train crews

The Federal Railroad Administration submitted its proposed rulemaking on train crew staffing to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for review.

The Federal Railroad Administration is taking action on a proposed rule that would provide hazmat train crews with safety equipment that would protect them from breathing in hazardous fumes in the event of an accident.

In proposing a minimum train crew size of two members, FRA reverses its stance that crew size questions should be left to the railroads and the unions.

BLET, SMART-TD and Norfolk Southern continue to fight in federal court over the vaccine mandate and NS’ practice of using train engineers as conductors.

SMART-TD must negotiate with Class I railroads on train crew size; Rail Customer Coalition calls on STB to take up reciprocal switching; ASLRRA praises progress on infrastructure bill; and Canadian Pacific urges KCS shareholders to vote against the proposed CN-KCS merger.

A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday vacated the Federal Railroad Administration’s May 2019 order on train crew size, saying the agency didn’t conduct an adequate public review prior to the order.

The proposed rule seeks to require trains operating in Kansas to have at least two crew members in the front locomotive.

The state’s governor Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that says a freight train crew must have at least two crew members.

The court ruled in favor of the Class I railroads and said SMART-TD must discuss crew size during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.

Lawmakers in Missouri, New York, Virginia and Wyoming introduce legislation to require freight trains to have a minimum crew size.

Train crew size, healthcare are among the key issues, on top of grappling with systemic changes to the industry

The railroads say the union refuses to negotiate on train crew size as both sides prepare for a new collective bargaining agreement.

The states of Illinois, Nevada and Washington are seeking to push ahead with state laws requiring a train crew size of at least two individuals, despite a federal declaration saying that such laws have been voided.

Some members of Congress remain determined to address the question of whether having more crew members on a train makes that train safer.

The implementation of precision scheduled railroading has contributed to dwindling morale and could result in creating unsafe working conditions should the federal government withhold intervention, according to union witnesses at a June 20th Congressional hearing on rail safety.

The Federal Railroad Administration is withdrawing its notice of proposed rulemaking for train crew staffing. Regulating train crew staffing is not necessary or appropriate for rail operations to be conducted safely, the agency said.

Nevada joins Colorado in requiring freight trains to have at least two crew members on board. Meanwhile, preliminary data from the Surface Transportation Board shows April rail headcount level to be the lowest so far in 2019 and since January 2017.

Add Ohio and Washington state to the list of states where leaders are debating whether to require freight railroads to have at least two crew members per train. Ohio and Washington state legislators have introduced bills this spring mandating a minimum crew size for freight trains. Washington state’s bill takes the debate one step further by also defining how many crew members should be operating a train that’s carrying crude oil.

The debate over how many crew members should operate a freight train is back in the spotlight again as federal and state officials push to mandate crew size for the freight railroads.