Your Sept. 15 Pre-Trip: Rail industry opposes heavier trucks

Sept. 15, 2015
The rail industry is against a proposal to increase the current weight limit of cargo trucks to 91,000 lbs.
Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. The rail industry is against a proposal to increase the current weight limit of cargo trucks to 91,000 lbs. to protect the cargo business that typically goes to trains, according to The Hill. Rail industry group GoRail said Monday that “heavier trucks would be bad for the nation’s roads and environment – in addition to affecting train companies’ bottom lines,” the report said. The Hill has more. 2. With transportation funding scheduled to expire on Oct. 29, advocates are putting pressure on the House to pass a long-term funding plan, The Hill reports. The fund has enough money to cover expenses until next June, according to recent reports, so long as Congress passes reauthorization of its ability to distribute checks. According to The Hill, advocates urge the House to ignore the “wiggle room” and pass a bill this fall that matches the three-year plan approved by the Senate earlier this summer.3. Similar to most states across the country, West Virginia lawmakers are struggling to fix the state’s deteriorating roads due to lack of revenue. The Bluefield Daily telegraph reports that even though fiscal year 2015 saw a 15.6% increase in revenue, “it wasn’t enough to overcome the $16.6 million shortfall.” According to the report, the state needs more than $1 billion to fix its crumbling roadways. 4. Just two months after $20,000 worth of tires were swiped from a Jersey City trucking yard, more than $8,000 worth of tires were stolen over the weekend from the same lot, NJ.com reports. According to the report, the supervisor of the yard, which Excel Trucking rents from East Coast Warehouse, told police he discovered the theft of 10 tires – valued at $800 each. The report states that the fence to the yard had two holes cut into it, and one appeared to have been taken down by a vehicle.5. Bendix is celebrating 60 years of manufacturing in Australia, according to Prime Mover Magazine. Bendix supplies the market with brake lube, fluids and wear sensors. Prime Mover has more on the company’s growing footprint in Australia.

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