The Federal Railroad Administration has submitted its final rule on train crew staffing to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, with the final rule potentially being released in March, according to OMB’s website.
Prior to becoming a final rule, federal regulations go to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which is within OMB, for review. That review includes ensuring that the final rule is consistent with agency regulatory principles, as well as the policies and priorities of the president. It also checks to ensure that federal agencies considered the final rule’s consequences, including its benefits and costs.
OIRA’s review may take as long as 90 days, although the review period can be extended once by 30 days.
The notification about OMB’s review of the train crew size rule doesn’t indicate how the final rule is different from the initial proposed rule from July 2022.
Rail unions traditionally support regulation that would require at least two people operating a freight train. A number of states have also passed laws requiring freight train crew sizes of at least two people. But the railroads say such regulation isn’t needed because its safety benefits are unproven, and the regulation may stymie future technological advancements. Short-line railroads also argue that they should be exempt from the rule because many short lines operate on shorter networks where two-person crews may not be needed.
The notification’s abstract says: “This rulemaking would address the potential safety impact of one-person train operations, including appropriate measures to mitigate an accident’s impact and severity, and the patchwork of State laws concerning minimum crew staffing requirements. This rulemaking would address the issue of minimum requirements for the size of train crews, depending on the type of operations. In an effort to encourage public participation, FRA extended the comment period from 60 to 146 days and held a public hearing on December 14, 2022.”
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Railroad Talk
Having a conductor on the head end saves lives this has been proven time and time again. Ohio is the perfect example of this. The team work between the engineer AND conductor / conductor trainee saved lives period. If the conductor wasn’t there the engineer would have been sitting and waiting for a road based conductor to show up that could have been 20-50 miles away. Don’t allow these companies and the stake holders get away with putting the public and engineers at risk for money.
Jana
My husband worked for BNSF railroad for 41 years and was a union rep for around 30 years. As a result, I not only became aware of many issues and incidents that happened “on the road”, but realized how important it was to have 2 persons in the cab! As you that have been a conductor or an engineer on a long haul know, you can be called out at any time of the day or night with a very short notice, which comes with its own risks. When there are 2 in the cab, they each have their own responsibilities but act as a team. Four eyes and 2 persons communicating with each other are able to act more efficiently and effectively to prevent accidents or mistakes that may occur. The hours can be brutal and without someone to communicate with along the way, is a danger in itself. Plus there is the risk of heart attack, over tiredness, tripping on track and endless other things, that can have dangerous or even fatal results!
Safety was such a huge priority when my husband, his brother and friends were working there and I really admired BNSF for that. I went to many of the Regional meetings and many of the local chairman met at our house – Safety was always brought up as a major consideration.
I am disappointed that the RR is seemingly putting the Safety of their Engineers at risk by suggesting the idea of One Man Crews. There has to be a more sensible solution! This seems to me to show that “they” are more concerned with dollars than they are for the Safety and Longevity of their employees.
PLEASE FIND A DIFFERENT and MORE HUMANE SOLUTION!!! THANK YOU!!!