Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 - (Page 18)

NRCChairman’s Column NRC in D.C. Manny Ramirez Chairman regulations or best practices that will affect NRC contractors and suppliers that do bridge work. Stanley Beaver of Balfour Beatty Rail will be the NRC representative on this task. Also in the realm of the RSAC, the Medical Standards Working Group is continuing its work, with the goal of assisting the FRA in creating new regulations relating to the medical qualifications and testing of many railroad employees and contractors. Ernesto Scarpitti of Delta Railroad Construction is the NRC representative on this working group. As the Class 1 and Class 2/3 railroads continue to invest back into their infrastructure in record amounts, their need and desire to outsource work to the growing rail contracting industry will continue to increase. It is our responsibility to be fully prepared and able to handle this increased workload. The NRC will continue to develop and improve our safety training programs such as the Roadway Worker Protection program, safety manuals and safety training DVDs. These programs are essential to our members’ employee training needs. As employers, it is our responsibility to provide the safest environment for our employees to work, and it’s also good business. In my acceptance speech at the NRC Conference in Palm Springs in January, I noted our concern regarding Amtrak bidding against private contractors for track and signal maintenance contracts on certain commuter railroad properties. Due to Amtrak’s status as a major recipient of federal funding, we believe that Amtrak’s involvement as a bidder on these projects provides an uneven playing field for private competitors. The NRC strongly supports a robust national passenger rail network, and we are a longtime supporter of increased federal investment in the passenger rail mode. Many of our contractors and suppliers work with Amtrak every day, and we fully support Amtrak’s effort to run passenger trains. However, we firmly believe that Amtrak should focus its effort on operating a passenger rail network and not be competing against private railroad contractors to win track and signal maintenance contracts. The reality that Congress could direct our federal tax dollars to an entity that could then take that money and use it to subsidize an operation that takes business away from us is unacceptable. Amtrak must not engage in this behavior, and Congress should ensure that it does not. Moving on from legislative issues, the 2008 NRC Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 15, at the Blackmon Auctions yard in Little Rock, Ark. We expect the auction to finish by 1 p.m. Contact the NRC office to sign up to participate in the auction as either a buyer or a seller, or both. To get to the auction, head 11 miles east of Little Rock on I-40, take the Remington Road/Highway 15 exit, go south exactly 1 mile, and stop at 425 Blackmon Road, Lonoke, Ark. Sellers can either consign or donate equipment to the auction. For donated equipment, 100 percent of the proceeds of the sale will go to the NRC Safety, Training and Education Fund and the donating company can take the corresponding tax deduction. For consigned equipment, the seller will receive 100 percent of the proceeds of the sale, minus a two percent seller’s fee, which will go to the NRC Safety, Training and Education Fund. The auction is an excellent place for contractors to find bargains on needed equipment or sell under-utilized assets. For suppliers, it’s a great venue to introduce equipment to a group of very interested buyers. For everybody, it’s an opportunity to get a front line look at the current state of the rail construction equipment market. The evening prior to the auction, on Monday, April 14, from 5 p.m. to closing, there will be a happy hour in the lobby bar at the Wyndham Riverfront Little Rock. Everyone attending the auction is welcome. The address is 2 Riverfront Place, North Little Rock, Ark. For everyone getting into town the night before the auction, there is a discounted hotel room block available at the Wyndham Riverfront Little Rock for $89/night. Call 501-371-9000 for reservations and mention the NRC auction to access the discounted room rate. For any questions or to participate, contact the NRC office, Danny Brown, FCM Rail, 810-397-3533 or danny@fcmrail.com, or Thomas Blackmon, Jr., of Blackmon Auctions at 501-664-4526 (office), 501-352-4702 (cell), or thomas@blackmonauctions.com. Lastly, as always, I ask that you keep the men and women in uniform in your hearts and prayers. www.rtands.com The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association, Inc. 500 New Jersey Ave., N. W. Suite 400 Washington D. C. 20009 Tel: 202-715-2920 Fax: 202-318-0867 www.nrcma.org info@nrcma.org I write this article having recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., for the railroad industry’s annual Railroad Day on Capitol Hill. This is a powerful experience in which we are given the opportunity to have our voices heard by those who make the laws affecting rail service in this country. Those who attended Railroad Day on the Hill walked away with a positive experience and confidence in our political process, as well as increased familiarity with their representatives in Congress. NRC contractor and supplier attendance at functions like Railroad Day on the Hill shows Class 1 and regional/shortline railroad executives that we are serious about backing up their concerns and are willing to provide the resources to support their goals. Contractors and suppliers were frequently brought into the forefront of discussion, e.g., “Good new jobs will be created by passing the Class 1 Investment Tax Credit and reauthorizing the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation Tax Credit.” Beyond the issues discussed during Railroad Day on the Hill, the NRC continues to be actively involved with other rail issues in Washington, D.C., that will affect our members. The newest initiative is the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee’s mandate to provide a report on the nation’s railroad bridges to the FRA by November 2008, developing recommendations on how to best influence the adoption and implementation of effective industry practices to maintain the safety and preserve the serviceability of railroad bridges. This could result in new 18 Railway Track & Structures April 2008 http://www.nrcma.org http://www.nrcma.org http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - April 2008

Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Seeking More Advanced Systems to Handle Materials SKOL Bounces Back From Summer Flood Landmark Railroad Bridges Need Inspection, Too Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - April 2008

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