning to interoperability
The Government Accounting Office released a statement yesterday pointing out that much work remains to be done for the railroad industry to achieve interoperability among individual PTC systems. The statement says “Full
Karl Alexy named FRA chief safety officer
Karl Alexy has been named the Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). He was most recently the FRA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for Railroad