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The final rule creates a special approval process for railroads
seeking to initiate new one-person train crew operations and
requires trains carrying some hazardous waste to have two-person
crew.
The Association of American Railroads, an industry trade group,
criticized the rule, saying the agency "is doubling down on an
unfounded and unnecessary regulation that has no proven
connection to rail safety."
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rejected the criticism.
"I would also appeal to common sense - the simple idea that a
moving object that is more than two miles long ought to have at
least two human beings on it," Buttigieg said. "I don't know
what problems the railroads could possibly hope to solve by
reducing it to one other than to take their profits from
ridiculous to stupendously ridiculous."
In 2019, the administration of then President Donald Trump
withdrew a proposed regulation on crew staffing, saying "no
regulation of train crew staffing is necessary or appropriate
for railroad operations to be conducted safely at this time."
Greg Regan, President of the Transportation Trades Department (TTD)
of the AFL-CIO union federation, praised the Biden
administration rule, saying it "acknowledges that crew size is
fundamentally a safety issue at its core .... Two-person crews
are inherently necessary to ensure the safe operation of our
rail systems."
The issue of rail safety has garnered new attention since the
February 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern operated train in
East Palestine, Ohio. The train caught fire and released over a
million gallons of hazardous materials and pollutants.
Legislation in Congress to strengthen rail safety rules has
stalled in the face of industry opposition.
FRA Administrator Amit Bose said in June the agency was
conducting safety assessments of all major U.S. railroads and
issued a critical review of Norfolk Southern.
On Tuesday, Bose said the agency has completed a review of BNSF,
owned by Berkshire Hathaway, and would complete remaining ones
this year including of Union Pacific and CSX.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Franklin Paul and Mark
Potter)
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