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PHMSA, FRA PROPOSE RAILROAD TANK CAR RULE -- The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration are proposing revisions to the federal hazardous materials regulations to [...]

The House has passed a rail and public-transportation security bill that includes provisions for hazardous-materials transportation. On March 27, the House passed H.R. 1401, the Rail and Public Transportation Security [...]

California has passed a railroad security law that imposes new security restrictions on railroads, including those that handle hazardous materials. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed the Local Community Rail Security [...]

The rail industry may have a new partner in clearing the legal landscape for rail development projects. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) [...]

The House Appropriations Committee Transportation Subcommittee eliminated proposed rail inspection fees from the transportation spending plan it approved last week. The subcommittee passed a $59.1 billion transportation appropriation, which includes [...]

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last month published the final version of the power brake rule. However, the rule is one of the multitude of regulations finalized by the Clinton [...]

Operation Exemption. The Somerset Terminal Railroad Corp. (STRC) has been awarded an exemption from STB to operate 1.25 miles of rail line in Bridgewater, N.J. STRC has proposed operating the [...]

Representatives of the United States' small and regional railroads are criticizing the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) proposed new merger regulations for leaving the all but defenseless to protect their service [...]

CSX Transportation won most of its demands in legislation Florida lawmakers approved last week to build a new commuter rail line. The Florida Legislature agreed to pay CSX $432 million [...]

The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said recently she could not completely protect against the risk that terrorists would try to hide nuclear dirty bombs in containers [...]

Short line and regional railroads are being hurt to a greater extent than Class I railroads by new hours of service rules that limit workers' schedules, a short line president [...]

Railroads recently accused the Federal Railroad Administration of overstepping a federal law with a proposal requiring them to install positive train control technology. The FRA held a hearing at its [...]

New regulations on rail workers' hours-of-service are taking effect this week under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The Federal Railroad Administration is enforcing new hours-of-service regulations while seeking [...]

The Louisiana Legislature narrowly missed passing a bill recently to supplement Federal Railroad Administration safety inspectors with a staff of state inspectors. Like other states, many Louisiana residents are complaining [...]

The Senate could vote as soon as this week on a bill that would strip railroads of antitrust protections. Congressional hearings in recent weeks on the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act [...]

Railroads now are at the closest point in the past 29 years to losing some of the antitrust exemptions they gained in the 1980 Staggers Act. Last week, a Senate [...]

A compromise agreement in the Senate late last week trimmed the government's planned economic stimulus funding to about $827 billion, but the newest version of the package still has the [...]

The U.S. Transportation Department (DoT) implemented a rule for rail and transit workers last week that requires some workers to be observed while urinating for drug tests. The regulation took [...]

A political group that claims to represent the interests of Eastern states last week condemned efforts in Congress to impose more regulations on railroads. The nonprofit Eastern Regional Conference of [...]

New Federal Railroad Administration rules that require railroads to use only the safest routes for transporting hazardous materials take effect this month, but some members of Congress and environmentalists wonder [...]

Railroads would be allowed to carry some hazardous materials only on their most secure routes, under a new Transportation Department (DoT) regulation that takes effect June 1. Railroads would need [...]

Diesel-powered locomotives would need to eliminate 90 percent of the soot and 80 percent of the nitrogen oxides in their exhaust, under new air-pollution standards issued by the Environmental Protection [...]

Railroad operating rules on train speed, switching and testing employees would fall under federal control, under new regulations designed to reduce accidents caused by human error. The new regulations would [...]

The House passed a rail-safety bill last week that would affect railroads in many sectors of their operations. H.R. 2095, the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, would: * Alter the [...]

The Surface Transportation Board is considering giving states more authority to regulate waste-transfer stations along rail lines. STB expects to rule soon but has not set a date. Until now, [...]

The House last week passed a bill last week that would authorize $7.3 billion over four years to assess risks of terrorism to railways and roads, train security personnel and [...]

Whistleblower protection is emerging as the latest likely addition to new rail-safety/security legislation that Congress is considering. Several rail-security bills are either pending in Congress or scheduled to be introduced [...]

The railroad industry made a pitch for more federal funding to improve infrastructure and more flexibility in deciding how to use it during a congressional hearing this week. The House [...]

Railroads involved in business consolidations must submit plans to the Surface Transportation Board to ensure the mergers or acquisitions can be done safely before the federal government will approve them [...]

A multifaceted rail financing bill now winding its way through the Senate promises a little funding for everyone in the industry and a lot of bickering over Amtrak's future. The [...]

The Federal Railroad Administration revised the certification rules for locomotive engineers recently in a way that gives them greater job protections. Engineers sought the revisions to avoid the risk that [...]

The Federal Railroad Administration is scheduled to announce rules within weeks on new safety technology railroads must use while the rail industry is stepping up its warnings about the high [...]

CALIFORNIA -- Sen. Barbara Boxer again is asking Metrolink to ensure second train crew members ride in commuter rail trains to avoid mistakes that a single engineer might make before [...]

Class I railroads are facing an Oct. 9 deadline to designate qualified employees to supervise installation of continuous welded rail and inspect it. The deadline was set by the Federal [...]

The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved a $123.1 billion annual transportation and housing bill that includes $4 billion for high-speed rail. The $4 billion figure surpasses the $1 [...]

The Federal Railroad Administration recently proposed new rules that will determine how railroads use Positive Train Control technology to prevent train-to-train collisions. The rules pre-date an April 16, 2010 deadline [...]

The Securities & Exchange Commission is considering new regulations on shareholder proxy votes as a result of a dispute between CSX Corp. and two activist hedge funds that gained seats [...]

FLORIDA -- CSX Transportation recently agreed to extend the deadline for Florida lawmakers to decide whether to buy 61 miles of freight rail track in the Orlando area. The track [...]

Railroads are opposing the trucking industry's effort to convince Congress to raise the weight limit for trucks allowed on highways. Truckers and their customers want the federal vehicle weight limit [...]

SOUTH CAROLINA -- State lawmakers recently approved transferring ownership of a rail line in North Charleston to the South Carolina Department of Commerce. The rail line ran through a Navy [...]

The zeal members of Congress are showing for making railroads obey stricter regulations on hazardous materials transport is renewing efforts by some railroad industry officials to avoid carrying the materials. [...]

BNSF Railway Chief Executive Officer Matthew K. Rose recently said he is negotiating with electrical power line contractors about the possibility of electrifying much of the railroad's track network. Although [...]

FLORIDA -- Florida lawmakers are renewing their plans for a high-speed rail system between Miami, Orlando and Tampa as a result of federal economic stimulus funding that could help pay [...]

The Surface Transportation Board is asking for suggestions from the railroad industry on rules to implement the Clean Railroads Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-432), which regulates solid waste [...]

Railroads and tank car manufacturers now must comply with more stringent safety regulations hazmat transport. The new regulations announced by the U.S. Transportation Department this month require more durable materials [...]

Some members of Congress are urging their colleagues to adopt policies that encourage competition between railroads as part of the economic stimulus legislation they are preparing. House Judiciary Committee Chairman [...]

The Surface Transportation Board released its latest study on the status of railroad competition this month. The STB is seeking comments from the public on the study until Dec. 21. [...]

The Homeland Security Department last week announced new regulations for railroads that carry hazardous materials and other freight that could create a security risk. Federal officials said the regulations would [...]

An agreement between rail waste transfer station operators and New Jersey environmental officials is compelling New York Susquehanna & Western Railway to contribute to a $2 million settlement. Under the [...]

The Federal Railroad Administration is accepting public comments until Nov. 10 on a proposed rule that would expand accident information railroads are required to report to the federal government. The [...]