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
As the December 31, 2018 deadline approaches for freight, passenger, and commuter railroads to implement Positive Train Control (“PTC”), the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) is reporting on the progress of individual...more
Prompted by regulatory changes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding emission standards for locomotives, several railroads and locomotive manufacturers have been working for several years to develop...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
Today, May 8, 2015, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration published a final rule for rail transport of crude oil in the Federal Register. These rules come after several high-profile oil train derailments,...more
The increase in North American petroleum production in recent years, coupled with inadequate pipeline infrastructure, has resulted in a significant rise of, and reliance on, the transport of crude oil by rail. Public...more
The United States Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced in a July 29 letter to the American Petroleum Institute that it is investigating the safety of transporting crude oil by rail, citing potential safety issues...more