US railroads must have 2-person crews, according to new federal rule ⋆ cowboy Ron News Information

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US railroads must have 2-person crews, according to new federal rule

Robert Besser
06 Apr 2024, 05:40 GMT+10

A new U.S. federal rule announced by the Transportation Department’s Federal Railroad Administration stipulates that major freight railroads must maintain two-person crews on most routes
Out of more than 13,000 comments on the rule, which was first proposed during former President Barack Obama’s administration, only 60 opposed it
Railroad safety has been in the news since a major derailment in Ohio in February 2023, leading railroads to pledge changes such as adding hundreds more trackside detectors and improving responses to alerts

WASHINGTON, D.C.: A new U.S. federal rule announced this week by the Transportation Department’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) stipulates that major freight railroads must maintain two-person crews on most routes.

Out of more than 13,000 comments on the rule, which was first proposed during former President Barack Obama’s administration, only 60 opposed it.

Railroad safety has been in the news since a major derailment in Ohio in February 2023, leading railroads to pledge changes such as adding hundreds more trackside detectors and improving responses to alerts. A proposed railroad safety bill has stalled in Congress.

Due to safety and job concerns, labor unions have opposed one-person crews, and agreements requiring two-person crews have been in place for some 30 years at major railroads despite many short-line railroads operating with one-person crews without any issues.

Unions said that conductors are crucial to the operation of trains, keep engineers alert, and can serve as first responders.

Eddie Hall, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union, said, “As trains, with many carrying hazardous material, have grown longer, crews should not be getting smaller.”

The U.S. should not accept the current daily average of nearly three derailments, and regulators will keep trying to improve that record, stated Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at a news conference.

“When good safety rules have been put in place over the years, especially after high-profile incidents, we see derailments come down on mainline tracks. But as attention faded on those incidents, the railroad industry lobby was consistently able to weaken or delay important safety provisions,” Buttigieg said.

In response, U.S. railroads claimed that because there is not enough data to show that two-person crews are safer, the size of train crews should be determined by contract discussions and not by regulators or lawmakers.

The railroads said that the FRA abandoned the original version of the rule during the administration of former President Donald Trump. In 2019, the agency said there was insufficient evidence to support it.

Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of trade group the Association of American Railroads, said, “The FRA is doubling down on an unfounded and unnecessary regulation that has no proven connection to rail safety.”

At least 11 states have already approved rules requiring two-person crews.

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