Progress Through Unity

Archives for January 2015

An Open Letter to our Members from Mr. Soto

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Lackawanna Cutoff Update

From By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Construction has begun on the first commuter train line to Sussex County in decades as rails are being installed that will extend service to Andover.

The first 4.25 miles of track have been installed on the former Lackawanna Cutoff, as part of the first phase of the project to restore 7.3 miles of track between the Port Morris rail yards and Andover Township, said William Smith, NJ Transit spokesman.

The cutoff would connect to NJ Transit’s existing Morris & Essex lines at Port Morris Junction in Roxbury, and to Mid-Town Direct service to New York in Dover. [Read more…]

New FRA Administrator Named

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today that Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Sarah Feinberg will serve as Acting Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). She succeeds Joseph C. Szabo who was appointed and confirmed as the agency’s twelfth Administrator is 2009. Szabo stepped down as the agency’s head last Friday. [Read more…]

Reporting Threshold Remains at 2014 Level

Federal Register /Vol. 79, No. 247 /Wednesday, December 24, 2014 /Rules and Regulations 77397

In this rule, FRA is keeping the monetary threshold for CY 2015, at $10,500, the same as the monetary threshold for CY 2014. FRA is maintaining the reporting threshold at the CY 2014 level, because, in part, wage data for the second-quarter of 2014 (the data used to calculate the threshold) was abnormally high due to large, lump sum retroactive payments of wage increases resulting from labor contract agreements affecting several railroads. FRA believes the data does not accurately reflect the changes in labor costs for CY 2014