Federal Railroad Administration News

Freight Railroads Ask Courts to Throw Out Rule Requiring Two-Person Crews on Trains

Four railroads have asked federal appeals courts to throw out a new rule that would require two-person train crews in most circumstances, saying the mandate is arbitrary, capricious and an illegal abuse of discretion. The identical challenges of the Federal …

Freight Railroads Must Keep 2-Person Crews Under New Federal Rule

Major freight railroads will have to maintain two-person crews on most routes under a new federal rule that was finalized Tuesday in a milestone in organized labor’s long fight to preserve the practice. The Transportation Department’s Federal Railroad Administration released …

Latest Ohio Train Derailment Poses No Public Risk, Officials Say

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) – Authorities in Ohio say there is no indication of any risk to public health from the derailment of a Norfolk Southern cargo train between Dayton and Columbus, the second derailment of a company train in the …

Ohio Senators Prepare Rail Safety Bill After Norfolk Southern Crash

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Railroads like the one involved in this month’s fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio would be subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences under legislation being introduced Wednesday by …

Administration Says Railroads Have Met Safety Technology Deadline

The U.S. Transportation Department announced Tuesday that anti-derailment technology positive train control, or PTC, is in operation on all required railroad route miles ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline set by Congress. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has certified that …

New Higher-Speed Florida Train has Highest U.S. Death Rate

After Richard Branson announced his Virgin Group would partner with Brightline, Florida’s new higher-speed passenger rail service, a train whisked the British billionaire, VIPs and journalists from Miami to West Palm Beach in just over an hour and then back, …

Regulator Says U.S. Railroads Still Have Work to Do Installing Key Safety Technology

The railroad industry has installed safety technology on nearly 90% of tracks where it is required, federal officials said Wednesday, but “significant work” is needed to ensure the technology is completely installed by a December 2020 deadline. Federal Railroad Administration …

Investigators Blame CSX Safety Lapses for Fatal Amtrak Collision in South Carolina

CSX Corp.’s lax approach to safety caused a fatal collision between a passenger train and one of the company’s parked freight trains last year, U.S. accident investigators concluded Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board cited what it called multiple layers …

Vermont Gets More Than $2M in Amtrak Rail Safety Grants

The Vermont Agency of Transportation is getting more than $2 million for safety upgrades along the route of the Amtrak Vermonter, addressing conditions that resulted in a 2015 derailment. The money from the Federal Railroad Administration will be used to …

N.J. Congressman Introduces Bill Requiring Rail Safety Probe Notification

A New Jersey congressman has introduced legislation to force federal regulators to notify Congress when a railroad or transit agency is being investigated for safety violations. The bill proposed by Democratic Rep. Albio Sires would require the Federal Railroad Administration …