FRA Train Accident Investigation Reports Now Publicly Available Online

Tuesday, April 01, 2008 (Washington, DC)

To increase public awareness about the causes of specific train accidents and to reduce the need for individuals to submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is for the first time making its...

Second Railroad Joins FRA "Close Call" Risk Reduction Pilot Program

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 (Washington, DC)

Second Railroad Joins FRA Risk Reduction Pilot Program Permitting Confidential Reporting of ‘Close Call’ Incidents

A second railroad is now participating in a major federal rail safety pilot program designed to allow...

Trains Transporting the Most Toxic Hazardous Materials Must Use Safest, Most Secure Route

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 (Washington, DC)

Railroads will be required to route every train carrying the most toxic and dangerous hazardous materials on the safest and most secure route under a new federal rule announced today by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters.

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DOT Digest: FRA Awards Two Grants to Washington State DOT

Friday, May 02, 2008 (Washington, D.C.)

FRA Awards Two Grants to Washington State DOT . The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded two grants to the Washington State Department of Transportation to improve rail safety and upgrade infrastructure. A $1,485,000 grant for the Tacoma...

Federal Railroad Administration Announces Availability of Rail Economic Benefit Analysis CD-ROM

Wednesday, November 04, 1998 (Washington, DC)

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced the availability of a CD-ROM containing the RailDEC family of computer programs designed to evaluate the full range of economic benefits resulting from railroad-related infrastructure...

DOT Action Plan Contributes to Nearly 25 Percent Decrease in Train AccidentsNew Focus on Risk-Reduction Programs to Further Improve Rail Safety

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (Washington, D.C.)

The number of train accidents has decreased by 23.3 percent in the past three years in part because the Department has completed an ambitious plan designed to improve safety on the Nation’s railroads, announced U.S. Secretary of...

DOT Digest: FRA Grant Aids Development of Emergency Response Training; Sets June 30 Deadline for Intercity Passenger Rail State Capital Grant Applications

Friday, June 06, 2008 (Washington, D.C.)

FRA Grant Aids Development of Emergency Response Training . The Federal Railroad Administration is providing a $250,000 grant to the Southeastern Transportation Safety Center in Meridian, Miss. to develop emergency response...

Private Crossings, New Technology, and Crossing Closures Next Focus of DOT Action Plan to Reduce Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Collisions and Fatalities

Thursday, June 12, 2008 (Washington, D.C.)

Several safety initiatives designed to reduce collisions between motor vehicles and trains will be completed before the end of 2008 as part of the ongoing U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Highway-Rail Crossing Safety and Trespass...

6/13/2008 DOT Digest: FRA Awards Grant to Alaska Railroad to Install Positive Train Control on 68 Locomotives

Friday, June 13, 2008 (Washington, D.C)

BTS Releases Special Report on Trade Growth and Transportation . The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has released U.S.-China Trade Growth and America’s Transportation System , a special report about the increase of traffic at...

New DOT Rule Makes Cheating on Drug Testing Harder

Monday, June 30, 2008 (Washington, DC)

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced today a new rule that will make it more difficult for transportation workers to cheat on their required drug tests by requiring drug testing labs to analyze every test for tampering.“We...