Just days after a fatal railroad crossing crash in San Leandro CA, police were well into their investigation of what caused the wreck that killed a woman and her three year old daughter. Vanessa Henriquez, 30, and her 3-year-old daughter, Saidy, were in an SUV that got trapped between railroad crossing arms and several other cars when it was hit […]
CA Police Investigate Fatal Railroad Crossing Crash
Death at Railroad Crossing Highlights Danger with Maintenance of Way Vehicles
A deadly railroad crossing accident in Gilroy CA last year involving a Union Pacific maintenance vehicle has raised serious safety questions about these type of vehicles traveling through crossings and whether they always trigger crossing gates and lights. The man who died, Don Williams, 55, was driving through the railroad crossing in Gilroy at Masten Avenue when his truck was […]
Train Conductor Sues Union Pacific for Injuries on Job
Union Pacific Railroad is being sued after one of its employees was allegedly thrown from a rail car in Cheyenne WY. The plaintiff filed his lawsuit on April 8 in Laramie County District Court in Wyoming. The complaint stated that he was working as a conductor on Oct. 30, 2014 when he was thrown from the car and suffered a […]
Feds Issue New Safety Orders for DC Metro
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has ordered the Washington Metrorail system to take immediate action to reduce the chances of smoke and fire problems after a tunnel fire last week that forced metro officials to close a station for the evening. The FTA has issued the new safety orders that mandate that the transit agency pinpoint power hot spots and […]
FRA Releases List of Deadly Railroad Crossings
The Federal Railroad Administration just released its list for the worst and most dangerous railroad crossings in the US, and a notorious railroad crossing in Alabama made that list. However, state officials in Alabama claim that the problem has been fixed. The majority of the problem railroad crossings are in heavily populated areas such as Phoenix, Baton Rouge, Memphis and […]
FRA Announces $25 Million Funding for Rail Safety Improvements
The Federal Railroad Administration has started to take applications from local governments, states and railroads for $25 million in grants to fund their railroad safety efforts. Applicants can ask for funds for safety upgrades to railroad crossings, tracks, tunnels, yards, bridges, etc. The grants have been made available under the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act. According to US Transportation Secretary Anthony […]
Railroad Unions Blast Amtrak Corporate Changes for Deaths in Philadelphia
Leaders of railroad unions say there has been a perfect storm of Amtrak corporate changes that is mostly to blame for two workers dying on railroad tracks near Philadelphia earlier this month. Union officials wrote a letter to Amtrak President Joe Boardman last week and said that employee training is insufficient, and they demanded major changes in the policy on […]
FRA Demands Immediate Amtrak Safety Review
The Federal Railroad Administration has directed Amtrak this week to conduct an immediate safety review, due to violations that were revealed in the fatal crash and derailment in Pennsylvania on Sunday. The FRA told Amtrak this week to do a safety stand down, which is a review of all of its work safety protocols with track workers and train dispatchers. […]
Feds Told Amtrak to Install More Safety Systems Before Deadly Crash
Federal agencies have told Amtrak and other railroads several times over the last few years to use essential back up safety systems for workers on railroad tracks to prevent deadly accidents, as the crash and derailment that just happened in Chester PA this week. Sources with information about the Amtrak crash investigation that killed two workers have said that a […]
Amtrak Derailment Kills Two in Philadelphia
Two people died today and 35 injured in an Amtrak train derailment near Philadelphia, when the train slammed into a backhoe that was on the tracks. The train derailed, with seven crew members and 341 passengers on board. The train was traveling from New York City to Savannah, GA when the lead engine derailed in Chester PA at 8 AM […]