Safety

In the “Letters & Comments” section of your Jan. 4 issue, BNSF Railway Group Vice President Stephen Branscum sought to clarify a comment from a recent conference, published in a story in Transport Topics. In his letter, he cited as accurate “BNSF’s willingness to work with shippers and American Trucking Associations to develop progressive.

WASHINGTON — Anne Ferro, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, told Transport Topics the agency was committed to meeting its deadline to revise the driver hours-of-service rule.

A new economist’s report challenges claims that trains are more fuel efficient than trucks and questions whether hauling more freight by rail actually improves air quality.

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week he expected the Obama administration and Congress would agree on a surface transportation bill that could be finalized before the end of the year.

WASHINGTON — As the Department of Transportation continues its push to reduce vehicle crashes related to distracted driving, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the agency was lending its support to a new nonprofit group modeled on other victims’ advocacy coalitions to pressure lawmakers to ban text messaging and other forms of distraction.

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said he believes that a lack of good data on the effect of bigger trucks on the nation’s roadways has stalled any hope the trucking industry has of new legislation to change the current limits.

WASHINGTON — The prospects of the Senate passing controversial cap-and-trade climate legislation in 2010 appear to be very slim, a panel of Washington insiders said last week.

North American railroads ended 2009 with the largest annual percentage drop in freight traffic in six decades, but the carriers finished on a high note by topping 2008 levels for the final three weeks of last year.