Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 333

CSX Transportation Wins EPA’s SmartWay Excellence Award

October 22, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation has received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Excellence Award, which recognizes freight carriers that have made significant contributions to protecting the environment. CSXT is the only railroad among the SmartWay Transport Partnership’s 600-plus members to receive this distinction. In recent years, CSXT has conserved 30 million gallons of fuel, improved fuel efficiency and invested more than $1 billion to upgrade its fleet with new locomotives that reduce fuel consumption and air pollutant emissions. In addition, CSXT has voluntarily pursued an aggressive policy to reduce emissions from unnecessary idling of locomotive engines, which also

Union Pacific Receives Energy Innovators Award from U.S. Department of Energy

October 21, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Center, the downtown Omaha headquarters of North America’s largest railroad, was recognized for the technological innovations that have made it one of the nation’s most energy-efficient buildings. U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman visited the railroad’s headquarters to present Union Pacific an Energy Innovators Award. “The Department of Energy commends Union Pacific for making energy efficiency a priority, and for using innovative and cost-effective approaches to implement energy-saving changes,” Secretary Bodman said. “Industry initiatives to advance the President’s goal of meeting new energy challenges with cutting-edge technologies will prove increasingly important and effective as

Transportation Strike Cripples France

October 18, 2007 Voice of America

A massive transportation strike has crippled France, as public transportation and other workers took to the streets to protest pension reform plans proposed by the country’s center-right government.

House Approves Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007

October 17, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The House voted 377-38 to approve the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007. HR 2095 will reauthorize the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and improve the safety of our Nation’s railroads. In addition to authorizing $1.1 billion over the next four years, the bill imposes new work rules that require longer rest periods and work shifts for rail workers that generally cannot exceed 12 hours; and it increases the number of rail safety inspection and enforcement personnel. “A comparison of the modes is revealing,” Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., said. “A commercial airline pilot … can work up

NTSB: Mechanical Problems Led to WMATA Derailment

October 16, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has found that mechanical problems led to a subway derailment in Washington, DC earlier this year that injured 23 passengers. The Board said that the probable cause of the derailment of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train was a wheel climb on a car as it traversed a standard turnout near the Mt. Vernon Square station. The wheel climb was initiated by a rough wheel surface created during maintenance, the Board determined. The accident was also caused by the lack of quality control measures to ensure that wheel surfaces were smoothed

CSXT Continues Response to Oct. 10 Derailment in Ohio

October 15, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CSX Transportation and local responders continue recovery efforts in Painesville, Ohio, just east of Cleveland, after the Oct. 10 derailment. Based on that progress, Painesville and Lake County officials permitted all evacuated residents to return to their homes at noon on Oct. 13. Approximately half of the evacuated residents were permitted to return on the afternoon of Oct. 12. Area residents with questions or needs can call a CSXT telephone hotline, 1-877-835-5279 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. While residents return to their homes, cleanup activities continue at the derailment site. Soil was excavated Saturday in consultation with the Ohio

NTSB to Hold Public Heading on WMATA Derailment

October 11, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting on Oct. 16, 2007, in its Board Room and Conference Center. One of the two items on the agenda are: On Jan. 7, 2007, about 3:45 pm, northbound WMATA Greenline Metrorail train 504 derailed one car (the 5th of 6 cars) on the train as it traversed a crossover from track 2 to track 1 near Mount Vernon Station. About 80 passengers were on board at the time of the accident. Twenty-three passengers were transported to local hospitals for treatment and released. Media Contact: Keith Holloway — Special to

FRA: Nation’s First Freight Train Equipped with New, Safer Brake Technology Begins Operations

October 11, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The first train fully equipped with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake technology began hauling coal today in southwestern Pennsylvania under a waiver approved by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), announced Administrator Joseph H. Boardman. Norfolk Southern Railway is the first railroad to operate revenue service trains equipped with ECP brakes under the waiver, Boardman said. BNSF Railway also received waiver approval and is expected to operate trains with the new, safer brake technology before the end of 2007. “These railroads understand using ECP brake technology can bring significant safety and business benefits, and I encourage other railroads to

History Comes to Life in South Dakota’s Black Hills

October 10, 2007 Voice of America

A ride on Hill City’s 1880s train is always like a step back in time. But during the Western Heritage Festival, the entire town seems to be in a “time-warp” mode with cowboys, miners, a horse-drawn wagon rumbling down Main Street, even a robbery at the local bank!

Union Pacific Urges Hunters to Avoid Railroad Right Of Way

October 9, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific Railroad is urging hunters to avoid the railroad’s right of way this hunting season. “Last year, 517 people died while trespassing on the property of railroads throughout the United States,” said Dennis Jenson, assistant vice president-chief of police. “As hunters head outdoors this year, we want to remind them that walking on the railroad’s right of way is extremely dangerous because you never know when a train will come along. It is also against the law.” Through August 2007, 26,461 people have been caught trespassing on Union Pacific Railroad property. Trespassers on the railroad’s right