2006 – Page 10 – Railfanning.org

NTSB: Rail Fatalities Decrease in 2005

September 21, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Overall, transportation fatalities in the United States increased last year, but the number of rail fatalities decreased, according to preliminary figures released by the National Transportation Safety Board. Deaths from transportation accidents in the United States in 2005 totaled 45,636, up from 45,092 in 2004. “It is very disturbing to see transportation fatalities rising,” said NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. “In all modes, but especially on our roads and highways, we need a concerted effort by government, industry and the traveling public to establish a strong downward trend in the number of fatal accidents.” Despite the overall increase

Indian Railways to Use Wireless Communications to Improve Safety

September 20, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

BOMBAY, India – Indian Railways will use wireless railway communications technology to help improve the safety and efficiency on one of the most important and busiest rail arteries in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, officials announced. The Nortel GSM-R network will provide highly sophisticated wireless communications along the 751-km, 90-station line connecting the major Uttar Pradesh industrial and business centers of Ghaziabad and Mugalsarai, according to Nortel. The wireless system will be used to connect train conductors, on-board crew, train dispatchers, station personnel and other operations groups, such as those responsible for attaching and separating rail cars at station

Five Killed in Egypt Wreck

September 19, 2006 Wikinews

The collision of a freight train and a passenger train just north of Cairo in the town of Shebin al-Qanater claimed five lives and injured another 30 people Sept. 4.

N.J. Transit to Extend Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line

September 19, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

Plans to extend Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service in Bayonne are moving forward, as the N.J. Transit Board of Directors agreed to advertise a design/build contract to construct a one-mile extension of the track alignment and a new station at 8th Street.

Rochester Coalition: Largest Federal Loan in U.S. History Relying on Faulty Environmental Impact Statement

September 19, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) erred in adopting the environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) concerning the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s (DM&E) coal train expansion proposal, the Rochester Coalition said in comments filed today. “The FRA is relying on a dated, insufficient EIS that the Department of Transportation’s General Counsel’s Office has indicated is problematic,” said Steve Ryan, of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP and legal counsel for the Rochester Coalition. “When considering granting a $2.3 billion taxpayer-funded loan – the largest federal loan to a private company in U.S. history

Veteran Rail and Industrial Executive Alexander Kummant Appointed Amtrak President and CEO

September 8, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The Amtrak Board of Directors on Aug. 29 appointed Alexander Kummant as President and CEO. The veteran railroad and industrial executive will assume duties Sept. 12. Kummant previously served as a Regional Vice President of the Union Pacific Railroad, overseeing 6,000 transportation, engineering, construction, mechanical, and other employees supporting an 8,000-mile rail network. He also served as the Union Pacific’s Vice President and General Manager of Industrial Products, a $2 billion revenue business. In leading both units, Kummant was responsible for substantially improved customer service, on-time delivery of client products, and significant gains in financial and operational performance.

Tracking the Decapods: Winder, Ga.

August 31, 2006 Todd DeFeo

Gainesville Midland No. 208, built by Pennsylvania-based Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930, has been on display since 1959.

Rome Railroad

August 24, 2006 Railfanning.org

ROME, Ga. – The Rome Railroad was founded on Dec. 21, 1839, as the Memphis Branch Railroad and Steamboat Company of Georgia. The line’s 20-mile route between Rome, Ga., and Kingston, Ga., was completed in 1849. The following year, the company changed its name to the Rome Railroad Company. “From Rome, cotton and other commodities were shipped down river on the Coosa to Gadsden, Alabama and other points,” reads a historical marker in Kingston. The route was sold to the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway in 1894, which by that time leased the Western & Atlantic Railroad, which passed

Channel Tunnel Closed After Smoke Seen Coming From Train

August 21, 2006 Wikinews

Thirty-four people had to be evacuated this lunchtime after a fire started on a lorry that was being transported on a freight train in the Channel Tunnel.

FRA to Revise Rail Safety Rules to Support Deployment of Improved Train Braking Technology

August 17, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Calling it the most significant development in railroad brake technology since the 1870s, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced his intention to propose revised federal rail safety regulations to facilitate the installation of Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brake systems capable of preventing derailments and shortening train-stopping distances. “ECP brakes are to trains what anti-lock brakes are to automobiles—they provide better control,” Boardman said. “It offers a quantum improvement in rail safety,” he added. ECP brakes are applied uniformly and virtually instantaneously on every rail car throughout the train, rather than sequentially from one rail car to the