News

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson has requested that the Federal Railroad Administration issue an emergency order to carriers that train car valves prone to leakage during cold temperatures be replaced and/or repaired immediately. “The FRA and the AAR have known about this issue for too long and have done too little to address it…

The tariff strategy was not enough to preserve the jobs of 1,500 steel workers in the Detroit area who are being laid off by U.S. Steel. The Great Lakes Works in Ecorse and River Rouge, Mich., will have three portions of its operations drawn down with iron and steelmaking operations ceased by April 1. The…

Ohio State Legislative Director Stuart Gardner reports that we need some activism to push H.B. 186, which is comprehensive railroad safety legislation, over the line and out of the Ohio House Transportation and Public Safety Committee. First, he is seeking photos of example of good and poor lighting conditions in yards to submit to state…

When an accident occurs and one of our members is on site — be it a bus operator or rail conductor — it often falls on that SMART Transportation Division member to provide assistance as the FIRST responder to the situation. The member must assess and relay information about the incident to rescue crews and…

Class I carrier Union Pacific announced Monday that it has completed implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) on all federally mandated freight and passenger routes requiring the collision avoidance technology. The carrier still must achieve full interoperability, that is, its PTC system must be able to successfully interact with those systems used by other carriers….