Federal Railroad Administration Proposes Crew Size Rule
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On July 27th, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced a proposed rule requiring a minimum of two train crewmembers for over-the-road railroad operations, with some exceptions for certain low risk operations and circumstances where mitigating measures are in place to protect railroad employees, the public, and the environment.
This proposal would replace the existing patchwork of State laws regarding crew size with a uniform national standard. The NPRM also proposes requirements for the location of crewmembers on a moving train, and would prohibit the operation of some trains with fewer than two crewmembers from transporting large amounts of certain hazardous materials. The risk assessment and annual oversight requirements in the NPRM are intended to ensure that railroads fully consider and address all relevant safety factors associated with using less than two person crews.
The proposed change raises concerns, especially for smaller railroads, some of which handle refrigerated boxcars and could have significant impacts to the industry. Comments on the proposed rule can be submitted to the docket FRA-2021-0032 via www.regulations.gov and must be received by September 26. The NRPM can be viewed here.
