FRA has issued a safety advisory asking freight railroads to be aware of the operational adjustments that must be made when they deploy longer trains.
An industry trade group advisory questioning the safety of wheel sets manufactured by National Steel Car has been canceled, National Steel Car said.
The way that trains are configured might have factored into the derailments of six Class I trains over the past two years, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
Democratic lawmakers from Pennsylvania and Ohio have introduced a second piece of legislation, the Railway Accountability Act.
Norfolk Southern and SMART-TD are tabling discussions about how to handle conductor redeployments as congressional lawmakers want more information about what rail safety initiatives should become law.
Two congressional representatives from Ohio have introduced a rail safety bill that they say would build off of NTSB’s findings into the cause of the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.
A Senate hearing Thursday provided Congressional leaders a chance to grill Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw not just on the Feb. 3 train derailment in Ohio but also on the industry’s views on rail safety.
Norfolk Southern notified federal officials about loose wheels, and the Association of American Railroads put out an advisory to halt the use of rail cars that might have this issue.
The Association of American Railroads has laid out initiatives the freight rail industry expects to take up to boost safety amid calls from federal officials in the wake of the Feb. 3 Ohio train derailment.
“While the Railway Safety Act of 2023 has potential, railroad workers are concerned with what is glaringly left out of the bill and what aspects are left to the DOT and FRA to draft, implement, and administer,” said Matt Weaver of Railroad Workers United.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration will conduct investigations into Norfolk Southern’s safety practices.
The Federal Railroad Administration collects a lot of data related to rail safety. What does that research show when it comes to the performance of the Class I railroads?
This AskWaves article describes the various stakeholders involved in regulating rail safety.
All seven Class I railroads have agreed to participate in a federal program in which workers can anonymously provide tips on operational conditions. The participation will complement existing internal programs at the railroads, says the Association of American Railroads.
Ohio members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division are concerned about the health of workers who responded to the Feb. 3 train derailment, and they disagreed with NS’ attempt to address automated track inspection during early negotiations over sick leave.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s probe of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment will include a close look at the protective housing covers on the derailed tank cars.
The Federal Railroad Administration and a bipartisan group of five senators aim to show their responsiveness to rail safety concerns via new initiatives and proposed regulations.
The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety advisory that calls on railroads to evaluate their procedures for using and maintaining hot box detectors in light of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in Ohio.
The Environmental Protection Agency has given Norfolk Southern a new order as the Ohio derailment cleanup transitions to longer-term remediation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has given the railroads a list of what safety actions they should undertake.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others have suggested the freight rail industry needs more regulation to ensure safe operations.
