The US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) held a joint public meeting in Washington, DC on September 18th. The principal topic of discussion was the situation regarding the transport of lithium batteries via aircraft. This past summer, many individual airlines took action to limit the…
PTC Alert! The Positive Train Control Deadline Creates a Potential Transportation Crisis
UPDATE: Congress advances bill to delay Railroad PTC Mandate Will January 1, 2016 be the day the trains stop? As America’s railroads and Congress fail to agree on extending the December 31 deadline for implementing Positive Train Control systems, that threat inches closer to reality. The railroads have threatened to essentially shut down all service…
ICAO releases new Addendum/Corrigendum updating Technical Instructions for Dangerous Goods
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has released a new Addendum and Corrigendum revising the 2015 – 2016 Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, commonly referred to as the ICAO TI or simply TI. The TI are the set of regulations that, together with national regulations like the 49 CFR…
New DOT/PHMSA Interpretation Brings Some Clarity to the Lithium Ion Watts Issue
In a formal Letter of Interpretation dated August 19th, 2015 to Mr. Mike Revis USDOT/PHMSA stated categorically that a Lithium Ion Battery being shipped under the exceptions granted in 49 CFR 173.185(c) may have cells which feature watt hour ratings greater than 20 watt hours as long as the battery itself remains less than one…
New FRA grant program to help state & local governments improve rail safety
In the Friday, September 04, 2015 edition of the Federal Register, the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced a new grant program. Under the Railroad Safety Grants for the Safe Transportation of Energy Products by Rail Program (Step Rail), ten million dollars is being made available to local and state governments…
Lufthansa becomes the latest airline to restrict lithium battery transport—and the strictest
Transporting lithium batteries by air continues to get more challenging. Lufthansa has just imposed restrictions that go well beyond international regulations. Here’s a breakdown of the new restrictions, effective August 31*: Complete embargo of excepted standalone lithium batteries from all aircraft. These shipments will no longer be accepted on any Lufthansa Group passenger or…
Maryland Circuit Court Case may derail hazmat confidentiality
The outcome of a recently decided court case in Maryland has the Class One railroads pondering their next move as regards keeping movement and other logistics information confidential when it comes to what the federal government has now classified as “high hazard” flammable liquids trains. On August 17th City of Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Lawrence…
Why the updated 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook is more essential than ever
Every four years the United States, Canadian and Mexican governments cooperate in issuing a revised edition of a wonderfully useful and often terribly important little orange book: the Emergency Response Guidebook, commonly known as “the ERG.” The 2016 edition is coming soon, and it promises to be more essential than ever. From “quick and dirty”…
Costs and concerns about the FRA’s new “rollaway” rules
After the disastrous Lac-Mégantic derailment on July 6, 2013, the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued Emergency Order 28 directing U.S. railroads to take certain actions to reduce the likelihood of another unattended train “rolling away” with explosive, flammable materials on board. On July 29 of this year, the FRA announced the codification of many…