In Ohio, the nation’s capital, and across the country, legislators have taken action in response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment that occurred in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3. Here are the top three things to...more
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced that it has doubled all of its rail safety civil monetary penalty (CMP) base amounts for violations of rail safety and hazardous materials regulations. The changes are...more
Need for Positive Train Control is Past Due - The deadline for installing and implementing positive train control, known as PTC, is Dec. 31, 2018. It likely will come and go, with a majority of the country’s railways...more
Amtrak trains have been involved in four deaths since December 2017, including the most recent tragedy in South Carolina that killed two crew members and injured more than 100 passengers....more
Train Wreck Reports are developing that the recent and tragic crash of an AmTrak train, running on CSX rails, might have been avoided if a safety feature called a “positive train control” (PTC) had been employed at the time....more
Another tragedy on an AMTRAK train has caused the loss of lives and serious injuries in Dupont, Washington this morning. There are reports the train, the Cascades service from Seattle to Portland was travelling on tracks...more
Positive Train Control ("PTC") is a system that will automatically apply the train’s brakes in certain situations. PTC systems consist of technologies designed to help detect dangerous situations and automatically intervene...more
An Amtrak train collided with a maintenance vehicle in Chester, Pennsylvania, killing two Amtrak employees, Backhoe operator Joseph Carter Jr., and supervisor Peter Adamovich in the early morning of April 3, 2016. About 30...more
This week’s horrific Amtrak accident just outside Philadelphia served as a grim reminder of our country’s political and economic challenges concerning infrastructure development. It perhaps gained even more attention than...more
July 6 marked the one year anniversary of the crude oil derailment in Lac Megantic Quebec, which significantly heightened throughout North America the awareness about safety issues surrounding crude by rail. This heightened...more
Two measures have been introduced in the California legislature to respond to the growth of crude-by-rail volume in the state. State Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) has introduced SB 1319, which would expand...more
As rail shipments of crude oil moving out of North Dakota’s Bakken formation have risen in recent years, so have derailments of trains carrying crude oil throughout the United States and Canada. One facet of the debate over...more
With the federal Department of Transportation’s recent emergency order impacting those who transport crude oil by rail, state governments are likewise considering additional regulatory oversight that could affect the industry...more
Federal regulators and representatives of the rail and petroleum industries testified before a Congressional panel on February 26, 2014 on emerging safety regulations for transportation of crude by rail. Recent derailments...more