Tag: Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Dollars Flow to Study Georgia Rail Projects

The Center Square

The federal government has awarded $1.5 million to study the possibility of running passenger trains on a trio of corridors in Georgia.

The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $500,000 to the Georgia Department of Transportation to study a possible Atlanta-to-Savannah line. It also provided $500,000 to the North Carolina Department of Transportation to evaluate a Charlotte-to-Atlanta line and $500,000 to the city of Chattanooga to study an Atlanta-to-Chattanooga-to-Nashville-to-Memphis route.

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Two Pennsylvania State Senators Take Up Rail Safety Bill

Bradley Vasoli

Two Pennsylvania state senators announced this week they are introducing a companion bill to a house-passed measure designed to improve rail safety.

Senate action on the bill sponsored by State Senators Katie Muth (D-Royersford) and Lindsey Williams (D-Pittsburgh) would advance the legislation toward Governor Josh Shapiro’s (D) desk. The house version passed that chamber 141-62 earlier this month with the support of all Democratic representatives and a sizable minority of Republicans. 

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Proposal Would Increase Pennsylvania Rail-Safety Inspector Pay

Bradley Vasoli

State Representative Jessica Benham (D-PA-Carrick) is asking colleagues to cosponsor her new bill to pay rail-safety inspectors at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) more and hire more of them. 

Benham’s is the latest in a profusion of measures offered by Keystone State lawmakers to address freight-rail concerns in light of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio that occurred two months ago. A memorandum she authored describing her bill suggests the commonwealth needs more than its current 10 rail-safety inspectors who oversee more than 5,600 miles of track. 

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Ohio Governor DeWine Signs $13.5 Billion Transportation Budget Including New Rail Safety Measures

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a nearly $13.5 billion state transportation budget on Friday, including rail safety measures that lawmakers added in reaction to the February 3rd train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine.

With oversight from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), among other provisions, the railway safety measures call for two-person crews for freight trains and requires the installation of wayside detectors at shorter distances, every 10 to 15 miles, to help identify issues. The Federal Railroad Administration currently permits the placement of some wayside devices up to 25 miles apart from one another.

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‘Don’t Want to Get in the Way’: Pete Buttigieg Declines to Visit Site of Minnesota Fiery Train Derailment

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Thursday that he will not visit a small Minnesota town that was evacuated after a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train derailed and caught fire earlier that morning.

Raymond, Minnesota, residents who live within a half mile from the derailment site were evacuated after approximately 22 cars derailed and four caught on fire around 1:00 a.m. CST. The train was carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup.

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Norfolk Southern CEO Evades Questions About Support for Rail Safety Act of 2023

Hannah Poling

At a Wednesday hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Norfolk Southern’s CEO Alan Shaw evaded questions about the company’s support for safety requirements included in the bipartisan Rail Safety Act of 2023.

The Rail Safety Act sponsored by U.S. Senators JD Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) would require that trains carrying hazardous materials be scanned by wayside defect detectors, or “hotbox detectors,” every 10 miles to prevent future derailments caused by faulty wheel bearings. It stipulates that railroad companies must provide advance notification to state emergency response commissions when transporting hazardous materials. It requires railroads to operate with at least two-person crews. It also, increases the maximum fine for rail safety violations.

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Programs, Awareness Campaigns Not Stopping Railroad Crossing Crashes

The Center Square

As freight trains grow longer and more frequently block railroad crossings, federal dollars are going toward removing grade crossings.

“A lot of organizations and agencies have education and awareness campaigns to stay off the tracks, but every year thousands of people still walk along and across tracks and many are killed or injured,” Benjamin Dierker, the executive director of the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure, told The Center Square via email.

