February 2007 – Railfanning.org

FRA Denies DM&E Powder River Basin Loan Application

February 26, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman today denied a $2.3 billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan application from the Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern (DM&E) railroad concluding it posed an unacceptably high risk to federal taxpayers. In a decision released Feb 26, Boardman found that while the Powder River Basin project met some of the RRIF program’s statutory requirements, there remained too high a risk concerning the railroad’s ability to repay the loan even with an appropriate combination of credit risk premiums and collateral. He said he was concerned by several factors, including the DM&E’s current highly

N.J. Transit Identifies Preliminary Cause of Derailment

February 21, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. – N.J. Transit believes human error led to a track defect that is believed to have caused this morning’s derailment of Train 1252, officials said. Ten days ago, a worn switch was replaced at Ridgewood Junction and a portion of the switch was improperly installed, resulting in a condition known as “tight gauge,” where the rails are too narrow over several feet of track through the switch point. N.J. Transit’s standard procedures require a thorough inspection of any such work by a qualified employee before returning the track to service, as well as an inspection of all switches

NTSB Asks Congress to Give FRA Hours of Service Authority

February 14, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark Rosenker today asked Congress to give the Federal Railroad Administration the statutory authority to revise hours of service rules for railroad workers, noting that current rules are not based on science related to fatigue. Testifying before the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Chairman Rosenker said that over the past 23 years the NTSB has investigated 16 major railroad accidents in which it established that the probable cause was crewmember fatigue. Operator fatigue has been on the Board’s Most Wanted List

Federal Government Will Regulate Railroad Hours of Service and Increase Focus on Safety Risk Reduction, Under the Administration’s Proposed Rail Safety Legislation

February 14, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — For the first time ever the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will have authority to regulate railroad worker hours of service and will provide greater focus on risk reduction to improve safety in the railroad industry under a rail safety reauthorization bill submitted to the Congress today, FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced. “We must embrace new methods and strategies to further reduce the number of accidents in the rail industry,” Boardman said. “Railroads must be more accountable for the safety of their operations and rail employees need work schedules that reduce fatigue and promote safety,” he added, noting

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal Redevelopment Effort Receives FRA Grant

February 13, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW ORLEANS — The future role of the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) in meeting the city’s transportation needs where passengers could potentially transfer between transit, commuter rail and intercity rail and bus operations will be examined using a nearly $1 million federal grant, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced. “Hurricane Katrina changed the landscape of New Orleans in many ways, including a direct impact on the area’s transportation infrastructure,” Boardman said, noting that previously established population and transportation patterns in the region have been significantly altered. The $994,000 federal grant funding to the New Orleans Regional Planning

CSX Intermodal Upgrading Charlotte Terminal to Increase Capacity and Efficiency

February 7, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CSX Intermodal (CSXI) announced today it will invest nearly $8 million early this year to expand a local terminal, the latest investment to support growth in consumer goods transportation. “The Charlotte terminal is a key link in our eastern network, and upgrades will help us provide better service to our customers while enabling us to meet increasing demand in the area,” said Jim Hertwig, president, CSXI. “Intermodal efficiently moves freight in a fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible way.” With the expansions, which are subject to various state and local approvals, CSXI is responding to the needs of the

Rail Employees at Nation’s Largest Rail Yard to Confidentially Report ‘Close Calls’ Under New Federal Rail Safety Pilot Project

February 2, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Employees at the nation’s largest rail yard can now voluntarily and anonymously report “close call” incidents that could have resulted in an accident, but did not, without fear of sanction or penalty from their employer or the federal government as part of a new rail safety pilot project. “Having the opportunity to learn about and analyze these ‘close-calls,’ will help us identify and correct problems across the industry,” Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman said, noting that the aviation industry already has a similar program. FRA currently requires railroads to report a wide range of accidents

STB: Mediated Settlement in Small Rail Rate-Complaint Case

February 1, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Charles D. Nottingham announced today that a mediated settlement has been reached in a case filed under the Board’s small rate-complaint procedures. As a result, the shipper has requested that its complaint be dismissed. “This settlement demonstrates that the STB can help resolve rail rate disputes in a matter of weeks — not months and years — and at a Reasonable cost to the parties,” Nottingham said. “I commend the parties and the STB staff mediators for their efforts to quickly resolve this matter. The STB will continue to promote mediation as an alternative

Weather Impacts Amtrak Cascades Ridership in 2006

February 1, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

SEATTLE – Ridership aboard Amtrak Cascades trains in 2006 was 629,996. This ridership total was 1.1 percent lower than the total for 2005. The ridership decline was largely due to a record number of Amtrak Cascades train cancellations in January, February, November, and December, primarily because of weather-related railroad route closings. For the first time since the state of Washington began investing in intercity passenger rail service in 1994, annual ridership failed to surpass the total of the preceding year. This occurred despite the addition of a new Amtrak Cascades daily round trip between Seattle and Portland in July 2006.