rail safety News

Critics Scoff at New Oil Train Speed Limits

New U.S. and Canadian speed limits for oil trains will do little to temper the likelihood and severity of explosive accidents that have grown in frequency over the past two years, critics of new regulations said on Friday. Walking a …

New Brake Rule Angers North American Rail Industry

U.S. regulators took on the powerful rail industry on Friday, announcing plans to require expensive, high-tech braking technology the railways insist is unproven and unreliable. Regulators say the new electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes could reduce the severity of crashes, …

Schumer, Blumenthal Seek to ‘Overhaul’ Rail Safety Laws

Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut say they want to “overhaul” rail safety laws to prevent future derailments and other accidents. The two Democrats said on Sunday they’ll introduce legislation that would boost funding for …

NTSB Releases Final Report on 2012 N.J. Freight Train Derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on systemic flaws leading up to a 2012 train derailment that leaked a dangerous gas in southern New Jersey. The report issued Tuesday was approved by the NTSB last month, …

Latest Train Collision in Arkansas Will Renew Call for Safety

A deadly head-on train collision in Arkansas proves more needs to be done to improve safety, but implementing fixes industrywide likely won’t occur before a federal deadline, a transportation expert said Monday. Two Union Pacific crew members were killed and …

Metro-North Safety Focus of Federal Legislation

Four members of Congress are turning up the pressure on Metro-North Railroad, announcing Tuesday they’ve introduced legislation to improve rail safety following two deadly accidents that killed a track worker in Connecticut and four passengers in New York City. Connecticut …

Bickering Mars Oil Rail Safety Discussions

Spurred by a series of fiery train crashes, a push by U.S. government and industry to make safer tank cars used for shipping crude oil and ethanol has bogged down in squabbling and finger-pointing over whether they’re needed and if …

Safety Standards for Rail Tank Cars Coming Soon

U.S. officials have promised to issue within weeks new safety standards for the kind of tank cars involved in a spate of fiery derailments in recent months, a lawmaker said on Thursday. Rail cars carrying crude oil out of the …

New England Rail Officials: Amtrak’s Downeaster is Safe

The operator of Amtrak’s Downeaster says the Boston-to-Portland service is safe, despite the most serious accident in the nine-year history of the service. On Monday, a truck driver was killed after his rig hauling garbage skidded into the path of …