Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

The investigative group focusing on the track has learned from inspection reports that in April, maintenance work was done in the area of the derailment of the eastbound train. Records revealed that a joint bar, used to join two sections of rail together, was cracked and that it was repaired by Metro-North personnel.

An advocacy group cited anomalies in how the board classified motorcoach operators and calculated fatality rates, raising doubts about the report's conclusion that curbside companies, including most Chinatown carriers, are about seven times more likely to have passenger deaths than companies using terminals.

Representatives from government, industry, academia and labor will serve as panelists during the forum and discuss safety, regulatory and technology issues surrounding PTC, which is designed to keep trains separated and prevent collisions.

The "Positive Train Control: Is it on Track?" forum will be held in the NTSB Conference Center in Washington, D.C., and is free and open to the public. A detailed agenda and a list of speakers are forthcoming.

This was the first time the NTSB’s training has ever been offered to the motorcoach industry. The seven-hour session was sponsored by National Interstate Insurance Co.

On Dec. 30, a 1998 Prevost motorcoach, operated by Mi Joo Tour & Travel, went down an embankment, rolled over at least once, and came to rest upright at the bottom of the slope. Nine of the vehicle's occupants received fatal injuries.

The course, scheduled for February 5 and 6 in Ashburn, Va., will examine core principles for managing the transition from first response and life safety operations to the decedent recovery and identification process.

On Friday, June 24, 2011, a 2008 Peterbilt truck-tractor pulling two empty trailers on northbound U.S. 95 struck the left side of an Amtrak train that was passing through a grade crossing en route from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif.

Will conduct a one-day crisis management training at the conclusion of the 2013 event in Charlotte, N.C. National Interstate Insurance is the exclusive sponsor.

To ensure ABA is complying with and implementing new transportation safety regulations, eVerifile also will consult with the ABA on a number of regulatory requirements instituted by the U.S.’s FTA, NTSB and TSA, and Transport Canada.