Association of American Railroads

Following the issuing of a final rule by the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) earlier this month, establishing establishes minimum safety requirements for train crew sizes, with the new rule requiring a second crew member on all trains, four U.S.-based railroads are calling on federal appeals courts to toss out the rule, calling it “arbitrary, capricious, and an illegal abuse of discretion,” according to an Associated Press report.

Rail carloads, at 209,142, were off 4.5% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 241,000 units, increased 7.6% annually.

In its petition, which was formally filed with the STB on March 25, RSI is calling on STB to review and assess the existing Arbitration Rule that governs car hire rate negotiations in the railroad industry, at a time when RSI said that concerns are mounting regarding what it called the “unsustainable trajectory of boxcar supply, where investments have not kept pace with the looming retirement of a substantial portion of the North American boxcar fleet.”

Rail carloads, at 866,865, were down 3.5%, or 31,101 carloads, annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,022,321 units, rose 11.7%, or 106,903 units, annually.

FRA officials explained having a second crewmember provides various safety functions that are not able to be realized on a single-person crew. As an example, without the final rule, it noted how on a train with one crewmember, railroads could initiate single-crew operations and not perform a rigorous risk assessment, mitigate known risks or notify the FRA.

Rail carloads, at 219,586, fell 0.6% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 255,010, saw a 13.8% annual increase.

Rail carloads, at 219,586, fell 0.6% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 255,010, saw a 13.8% annual increase.

Rail carloads, at 214,585, fell 3.7% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 258,077, saw a 13.5% annual gain.

Rail carloads, at 885,548, fell 1.3%, or 11,410 carloads, annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,040,312 containers and trailers, rose 10.9% annually.

In freight railroad circles, the topic of safety is never far from top of mind. That was made clear on two fronts this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR), in the form of railroad safety data it cited from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and an AAR white paper, entitled “Building a Safer Future: Examining Freight Rail’s Comprehensive Safety Network.”

Rail carloads, at 224,251, increased 2.6% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 259,405, saw a 12.6% annual gain.

Rail carloads, at 220,362, were down 2.5% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 264,478 units, increased 11.1%.

U.S. rail carloads, at 1,025,168, were down 7.2%, or 79,725 carloads, compared to January 2023. And intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,206,014, headed up 5.5%, or 63,195 units, annually.

As February 3 marked the one-year anniversary of the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train, transporting hazardous materials, on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation took the opportunity to make the case for Congress to sign off on the Railway Safety Act, which was approved by the committee in May 2023 and now continues to await Senate approval.

Rail carloads, at 208,131, fell 9.0% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 259,801 units, posted a 10.1% annual gain.