News / US rail unions applaud new two-person crew rule for Class 1 operators

Photo: © Nico Maglieri

After two years of deliberation, the US Federal Rail Administration (FRA) has issued a final rule that requires all Class I railways to operate with a two-person crew.

The agency submitted the rule to the Federal Register on Tuesday, putting it on track to become effective 60 days after publication.

The FRA said the ruling was necessary for rail safety, arguing that “a second crew member performs important safety functions that could be lost when reducing crew size to a single person”.

“Common sense tells us that large freight trains, some of which can be over three miles long, should have at least two crew members on board; and now there’s a federal regulation in place to ensure trains are safely staffed,” said US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“This rule is long overdue, and we are proud to deliver this change that will make workers, passengers, and communities safer.”

Rail safety has been a high-profile issue over the past year, since the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in Ohio, which forced the evacuation of part of the town of East Palestine, as some of the afflicted cars were carrying hazardous materials. It put the spotlight on the performance record of the Class I rail carriers and the pursuit of precision scheduled railroading, which led to longer trains and the shedding of about 20% of staff.

Notwithstanding the public outcry and calls for legislative action, a bill proposing tighter safety measures – including a mandate for a minimum crew requirement of two for major carriers – has been stuck in Congress since last summer, which has been blamed on lobbying by the railways. According to some reports, Norfolk Southern spent about $1bn on lobbying last year.

Not surprisingly, the new ruling has been welcomed by labour unions.

Eddie Hall, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, called it “an important step in making railroading safer in every state”, adding: “As trains, many carrying hazardous material, have grown longer, crews should not be getting smaller.”

But the Association of American Railroads (AAR) criticised the ruling, suggesting there was a lack of evidence linking crew size to safety.

“FRA is doubling down on an unfounded and unnecessary regulation that has no proven connection to rail safety,” said AAR president and CEO Ian Jefferies. “Instead of prioritising data-backed solutions to build a safer future for rail, FRA is looking to the past and upending the collective bargaining process.”

The AAR noted that the casualty rate for Class I rail employees had dropped 63% between 2000 and 2023 to an all-time low, while the overall train accident ratehad fallen 27% since 2000.

However, the FRA pointed to a 41% increase in accidents caused by humans from 2013 to 2022.

At this point, all Class I railways are employing a minimum of two crew members per train under labour contracts, the AAR noted, adding that these labour agreements have been in place for decades. The one person train operations (OPTO) model has only been embraced by small, short-line carriers.

However, critics have observed that railways have sought discretion to run trains with only one crew and move conductors to ground-based positions where automatic braking systems have been installed. The carriers argue that automatic braking systems are a more reliable safety measure than a second crew member, but abandoned this point in the labour contract negotiations in 2022, when a work stoppage was looming large.

“Without the final rule, railroads could initiate single-crew operations without performing a rigorous risk assessment, mitigating known risks, or even notifying FRA. The final rule closes this loophole by establishing minimum standards and a federal oversight process […] by allowing for public input during FRA’s decision making process on whether to grant special approval for one-person train crew operations,” the regulator stated.

At state level, legislation requiring two-person rail crews has been passed in 11 US states. The rail carriers have mounted lawsuits against these moves, arguing that the federal government should be the only body to regulate the industry to ensure there is a uniform set of rules.

And the AAR argues that crew sizes should be decided at the negotiating table, not by regulators.