At least 17 of the top commuter and intercity railroads will receive millions of dollars in funding from the US government to increase rail safety with automatic braking systems that are intended to automatically slow down trains that are in potentially dangerous situations. The Department of Transportation stated last month that it would issue $197 million in funding after commuter […]
Commuter Rails Systems To Receive Millions to Boost Safety
Virginia Rail Express Adding Safety Technology to Rail Lines
Work is continuing in Virginia to install Positive Train Control (PTC) onto railroad tracks that experts say could have prevented many recent, fatal train accidents, such as in Hoboken, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Virginia Rail Express (VRE), a popular commuter rail line in the state and in the metro Washington DC area, stated in early March 2017 that it […]
BNSF Railroad Pleads for US Government to Pay for Life Saving Train Technology
A leading freight railroad has been urging Congress to pay for passenger railroad companies to install positive train control or PTC on all passenger trains. BNSF Railway has been one of the leading companies promoting the use of PTC, a technology that will slow a train down automatically that is going over the speed limit. PTC will eventually be required […]
New Jersey Transit Approves Funds for Postive Train Control
In the wake of a deadly commuter train crash in a busy Hoboken, New Jersey train station, New Jersey Transit has approved a budget that includes funding for large parts of positive train control (PTC) system, which would include an automatic braking system that could automatically stop a train in an emergency situation. New Jersey Transit approved an agreement for […]
NJ Train Engineer Has No Memory of the Crash That Killed 1
The engineer who was running the train in Hoboken NJ that smashed into a busy commuter rail terminal, which killed a woman and injured more than 100, told federal investigators this week that he was only going 10 MPH as he approached the station, but has no memory of the crash. The statement from the train engineer, Thomas Gallagher, came […]
Railroads Sluggish to Adopt Safety Technology as Deadline Passes
Many commuter and freight railroads continue to be slow to adopt safety technology that could prevent deadly crashes and derailments. This is in spite of the fact that that Congress has mandated that railroads install positive train control or PTC. PTC uses digital radio signals, GPS and signals on tracks to monitor the position of trains. It has the ability […]
FRA Issues Status Updates for Positive Train Control Progress
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week issued a status update that is calling for railroads to come out with Positive Train Control (PTC) technologies, which uses GNSS technology, as some as they are able to do so. This update also emphasizes the Obama administration’s call to send more funding to help commuter railroads to implement Positive Train Control. PTC […]
Broken Rail Led to WV Oil Train Derailment, Officials State
By Randy Appleton, Virginia Railroad Accident Attorney A West Virginia crude oil train derailment in February 2015 that caused a fire and forced several hundred people to leave their homes was due to a split rail, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week. Two CSX rail inspections in December 2014 and January 2015 did not detect the defect […]
Most Railroads Won’t Meet Deadline For New Safety Technology
By Richard Shapiro, Railroad Accident Attorney Only a few railroads will come close to meeting a new federal deadline to install new safety technology that may prevent some crashes. Some of those crashes include derailments due to excessive speed, such as the deadly Amtrak wreck in Philadelphia last May. Just three railroads have turned in their safety plans to the […]