Tag: Federal Railroad Administration

New Federal Rule Says Trains Will Have Minimum Crew Size Of Two

All trains must have a crew of at least two, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Tuesday in Washington.

The Federal Railroad Administration announced Tuesday its rule requiring a minimum train crew size.

All trains must have a crew of at least two, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Tuesday in Washington.

Work on the rule was initiated during the Obama administration but put on pause during the Trump White House. The derailment, fire and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio, last year, pushed federal regulators to act.

Buttigieg said a second crew member, usually called a conductor, is essential for safety.

“A second crew member is vital to performing safety functions like securing a train with handbrakes, handling track switches that are not remotely controlled, obtaining track authorities, assisting in emergencies and much more,” he said.”

The industry’s principal advocacy organization, the Association of American Railroads, opposes the rule.

“You know, when they pushed against the rules requiring two-person crews at the state level, one of the things the railroad lobby said was the federal government should be the one to make the rule so there’s uniformity across state lines,” Buttigieg said. “So, here we go.”

Train crews used to have as many as five or six workers. But technology and updated labor agreements eventually reduced the typical size to two.

Amtrak’s Hilltopper Ended In 1979. Federal Study Hints At A Revival

Far southern West Virginia has been without passenger rail service since 1979.

Far southern West Virginia has been without passenger rail service since 1979. A federal study hints at a potential revival.

The Federal Railroad Administration has been studying the potential of expanding Amtrak service in West Virginia, including making the Cardinal from New York and Chicago a daily train.

A PowerPoint presentation from the agency at least hints it might be considering the revival of a train that was discontinued more than 40 years ago: The Hilltopper.

That train once stopped in Bluefield, Welch and Williamson on its way from Boston and Washington, D.C., to Catlettsburg, Kentucky.

Despite the support of powerful lawmakers, including the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, the train fell to sweeping Carter administration cuts on Oct. 1, 1979.

The Federal Railroad Administration study doesn’t commit to restoring the Hilltopper but could revisit the route in the future.

William Wong, an agency spokesman, said the study “underscores a widespread desire for restoring long-distance routes and exploring the creation of new ones.”

“The study is a first step in future passenger rail planning efforts, and we look forward to continuing to refine our vision and work with partners as we design and implement an equitable long-distance passenger rail network that will tie together local economies and communities through safe and reliable rail service,” he said.

The only daily Amtrak service in West Virginia is in the Eastern Panhandle, with the Capitol Limited stopping in Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, as well as Cumberland, Maryland.

Grant Called ‘First Step’ Toward Making Cardinal A Daily Train

Amtrak will use a $500,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to begin the planning process toward making the Cardinal a daily train.

A new federal grant could help restore daily Amtrak service to Huntington, Charleston and the New River Gorge.

Amtrak will use a $500,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to begin the planning process toward making the Cardinal a daily train.

Currently, the train runs three days a week and connects West Virginia to Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York. It stops in Huntington, Charleston, Montgomery, Prince, Thurmond, Hinton and White Sulfur Springs.

The route is among 69 corridors nationwide where Amtrak is looking to begin or expand service.

In the year that ended Sept. 30, the Cardinal posted a 3 percent increase in riders to 82,705. Only one other Amtrak route, the Sunset Limited, operates three days a week, from Los Angeles to New Orleans.

West Virginia has a daily Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited. It stops in Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin called the grant a first step.

“This is a great investment in further connecting West Virginia communities, bringing more visitors to our great state and creating new economic opportunities,” Manchin said.

Amtrak’s expansion plans are part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which became law in 2021.

2 W.Va. Shortline Railroads Get Federal Funding For Upgrades

The Appalachian & Ohio Railroad and the Kanawha River Railroad will receive as much as $16 million and $19 million, respectively.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is giving two West Virginia shortline railroads money for improvements.

The Appalachian & Ohio Railroad and the Kanawha River Railroad will receive as much as $16 million and $19 million, respectively.

That’s from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Program, made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

The two railroads will use the money to rehabilitate track, locomotives, bridges and tunnels.

The Appalachian & Ohio operates 158 miles of track between Grafton and Cowen and hauls primarily coal. It interchanges with CSX.

The Kanawha River Railroad operates 385 miles of track from Columbus, Ohio, to Elmore, West Virginia, and hauls coal, chemicals, cement, aggregates and metals. It interchanges with Norfolk Southern and CSX.

The two awards are part of USDOT’s $1.4 billion total investment for 70 projects in 35 states.

Federal Funding Could Help Expand Amtrak’s Cardinal To Daily Service

Amtrak has submitted a request for Federal Railroad Administration funding that could expand existing long-distance trains or add new routes.

For years, Amtrak’s Cardinal has operated just three days a week. That could change.

Amtrak has submitted a request for Federal Railroad Administration funding that could expand existing long-distance trains or add new routes.

One of those included in the request: the Cardinal, which now stops in West Virginia on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The funding could help the train operate daily from New York to Chicago via Huntington, Charleston, Montgomery, Prince, Thurmond and White Sulphur Springs.

The Cardinal carried 80,000 passengers in fiscal year 2022, up 16 percent from 2021.

“Amtrak’s long distance routes are vital mobility and economic links for communities around the country and we’re continually working to enhance them,” Amtrak Board Chair Tony Coscia said in a statement. “These grant applications reiterate our commitment to improving service for all Amtrak customers, from small, rural towns to major metropolitan areas.”

The Cardinal’s stops in Thurmond, Prince and Montgomery serve the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, which gained national park status in 2020.

In the Eastern Panhandle, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited stops daily in Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg.

Broken Rail the Cause of February Train Derailment Near Montgomery

Federal investigators say a broken rail that was overlooked on two previous inspections led to a fiery oil train derailment in southern West Virginia in February.

The Federal Railroad Administration announced Friday the results of its investigation into the Feb. 16 derailment during a snowstorm in Mount Carbon.

Data from digital track inspections by CSX contractor Sperry Rail Service in December 2014 and January 2015 indicated defects resulting in a vertical split in the rail head at what would become the point of derailment.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s acting administrator Sarah Feinberg says neither CSX or its contractor followed up by confirming the data or checking the data visually or by hand.

 
“Had this Sperry operator left the car to inspect the rail more closely, FRA investigators believe the rail defect could have been discovered prior to the derailment,” said Feinberg.
 
The train was carrying 3 million gallons of Bakken crude oil. Twenty-seven of the train’s 109 cars derailed. Twenty cars leaked crude oil.

The derailment shot fireballs into the sky, burned down a nearby house and caused fires on the ground that smoldered for days.

Both CSX and Sperry have been fined $25,000 by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Acting FRA administrator Sarah Feinberg said there are currently no regulations on rail head wear. The FRA says they plan to establish regulations through the agency’s rule-making process.

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