April 2008 – Page 2 – Railfanning.org

Norfolk Southern’s ‘Green Machine’ Does the Math To Make Supply Chains More Environmentally Friendly

April 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern’s new online carbon footprint analyzer puts the environmental benefits of rail transportation into an easy-to-visualize perspective. The “Green Machine” quickly estimates the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that occur when rail transportation becomes a larger component in shipper supply chains. The Green Machine can be accessed through Norfolk Southern’s environmental Web site at www.nscorp.com/future and through its accessNS e-commerce portal at www.nscorp.com. The calculator prompts the user to enter shipment volumes, along with network or lane information. Using graphic slides, the user then can gauge the emission reductions that occur as rail becomes a larger

I’m Standing at the Station…

April 14, 2008 Todd DeFeo

The subway car is silent except for the sound of metal wheels on metal rails as the train made its way beneath Tokyo’s busy streets. Commuters look at their cell phones, read newspapers or simply mind their own business. There is no conversation.

CSX: Facility Improvements Planned for Erwin, Tenn.

April 11, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation has announced facility expansions and enhancements at its Erwin, Tenn., facility as the railroad moves forward with an initiative to further improve the delivery of coal and other freight. Erwin, the former headquarters of the CSXT predecessor Clinchfield Railroad, is an important gateway for coal trains operating from Appalachia to receivers such as electrical power utilities. As part of an expanded project focused on improving bulk freight service including coal and grain, approximately $6 million in track and structure work will be performed at the Erwin terminal during 2008. This work will accommodate a growing

Pacer Stacktrain Initiates Expanded Intermodal Services with BNSF Railway

April 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CONCORD, Calif. — Pacer International Inc. announced expanded intermodal services between its Pacer Stacktrain unit and BNSF Railway which allows Pacer Stacktrain to begin full service on their network effective April 1, 2008. Pacer Stacktrain will — for the first time — have access to the entire BNSF intermodal network within the United States. Interline service is available to and from Pacer-served CSX and Canadian National locations. “We are very pleased to have expanded our service with BNSF. The new Pacer Stacktrain BNSF Double Stack Service is a major milestone for our customers, providing fast and reliable ramp-to-ramp and door-to-door

Second Railroad Joins FRA “Close Call” Risk Reduction Pilot Program

April 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — A second railroad is now participating in a major federal rail safety pilot program designed to allow employees the ability to voluntarily and anonymously report “close call” incidents that could have resulted in an accident but did not, announced Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman. “This risk-reduction program provides an indispensable opportunity to analyze ‘close-call’ events to help identify and correct potential safety problems across the industry,” said Boardman, adding that the pilot program is a key element of his agency’s National Rail Safety Action Plan. Under a waiver granted by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Canadian

FRA Train Accident Investigation Reports Now Publicly Available Online

April 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — To increase public awareness about the causes of specific train accidents and to reduce the need for individuals to submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is for the first time making its investigation reports of major train accidents and other incidents available online, FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced. “There’s no reason that anyone who’s interested shouldn’t be able to find out the probable cause of a train accident,” said Boardman, explaining that formal FRA accident investigation reports generally focus on high-consequence train-to-train collisions, derailments, certain highway-rail grade crossing collisions, and all

FRA Announces Guide for Managing Gap Safety at Passenger Rail Platforms

April 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a guidance document to help minimize accidents due to gaps between the edge of a passenger station platform and the threshold of a passenger train door. FRA Approach to Managing Gap Safety addresses the use of engineering evaluation and analysis to establish gap standards and the application of strategies to prevent and reduce gap accidents. While most gap incidents involving rail passengers result in relatively minor injuries, FRA believes the most effective way to address the potential risks is for railroads to develop and adopt a comprehensive program to manage gap

FRA Releases Demographic Report on Rail Trespasser Fatalities

April 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Trespassers account for the largest number of fatalities in the railroad industry — approximately 500 per year. In order to better understand who is trespassing, their locations, and the reasons they are on railroad property, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a report using three years of reported trespasser fatalities. Medical examiners and coroners across the country were surveyed, and based on the best information available from those who elected to participate in the study, the average trespasser is most often a 38-year-old white male under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, with a median household income of

DOT: Proposal Revolutionizes Rail Hazmat Tank Car Safety

April 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The safety of rail tank cars that carry the most dangerous hazardous materials will be dramatically improved under the most sweeping and revolutionary proposal in decades, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced. “This proposal is designed to significantly reduce the hazard of hauling hazardous materials by rail,” Peters said, explaining the performance-based standard will increase by 500 percent on average the amount of energy the tank car must absorb during a train accident before a catastrophic failure may occur. The proposal requires tank cars carrying Poison Inhalation Hazard (PIH) commodities such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia

NTSB Investigating Toledo, Ohio, Rail Yard Incident

April 2, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

TOLEDO, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board today dispatched two investigators from its Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations to investigate an accident that occurred early yesterday morning at CSX’s Stanley Yard near Toledo, Ohio. A CSX Transportation employee switching rail cars on one track was seriously injured after being struck by a moving rail car on an adjacent track within Stanley Yard. Some movement activities within the rail yard are performed using Remote Control Operations technology. Jeff Leaman is the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge. — Special to Railfanning.org News Wire