Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – To raise awareness of the vital role rail plays in our nation’s transportation system, Amtrak announced that it will celebrate its first annual National Train Day during six weeks of celebrations culminating on May 10. “With ridership growing to record levels, we continue to see a strong demand for rail travel as a link between growing communities,” said Alex Kummant, President and CEO of Amtrak. “Passenger and freight service is on the rise, and there’s never been a better time to celebrate the railroad industry and passenger rail service in the U.S.” Amtrak’s celebration of National Train Day

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One of the nation’s major railroad companies has selected Duos Technologies Inc. to provide an intelligent video system securing a major rail bridge along the Delaware watershed. Duos developed this solution to give its client the ability to monitor a critical lift bridge in real time. The bridge carries rail traffic over an active waterway, and its secure operation is essential. This system allows rail personnel to observe the bridge structure and waterway, and oversee the lift operation and the integrity of the rail tracks. This turnkey solution combines Duos Praesidium intelligent video platform with an array

CHICAGO – A Cook County, Ill., jury returned a $2.5 million verdict against Amtrak for not maintaining a safe work environment in an engine at Chicago’s Union Station, a Chicago law firm said. A 59-year-old engineer’s back injury required two operations and a claimed inability to return to work. Amtrak argued that the engineer had planned to retire within 8 months of the accident, which was disputed by the engineer, and showed excerpts from 5 years of secret surveillance videos of the plaintiff to the jury claiming the engineer was exaggerating, faking, and/or hiding the unrelated real cause for his