rail safety News

Railroads Work to Make Sure First Responders Can Quickly Look Up What is on a Train After a Derailment

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – In the chaos after a Norfolk Southern train careened off the tracks and caught fire in eastern Ohio in February, it took roughly 45 minutes for firefighters to learn exactly which chemicals were involved. Now the …

Senate Panel OKs Rail-Safety Bill But Fate Uncertain

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved a rail-safety bill introduced after the derailment of a freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, but its fate remains uncertain due to significant Republican opposition. The bill would increase inspections of trains carrying hazardous …

Canada Should Require Stronger Rail Cars for Crude Before 2025 Deadline: Official

Canada ought to require stronger tank cars for transporting flammable liquids sooner than the current deadline in 2025, Transportation Safety Board Chair Kathy Fox said on Thursday, noting that crude-by-rail shipments are expected to rise in the country. “We understand …

Latest Amtrak Crash Highlights Upcoming Rail Safety Deadline

Only about a quarter of U.S. railroad tracks that carry passenger trains have an anti-crash system that safety officials say could have prevented a fatal weekend crash, even though a year-end deadline to finish installing it is just months away. …

Trump Effort to Roll Back Rail Safety Rules Questioned Following Amtrak Crash

As investigators sift through the wreckage of this week’s Amtrak train crash in Washington state, critics have begun questioning President Donald Trump’s recent efforts to roll back or delay finalizing U.S. rail safety regulations. Making American railroads safer drew renewed …

Iowa Rail Safety Study: Dubuque County Vulnerable for Another Spill

A recent Iowa rail safety study says Dubuque County remains vulnerable to crude oil or biofuels spills more than a year after several railcars carrying ethanol derailed along the Mississippi River. The state’s Department of Transportation and Homeland Security and …

Chicago’s Metra Rail to Miss 2018 Rail Safety Technology Deadline

The Metra commuter railroad will miss a 2018 deadline for installing safety technology on all of its Chicago-area routes, but said it still expects to meet its obligations under a federal law requiring the expensive and complex updates. Metra is …

Canada Lays New Charges Against Railway in Lac-Megantic Derailment

The Canadian government has hit Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. with fresh charges over a 2013 derailment that killed 47 people. The charges were laid Monday against the company and its president, Robert Grindrod, according to Zach Segal, a …

Canada Aims to Finalize Oil Tank Car Standards by End of April: Minister

The Canadian government would like to finalize specifications for a new version of the tank cars used to transport crude oil by rail by the end of this month, Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said on Tuesday. In the wake …

CN Railway’s Safety Record Deteriorated in 2014 Due to Poor Track Conditions

Canadian National Railway’s safety record deteriorated sharply in 2014, reversing years of improvements, as accidents in Canada blamed on poor track conditions hit their highest level in more than five years, a Reuters analysis has found. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board …