Amit Bose

Rail unions take attendance policy grievances to Buttigieg, Walsh

Two major rail unions are taking their concerns about attendance programs at BNSF and other Class I railroads to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Martin Walsh, saying that employees are pressured to take on work even though they’re fatigued. 

The letter to the two officials came a day before BNSF’s new “Hi-Viz” attendance program took effect on Tuesday. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-unions-take-attendance-policy-grievances-to-buttigieg-walsh

DOT confirms Amit Bose as FRA administrator

The U.S. Department of Transportation has confirmed Amit Bose as the 15th administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

The Senate confirmed Bose, who has been serving as FRA’s deputy administrator, on Wednesday — more than eight months after President Joe Biden nominated him to the role on April 22.

Bose’s role includes leading safety regulatory oversight of more than 800 freight and passenger railroads. He will also oversee administering the $66 billion investment in rail projects...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dot-confirms-amit-bose-as-fra-administrator

Rail Roundup: Training on track, Service on board, FRA chief on deck

A photograph of a train traveling down the track.TTCI to develop training and testing facility in Pueblo

The Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) is developing a training and on-track testing facility in Pueblo, Colorado. TTCI hopes the facility will be operational in 2022.

TTCI is a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

The facility will be located at the PuebloPlex facility in Pueblo County, and it will have the ability to expand in accordance with industry and research needs. TTCI said the site will feature a high...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-roundup-training-on-track-service-on-board-fra-chief-on-deck

Regulators gear up for rule setting minimum train crew size

The nation’s top rail regulator confirmed that the Federal Railroad Administration is on track to issue a proposed rulemaking this fall on one-person train crews, including minimum requirements depending on the type of rail operation.

Testifying on Wednesday at his nomination hearing to fill the vacant FRA administrator post, Amit Bose, currently deputy administrator, told Senate lawmakers that one of the reasons the agency is moving forward on the issue is that “if there is not a rulemaking...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-gear-up-for-rule-setting-minimum-train-crew-size