The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week issued a final safety advisory for railroads operating under temporary signal suspensions. The FRA issued a draft safety advisory in April in response to accidents involving Amtrak, CSX and Union Pacific Railroad trains earlier this year. Published last week in the Federal Register, the voluntary safety advisory recommends […]
FRA, RAILROAD FAULTED FOR 2017 CRASH: NTSB placed blame on Union Pacific Railroad as well as the Federal Railroad Administration for a March 10, 2017, train derailment in northwest Iowa that spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of ethanol and started a fire that burned for more than 36 hours. The railroad was not maintaining […]
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has announced that it will be re-establishing the Rail Safety Advisory Committee – commonly known as ‘RSAC.’ The committee’s charter was recently dissolved in order to redesign the charter’s memberships and voting-eligibility. Rail labor unions have been assured that their voting ability and weights will not be reduced. […]
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer speaks in front of a railroad bridge that runs through downtown Syracuse. He’s joined by Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com) SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Federal authorities audit just 1 percent of the private railroad bridge inspections done in the United […]
Wilson Ring/AP The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a final rule to allow small railroads and their contractors to comply with employee federal hours-of-service record-keeping regulations using automated systems rather than paper records. “Approximately 746 railroads, 18 commuter railroads, and their contractors and subcontractors are eligible to use automated record-keeping systems pursuant to this rule,” […]
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) has recently petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for waiver from Federal railroad safety regulations regarding the testing and inspecting of air brakes and an exemption from statutory requirements regarding the movement of defective or insecure equipment. BNSF specifically requests this relief so that FRA will approve a […]
by Diana Stancy Correll Jeff Blake/AP In 2008, Congress first instructed railroads to install positive train control with a deadline of full implementation by Dec. 31, 2015. As the deadline approached, lawmakers pushed it back to Dec. 31, 2018, with the possibility of an extension to Dec. 31, 2020, if the railroad in question meets […]
In a follow-up to the TCU article published March 8th 2018: The Association of American Railroads (AAR), on behalf of itself and its member railroads, recently petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from Federal railroad safety regulations which require brake tests to be performed on a train when it has […]
FRA Administrator Ron Batory Photo – FRA The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has scheduled three symposiums on topics related to positive train control (PTC), with the first to be held June 15 in Washington, D.C. The June 15 symposium aims to bring together the FRA’s PTC experts and all 41 railroads that are federally mandated […]
In March 2018, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a notice in the Federal Register wherein the agency requested comments from the public regarding railroad automation, and how this technology may impact the railroad industry going forward. This request encompassed the entirety of the railroad industry, and sought input on the impacts of automation on […]