New federal safety rule for railroad established
SHERIDAN — In an attempt to increase rail safety, the Biden Administration announced it had established a new federal rule requiring crews of at least two people on freight trains. The rule will go into effect in about two months.
The Federal Railroad Administration issued the final rule establishing the minimum requirements Tuesday. According to Federal Register informational documents, a final rule is made when an agency concludes “that its proposed solution will accomplish the goals or solve the problems identified,” after soliciting public comment.
The FRA first suggested the rule change to require two-person crews in 2022, and it gained momentum after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in February 2023.
In response to the derailment, which investigators believe was caused by wheel bearings overheating, Congresspeople introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at enhancing railroad safety.
The legislation has largely stalled, with its latest action coming in December 2023 when the bill was placed on the U.S. Senate’s legislative calendar. The bill would increase maximum fines for safety regulation violations, expand derailment training, require two-person crews for certain freight trains and provide funding for research and development to improve rail safety.
Federal rules did not previously specify a minimum crew size.
The new rule requires a two-person crew because the associated benefits may help “reduce the likelihood of at least one type of foreseeable accident that is more likely to occur with a one-person train crew than a two-person train crew,” if a train is not equipped with proper devices to stop the train if an engineer is unresponsive, according to the rule’s executive summary.
“Common sense tells us that large freight trains, some of which can be over three miles long, should have at least two crew members on board — and now there’s a federal regulation in place to ensure trains are safely staffed,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “This rule requiring safe train crew sizes is long overdue, and we are proud to deliver this change that will make workers, passengers and communities safer.”
When asked for comment on the new rule, BNSF Railway officials directed The Sheridan Press to statements from the Association of American Railroads.
“FRA is doubling down on an unfounded and unnecessary regulation that has no proven connection to rail safety,” said AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “Instead of prioritizing data-backed solutions to build a safer future for rail, FRA is looking to the past and upending the collective bargaining process.”
According to the rule document, BNSF commented against the rule and said it would impede the railway’s “ongoing efforts, through collective bargaining, to implement one-person crew operations that also deploy ground-based conductors.”
According to FRA data, there were 604 train accidents or incidents in Wyoming between 2014 and 2023; in the same time frame, there were 91,682 total train accidents or incidents nationwide.
This story was published on April 4, 2024.