Four U.S. railroads file challenges against FRA’s two-person crew mandate, says report
April 12, 2024
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.
Federal Railroad Administration issues final rule on train crew size safety requirements
April 2, 2024
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.
Freight railroad safety is front and center in FRA data and AAR white paper
March 7, 2024
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.”
