Rail

As published by Keith Laing in The Hill.   Amtrak vote bumped by DHS bill The House has pushed back a vote on a nearly a nearly $8 billion funding bill for Amtrak that was scheduled for a final taplly on Tuesday. The measure, which provides Amtrak about $1.7 billion per year for the next four […]

ATLANTA, GA—The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and its 32 affiliated unions waded into every major transportation policy debate in Washington and focused on expanding transportation investments, reforming safety policy, protecting workers’ rights, and rejecting job-killing trade policies. “2015 must be the year when we break the stalemate on funding our badly deteriorated transportation system […]

Since the last rewrite of federal railroad safety laws in 2008, an increased number of hazards identified by both employees and government agencies, coupled with significant growth in the industry, has put a spotlight on the need for legislative action to impose needed safety reforms. Congress must move forward on the expired Rail Safety Improvement […]

Few transportation safety issues have as far-reaching effects as the transport of hazardous materials and toxic chemicals. Strong laws and regulations surrounding the movement of these materials are essential to protecting not only workers but also the public and local communities who are risk when an accident occurs. Congress and the administration must address the […]

Transportation labor has been a leader in insisting on sustainable investment in Amtrak’s national network. Throughout the history of Amtrak, whose creation in 1971 followed the bankruptcy of private passenger rail operations, the passenger railroad company has been chronically underfunded. Even worse, for four decades too many politicians have attempted to shutdown Amtrak through bankruptcy […]

Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement about the markup of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015: “We are pleased that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a bipartisan passenger rail bill that provides multi-year investment for Amtrak while rejecting ill-advised attempts to force unwanted […]

This important legislation funds and sustains a key component of our national transportation system, and we commend Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio, Subcommittee Chairman Denham and Subcommittee Ranking Member Capuano for their leadership in crafting this bipartisan, compromise legislation. We also ask that you oppose any amendments that would compromise the integrity of the national passenger rail network, or that undermines the bipartisan compromise reached in this bill.

Talking about transportation safety isn’t enough – measures are needed to close gaps in the system that expose both workers and the public. That’s where the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) comes in. Since it was established more than 40 years ago as an independent safety and accident investigation agency, the NTSB has pressed regulators […]

On October 2nd, Amtrak reported that four of its century-old underwater rail tunnels in and out of New York City are in need of extensive repairs and that service will be “badly curtailed” — terrible news for both daily commuters and passengers who take 260 million trips a year along the vital Northeast Corridor. While some may […]

[As published By Edward Wytkind in Huffington Post] On October 2nd, Amtrak reported that four of its century-old underwater rail tunnels in and out of New York City are in need of extensive repairs and that service will be “badly curtailed” — terrible news for both daily commuters and passengers who take 260 million trips a […]