​​BNSF exec: Railroad ‘intentionally’ not training tech to find some track defects

BNSF Railway’s general director of rail said the company is not training its track inspection technology to find some defects regulators maintain can lead to derailments, because it would slow the company’s freight operations.

Railroads and regulators thwart safety fixes for years, costing lives

Human errors and track defects caused more than 3,000 rail accidents over the last decade, killing 23 people and injuring nearly 1,200. Yet federal railroad regulators failed to implement most of the safety recommendations that emerged from the accident investigations.

The Wisconsin village with more derailments than gas stations

At least nine trains have derailed in Wisconsin in 10 years. The occurrence of two so close in time and location moved Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., to demand Canadian Pacific Kansas City take “immediate action” to improve track conditions.

PRIVATE TRACKS: How Wall Street is Reshaping the Railroad Industry

Investment firms are quietly taking greater control over America’s railroad industry, accumulating large stock positions in railroad operators and buying up companies that lease and manage rail cars or provide an array of rail services.

DOT Orders ‘Major’ Rail Bridge Reforms After Investigation

The U.S. Department of Transportation will “dramatically increase” the number of government railroad bridge inspectors  — a major expansion of federal oversight —  just weeks after an investigation from the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University revealed railroads had largely self-inspected bridges and kept findings hidden from the public.

Railroads spurn system designed to prevent accidents

Two and a half years after a derailed train spewed toxic gases across eastern Ohio, none ofthe nation’s largest freight railroads have fulfilled promises to join a voluntary federal close call program designed to reduce rail hazards and prevent accidents.

Off the Rails

Exposing risk and regulatory gaps in North America’s railroad industry.

Train derailments and toxic spills: Even after multiple disasters, America’s railroads largely police themselves

In the United States, railroads answer largely to themselves. They inspect their own sprawling network of tracks and bridges, with little federal oversight and no public access to their inspection records. This visual investigation was produced by Evident Media, in partnership with the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism.

Apply safety rules to more flammable-cargo trains, lawmakers urge

Federal safety investigators and some members of Congress want to expand special safety rules that apply to trains carrying a lot of flammable material to the much larger number of trains carrying smaller amounts, saying the risk to thousands of U.S. communities is far greater than currently known.

Aging U.S. railroad bridges self-inspected, findings kept secret

With no public access to railroad inspection reports, warnings of decay, collapse and environmental spills stay hidden By Lex Doig, Jaehee Kim and Adrian Mancera Cota Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University CORVALLIS, Oregon – The fire…