train safety News

BHP’s Western Australia Iron Ore Train Derailment Will Take Week to Recover

BHP Billiton Ltd. expects to take about a week to recover from the derailment of one of its iron ore trains that’s halted its rail operations in Western Australia, potentially bolstering prices of the steelmaking raw material. The company was …

BHP Forced to Derail Runaway Iron Ore Train in Australia

BHP Billiton Ltd. was forced to derail a runaway train that traveled almost 60 miles without a driver across the Pilbara, a major iron ore producing area in Western Australia. The world’s top mining company halted all train operations in …

Fatal Amtrak Crash in Washington State Stirs Safety Debate in D.C.

The deadly Amtrak crash in Washington state marked the railroad’s third fatal accident in as many years, putting the passenger rail operator under fresh scrutiny less than a month after safety regulators issued a scathing report. Bound for Portland, Oregon, …

Lawmakers Discuss Merging New Jersey Transit, Other Agencies

Lawmakers on Tuesday discussed the idea of merging embattled New Jersey Transit with other state agencies to save money to use for road, bridge and rail projects, and heard from experts about safety upgrades following a fatal rail accident in …

NTSB Releases Its Final Report on 2012 N.J. Freight Train Derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on systemic flaws leading up to a 2012 train derailment that leaked a dangerous gas in southern New Jersey. The report issued Tuesday was approved by the NTSB last month, …

Cleanup at Arkansas Train Crash Site Ongoing

An important highway in northeast Arkansas could stay closed into next week as crews clean up the wreckage left from a head-on train collision, a highway official said. Two railroad workers were killed and two others were injured when the …

N.J. Senator Calls for More Railroad Safety Standards

A U.S. senator from New Jersey is calling for tougher penalties for railroads that violate safety rules among other changes he’s proposing to try to prevent accidents involving hazardous materials. Democrat Robert Menendez says his plan is in response to …

Metro-North Railroad Says Most Safety Upgrades Are Complete

Metro-North Railroad, the nation’s second-largest commuter rail system, on Wednesday released a final report on what it has done to improve safety following a series of accidents last year and said it has completed most of its priorities. In a …

Report: Federal Inspectors Found 7,100 Metro-North Defects Over Last Decade

A Connecticut newspaper reports that federal inspectors found more than 7,100 defects and deficiencies in the Metro-North Railroad over the last decade, but records show regulators launched an investigation only after two high-profile accidents last year. In an open records …

Federal Report: N.Y. Metro-North Railroad Allowed Safety to Erode

The second-largest U.S. commuter railroad allowed safety to erode while pushing to keep its trains on time, resulting in a lax culture of inadequate inspections, poor training and inappropriate cellphone use, according to a stinging federal report prompted by a …