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 Releases List of Deadly Railroad Crossings
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 […]
Injured Train Engineer Warns About Railroad Crossing Dangers
In 2011, train engineer Darrell May was operating his train according to the rules in Texas and as he rounded a curve at 50 MPH, he saw a stalled tractor trailer on the tracks in front of him. He pulled the emergency brakes immediately, and he and his colleague threw themselves on the floor of the cab. The collision with […]
How Google Maps Makes Railroad Crossings Safer
The maps app on your smartphone soon could be able to tell you about the location of an upcoming railroad crossing. Audio and visual alerts will soon be coming to many smartphones because of a new partnership between Google and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Finding innovative ways to reduce the death rate at 225,000 railroad crossings in the US […]
FRA Launches New Railroad Crossing and Trespassing Website
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday launched a redesigned website that has been billed to help drivers, pedestrians and law enforcement to be safer around the more than 200,000 railroad crossings and 140,000 miles of track in the US. The new portal for railroad crossings is part of FRA’s campaign to cut down on fatalities at railroad crossings and railroad […]
Iron County, Missouri Officials Urge Upgrades of Dangers RR Crossings
Dangerous railroad crossings are all too common in Iron County, Missouri, according to officials here. In December 2015, an Amtrak train slammed into a truck at a railroad crossing in Middlebrook MO and killed a local man. In that case, it appeared that the man may not have seen the oncoming train and he drove over the tracks into its […]