Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, has revived an effort to mandate crew size on freight trains, an issue that divides railroads and rail unions.
Rail unions have backed the controversial measure, known as the Safe Freight Act, which would require freight trains to be operated by more than one person. Most freight trains are already operated by two people, but one-person crews are legally allowed.
“This is necessary safety legislation to protect railroad workers and the American public,” the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen National President Dennis Pierce said in a statement late last month.
Pierce cited the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Quebec, Canada, which took the lives of 47 people and involved a one-person crew operated by the Montreal, Main and Atlantic Railway. The 72-car train carrying crude oil derailed down a hill after it was left unattended by the single engineer. According to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the train’s brakes were not properly applied to secure the train.
“While the railroad industry talks of one-person train crews and even autonomous trains, the 2013 tragedy of Lac-Mégantic is justification enough that we need two sets of eyes and ears in the locomotive cab,” Pierce said.
John Previsich, president of the Transportation Division for the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Union (SMART TD), argued that at least two crew members — a conductor and a locomotive engineer — are necessary for safe rail operation.
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“There is no doubt that the only safe rail operation is one that includes at a minimum a certified conductor and a certified locomotive engineer,” Previsich said. “A clear message must be sent to our lawmakers and to the general public that multi-person crews are essential to ensuring the safest rail operations possible in their communities.”
However, railroads have historically argued that regulations on crew size should be a collective bargaining issue and that railroads may want to use one-person crews once new technology is implemented. For example, the Association of American Railroads balked at a Federal Railroad Administration proposal unveiled in 2014 that would have demanded two-person crews.
“There is no greater priority for the freight rail industry than safety, but this proposed rule offers no safety benefit to railroads, their employees, or the public,” Edward Hamberger, former president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, said in 2016 in reference to the FRA proposal. “There is absolutely no data to support the view that a second crewmember enhances safety. This regulation is trying to solve a problem that does not exist.”
The Association of American Railroads noted that the FRA has not been able to identify data suggesting that one-person crews are less safe or safer than multiple-person crews.
Additionally, the Association of American Railroads doesn’t back the Safe Freight Act. The group’s website criticizes legislative efforts, including the Safe Freight Act, that would “freeze the evolution of railroad operations that might affect crew size, removing the incentive for future innovation.”
“We do not support legislative efforts at both the federal and state level on the issue of crew size,” Kristin Smith, senior vice president of communications for the Association of American Railroads, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The rail industry has a strong safety record, and there simply isn’t a safety justification around the proposed legislation. Policymakers should not interfere with rail staffing and should instead allow this discussion to occur through collective bargaining.”
Rep. Young previously introduced the legislation in 2017. A similar measure was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who is no longer serving in the upper chamber, and its 13 co-sponsors included Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
It is uncertain if the Senate will also reintroduce the measure in this Congress. Sen. Baldwin’s office did not provide comment on the record to the Washington Examiner, and Sen. Markey and Blumenthal did not respond to requests for comment.
So far, five states have passed legislation mandating that freight trains have multi-person crews. According to John Risch, national legislative director for SMART TD, the federal government needs to act, and Young’s measure is a step in the right direction.
“Automation of cars, buses, aircraft and trucks are being addressed by legislation and in regulation by the federal government and many states. It’s time the federal government provided some oversight on railroads,” Risch said in a statement last month. “Congressman Young’s bill is a first step, and we thank him for his leadership on this. The safety of the public and our members depend on this.”
