FRA Fun Facts
Stuff to which every engineer should have
access.
Federal Railway Administration Learn about the rules and regulations under which you work.
New 4/4/08
According to the FRA: Presently, human
factors constitute the largest category of train accident causes. In recent
years some of the most serious train collisions or derailments resulting in
release of hazardous materials, or harm to rail passengers, have been caused by
human factors. Addressing the role of human factors in train accidents is a
major component of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) National Rail
Safety Action Plan.
Read about the FRA's Safety Action Plan.
New 11/2/09
Latest
Developments
NMB Proposes Change in Representation Voting Rule
Posted November 2, 2009, 1:14 P.M. ET
The National Mediation Board in a 2-1 decision proposes to change representation
election rules in the airline and railroad industries to allow workers to vote
“yes” or “no” for union representation and to determine the outcome by a
majority of the votes cast.
A notice
<http://op.bna.com/dlrcases.nsf/r?Open=lswr-7xenm8>
containing the decision, proposed rule, and request for comments is scheduled
to be published in the Nov. 3.
The
change was requested in early September by the AFL-CIO and more than 30 unions,
who say the 75-year-old policy of requiring a majority of all workers who are
eligible to vote to cast ballots in favor of representation for a union to be
certified unfairly counts those who do not participate in the election as “no”
votes. In its notice, NMB says the proposed rule “will provide a more reliable
measure/indicator of employee sentiment in representation disputes and provide
employees with clear choices in representation matters.” The board will make a
final decision on whether to adopt the rule after taking public comment for 60
days.
Chairman
Elizabeth Dougherty, the only Republican on the three-member panel, dissented
from the proposed change, which was made by Democrats Linda Puchala, a former
president of the Association of Flight Attendants, and Harry Hoagland, a former
airline pilot. The change also is opposed by major airlines and the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce.
Comments
may be submitted by mail or hand delivery to National Mediation Board, 1301 K
St., NW., Ste. 250E, Washington, DC 20005; by fax to 202-692-5085; by e-mail to
legal@nmb.gov; or through the Federal Rulemaking Portal at
http://www.regulations.gov.
A full
report will appear in the Nov. 3 issue of Daily Labor Report. Click here <http://news.bna.com/dlln/?emc=dllnld:dlln:111>
for today's issue.
Summary of
HR 2095
The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007
What it is and how it might affect your job.
New
10/18/08
FRA HSL - Changes to
Hours of Service Act
Inserted language is
underlined and in red and deleted language is
struck-out and in blue.
New
10/23/08
FRA
clamps down on use of electronic devices with Emergency Order 26
In the aftermath of the most deadly passenger rail accident in more than a decade, and just days after the National Transportation Safety Board reported that the engineer of one of the trains involved in the September 12 tragedy had sent and received dozens of text messages while on duty, the Federal Railroad Administration ("FRA") is issuing an Emergency Order that severely restricts the use of cell phones and other wireless communication and personal electronic devices by operating crews.
Read the summary and see the flow chart
Read
the full FRA Emergency Order
Read the
NTSB Metrolink investigation advisory dated 10/1/08
Human Factors
Guidelines for Locomotive Cabs From the FRA
-
Locomotive environment guidelines.
How does your
locomotive measure up on the big issues? That's what we thought!
Section 3.5.1 Locomotive
Toilet Facilities
Section 4.4.1 Locomotive Cab seats
FRA -
Post Accident Testing Flow Chart What the FRA requires following an
accident. (pdf)
FRA -
Title 49 PART 240--Qualification and Certification of Locomotive Engineers
FRA - Locomotive
cab sanitation standards Self explanatory (pdf)
FRA - What you need
to know about federal drug and alcohol testing
Best read when not under the influence. (pdf)
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