[OKC] FW: Pres Bush Signs 80-20 Fed Capital Pass Rail Legislation

[Shauna Struby]

Rail news from the Northern Flyer Alliance … 

 

This is the landmark legislation that may bring an 80 percent federal match for passenger rail projects. It is landmark in that it is just the second piece of legislation that has passed in Amtrak's 37 year history that would provide a federal match for state funded passenger rail projects.

State projects such as that provided by the States of Oklahoma and Texas with the Heartland Flyer (operating between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City) or the state of Missouri with the Ann Rutledge and Mule trains operating between Kansas City and St. Louis could be upgraded. It could also provide the seed money for Kansas to become involved with the Heartland Flyer expansion to Kansas City. 

http://www.northjersey.com/news/njpolitics/31151864.html

Bush OKs $13B for Amtrak upgrades 

Friday, October 17, 2008 

BY HERB JACKSON

WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

President Bush reversed his seven-year opposition to a nationally subsidized railroad Thursday and signed a bill authorizing more than $2.6 billion a year over five years to upgrade and expand Amtrak.

The law requires that Amtrak upgrade the Washington-to-Boston Northeast Corridor, which crosses New Jersey from Trenton to North Bergen, to a "state of good repair." That means replacing or upgrading aging tracks, switches, signals and even bridges that frequently cause delays on the corridor, which NJ Transit uses to carry roughly 100,000 commuters daily.

Without comment, Bush bowed to broad bipartisan support for a bill sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg that combined Amtrak funding with new railroad safety standards.

"New Jersey commuters depend on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor every day, and this law will make sure our trains run more smoothly and reliably," said Lautenberg, D-N.J., the chairman of the Senate's surface transportation subcommittee.

The law also includes a provision sought by Lautenberg and others requiring trash-handling facilities run by railroads to comply with state fire safety, air pollution and water pollution regulations.

T he issue became a federal case in the Meadowlands in recent years. New Jersey had tried to punish railroads that did not seek state permits before opening transfer stations in North Bergen that were accepting truckloads of garbage and construction debris for loading onto railcars.

Operators appealed and won a court ruling that said only the federal Surface Transportation Board, not state regulators, can control such operations.

New safety standards include limits on hours worked by signal workers and train crews and mandatory controls to automatically stop trains carrying passengers or hazardous materials if something happens to the engineer. The law requires Amtrak to build partnerships with states to establish rail service between major cities, but advocates were unsure if that would mean new routes in New Jersey.

The last long-term federal commitment to Amtrak was signed by President Clinton and expired in 2002, requiring the railroad to wait for Congress' annual appropriations each year to know how much money it could spend.

"After a decade of starvation diets by the Bush administration and inaction of the Republican-controlled Congress, we stand together to rebuild Amtrak and provide the necessary resources to construct a network of high-speed rail corridors across America," said Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House transportation committee.

The Northeast Corridor covers its operating expenses and has gained riders, but critics have said the law does not do enough to force Amtrak to drop money-losing long-distance lines in the South and West.

E-mail: jackson at northjersey.com

 

>From the United Transportation Union...

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=44246

Rail safety bill signed into law 

WASHINGTON --  President Bush on Oct. 16 signed into law the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. 

This is the most comprehensive rail safety bill in more than 30 years. 

In the Senate, which passed the bill Oct. 1 by a 74-24 vote, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted "yes," and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted "no." 

 

The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 provides for certification of conductors, along with a minimum training requirement. 

Additionally, it prohibits carriers from interfering with medical treatment of injured employees, mandates installation of positive train control, and offers railroads incentives to install electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes and switch position indicators.

Significantly, the safety bill caps limbo time and requires at least two days off following each six-day work week. 

But a provision permits general chairpersons to negotiate with carriers a better balance between time off and earnings, while preserving guaranteed time off.

Also of significance, the legislative history of the bill supports two sets of eyes and ears in the locomotive cab, notwithstanding the installation of PTC.

Following are major provisions of the rail safety bill:

Conductor certification: Within 18 months of the bill’s becoming law, the FRA must establish a program to certify conductors, including minimum training stan dards.

Positive Train Control: Requires installation of positive train control by Dec. 31, 2015, on all main-line track where intercity passenger and commuter railroads operate, and where toxic-by-inhalation hazmat is transported. Also, grants are provided to assist railroads in implementing ECP brakes and switch-position indicators. 

Hours-of-Service: Requires at least 10 consecutive uninterrupted hours off duty following 12 hours on duty. (There is a three-year exception for passenger train employees, during which time their hours of service limitations will be studied by the FRA.)

No freight railroad employee covered by the hours-of-service law may be called to work unless they have had at least 10 uninterrupted hours off during the prior 24-hour period. And following each six days of work, a covered employee must be given 48 hours of uninterrupted time-off at their home terminal. 

If the carrier requires that employee to work a 7th day -- even if it is to return them to their home terminal -- then the uninterrupted time-off at the home terminal must be at least 72 hours.

As to limbo time, no employee covered by the hours-of-service law may be placed in limb o time after they have been on duty, waited for deadhead transportation or been in any other mandatory service for more than a total of 276 hours in any month. 

And total limbo time per month is restricted to no more than 40 hours -- reduced to 30 hours on the first anniversary of the bill’s becoming law.

The bill permits general chairpersons to sit down with carrier labor relations officers and negotiate a better balance between time off and earnings, while preserving guaranteed time off.

Locomotive Cab Safety: Requires the FRA study the safety impact of the use of train crews using personal electronic devices. (The UTU has learned that the FRA already is considering issuing an emergency order prohibiting train crews from using personal cell phones, Blackberries, iPods and other electronic devices, except for company business -- and then only when two-crewpersons are in the cab.)

Medical Attention: Prohibits railroads from denying, delaying, or interfering with the medical or first aid treatment of injured workers, and from disciplining those workers that request treatment. Also requires railroads to arrange for immediate transport of injured workers to the nearest appropriate hospital. 

Inspector Staffing: Increases the number of federal rail safety inspectors and supporting staff by 200. 

 

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