News

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. –  The North Platte Telegraph reported that of the 4,600 Union Pacific Railroad (UP) workers that were furloughed in April of 2016, nearly 3,000 of those workers have been rehired. The jobs that were cut last year were mostly train, engine and rail yard positions. The article also included a link to new…

Dayton Power & Light announced Monday, March 20, that it will shut down two coal-fired power plants in southern Ohio next year. An estimated 490 people will lose their jobs once the plants close, not to mention the jobs that will be lost in other coal-related industries as a result. The plants sit at the…

A collective of rail unions and Michigan citizens lobbied the FRA to deny a CSX request that would discontinue use of vital safety signals along a busy freight rail line in Michigan – and won. SMART Transportation Division, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen,  Brotherhood of Maintenance Way Employees and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen…

SMART TD’s John Risch, fourth from left. WASHINGTON – John Risch, SMART TD National Legislative Director, participated in hearings as a member of the Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies on March 21, 2017. Discussion focused on new and emerging trends in railroad safety including train crew size, recent advancements in train brake technology, and early…

NAVASOTA, TX- Fredzania Thompson, a mother-to-be and an aspiring model, was tragically killed during a photo shoot on train tracks. Read the complete article here. According to John Risch, SMART TD Legislative Director, there is a dangerous and growing trend of photographers using railroad tracks as the setting for photo shoots, especially graduation and modeling shoots,…