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Norfolk Southern Faces New Pennsylvania Lawsuit over Ohio Derailment

Bradley Vasoli

The Pittsburgh-based law firm Lynch Carpenter and the Philadelphia-based firm Seeger Weiss this week announced new class-action litigation against the Norfolk Southern rail company for the aftereffects of the February 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

After the accident, Norfolk Southern personnel ordered the venting and burning of five of the train’s cars containing toxic vinyl chloride. The release-and-burn strategy has since drawn widespread denunciation after citizens and public officials pointed out apparent deleterious health and environmental consequences. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) initially supported the “controlled burn” but later reversed himself, claiming he was not informed that the rail corporation would incinerate five cars instead of one.

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Norfolk Southern Unveils New Safety Plan Following Second Ohio Train Derailment

Hannah Poling

After its second train derailment in Ohio within a matter of weeks, Norfolk Southern on Monday unveiled a “six-point strategy” to increase safety.

Although Norfolk Southern claimed there were no dangerous commodities on the train, around 20 of a 212-car train derailed on Saturday in Springfield, Ohio. The incident happened about a month after a derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which contained hazardous materials and required hundreds of nearby residents to evacuate for several days.

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Changes to Proposed Ohio Transportation Budget Calls for Increasing Train Regulations

Hannah Poling

Billions of dollars are being allocated in Ohio’s transportation budget. As the train derailment in East Palestine is still fresh in people’s minds, lawmakers are considering a few amendments to try and prevent what happened there from happening again.

“We’ve got broad support across party lines to get this done,” state Representative Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) said.

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U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Visits East Palestine, Ohio

Hannah Poling

Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, visited East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced the preliminary findings of its investigation into the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train transporting hazardous materials.

The February 3rd derailment has caused significant health and environmental concerns for the locals, who have expressed dissatisfaction at how slowly the federal government has responded to the emergency.

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Georgia Completes First Project Under Federally Funded Rail Program

The Center Square

The state has upgraded 138 miles of the Heart of Georgia Railroad, the first project the state has completed under a federal program to upgrade rail projects nationwide.

In 2018, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded $2 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant funding. The state contributed another $2 million in bond funds for the project.

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Ohio Mayors, Cities, and Planning Agencies Support Reconnecting the State Through Passenger Rail

Hannah Poling

In a display of support of passenger rail service in Ohio, a bi-partisan alliance of Ohio mayors in partnership with several of Ohio’s regional planning agencies, have formally requested the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to include a list of Ohio rail lines in its Corridor Identification Program (CAP).

According to FRA, the CAP, established earlier this year, institutes a pipeline of projects ready for funding, allowing them to be implemented faster and with greater coordination. The Corridor ID Program is anticipated to help expand intercity passenger rail service beyond the Northeast Corridor.

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Michigan Railroads Get $30 Million Federal Grant

The Center Square

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $368 million in rail infrastructure grants to 46 projects in 32 states, including about $30 million for two Michigan rail projects.

“Americans deserve a world-class rail system that allows people and goods to get where they need to go more quickly and affordably, while reducing traffic and pollution on our roads,” Buttigieg said at the Mackinac Policy Conference. “We’re proud to award these grants to improve passenger rail for riders and strengthen the freight rail that makes our supply chains and our economy work.”

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Trump Strips California of $930 Million in High-Speed Rail Funding

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by Michael Bastasch   The Trump administration will terminate its agreement with California to fund the state’s struggling high-speed rail project, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) said Thursday. In a letter to state officials, Administrator Ronald Batory said FRA would deobligate the $928.6 million set aside for the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) under a 2010 agreement. The agency will also continue to examine recouping the $2.5 billion in stimulus funds already spent on the rail program, according to a copy of Batory’s letter obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. “FRA finds that CHSRA has repeatedly failed to comply with the terms of the FY10 Agreement and has failed to make reasonable progress on the Project,” FRA said in an emailed statement. “Additionally, California has abandoned its original vision of a high-speed passenger rail service connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, which was essential to its applications for FRA grant funding,” the agency said. The decision to withdraw federal rail funding is likely to heighten tensions between the Trump administration and California. Dubbed the “train to nowhere,” Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in February he shelved plans to complete the entire high-speed rail line that voters approved in 2008. The…

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