On January 15, 2020, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued an extensive Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Brake System Safety Standards.” The NPRM proposed sweeping changes to brake inspections standards, and incorporated into the regulations, a large number of waivers it has issued to railroads and railroad associations. Among these changes, are modifications to
This is a follow up to a previous article concerning the BNSF Railway’s (BNSF’s) recent petition for waiver from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 215, Railroad Freight Car Safety Standards, relating to the combining of two existing trains, and any
On August 28, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) approval of the Kansas City Southern Railway Company’s (KCSR’s) plan to use Mexican engineers to operate trains within the U.S. As background, KCSR recently developed a revised engineer certification program for engineers working for
CSX has recently petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for waiver from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR part 225, Railroad Accidents/Incidents: Reports Classification, and Investigations. Specifically, CSX requests a waiver from 49 CFR 225.25(h), which requires, in part, that monthly listings of employee reportable injuries, occupational illnesses, and
Washington, DC, August 7 — On August 5, 2020, 12 rail unions whose members and their families are covered by the NRC/UTU Plan and the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan, filed suit against the nation’s Class I railroad carriers in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit asks the
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) has recently petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for waiver from Federal railroad safety regulations regarding pre-departure inspections. BNSF specifically requested relief from 49 CFR 215.13, which requires that a pre-departure inspection be performed when combining two separate consists including one or more cars and one or more
On April 12, 2019, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) granted the BNSF Railway (BNSF) a test waiver to conduct a pilot program on the carrier’s Southern Transcon trains between Chicago, IL, and California to “demonstrate that the use of wheel temperature detectors to prove brake health effectiveness (BHE) will improve safety, reduce risks to employees,
On December 26, 2019, Keolis Train 518 derailed on the Worcester Main Line. The BRC/TCU members of the Wreck Crew responded to this Main Line derailment to re-rail the equipment and to open the Main Line as quickly as possible. Keolis Commuter Line Railroad is one of the few railroads on the country with its
Brother Dillard initiated with the BRC/TCU Local 6067 on April 1, 1970. Brother Dillard has achieved 50 years of active service at the Alaska Railroad Corporation in Anchorage. He currently is working the AAR Write-Up Position at the Repair Facility. His responsibilities include inspecting and writing up freight cars and passenger cars that are used
Amtrak recently gave a thank you to the Coach Cleaners working so diligently around the country and highlighted the TCU Members in Ivy City Shanell Shaw, Gladys Amaya-Hernandez,Chris Goodnight, Delmy Argueta and Raymond Garnett In the release from AMTRAK: Thank you to all of our employees who are keeping our operations moving safely and smoothly
