FRA’s train crew size rule moves forward

googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot(‘/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1’, [[728, 90], [468, 60], [300, 100], [320, 50]], ‘div-gpt-ad-b1-i-fw-ad-3’).defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());
gptAdSlots.push(gptSlot);
});

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-b1-i-fw-ad-3’); });

The Federal Railroad Administration has submitted its final rule on train crew staffing to the U.S....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fras-train-crew-size-rule-moves-forward

FRA wants train crews equipped with more hazmat equipment

The Federal Railroad Administration is going ahead with a proposed rule that would ensure that the train crews involved in transporting hazardous materials have access to protective equipment should they need to respond to an accident on the train.

According to a March 22 notice in the Federal Register, FRA is seeking to amend existing regulations in order to require railroads to provide “an appropriate atmosphere-supplying emergency escape breathing apparatus to every train crew member and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fra-wants-train-crews-equipped-with-more-hazmat-equipment

FRA proposes minimum 2-member crew size for most trains

Two freight trains sit on train tracks in a rail yard. City skyscrapers are in the background.

A train crew would typically have to include at least two people under a rule proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The proposal — which drew conflicting responses from the Association of American Railroads and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO — comes as labor unions and the railroads are at loggerheads over a labor contract, while questions about technology’s role in freight rail operations loom large. The requirement would reverse a May 2019 decision that a rule...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fra-proposes-minimum-2-member-crew-size-for-most-trains

Unions, Norfolk Southern grapple over vaccine mandate, conductor assignments

A photograph of a Norfolk Southern loocmotive rolling down a field.

Norfolk Southern and two rail unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD), are continuing to scuffle in court over two hot-button issues: the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and engineers’ roles.

Unions seek immediate stop to the practice of making engineers work as conductors

The two unions want the courts to immediately stop NS from using train...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/unions-norfolk-southern-grapple-over-vaccine-mandate-conductor-assignments

Rail Roundup: Train crews, shippers’ views, shareholders choose

A photograph of a rail yard with a city in the distance.Union must include crew size in negotiations

An arbitrator has determined that the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) must resume negotiations over train crew size and staffing, according to the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC), a group that represents the freight railroads.

The arbitrator determined that standard moratorium language in decades-old labor agreements does not bar negotiations over crew size on...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-roundup-train-crews-shippers-views-shareholders-choose

US Circuit Court rejects FRA’s actions on train crew size

A photograph of two people in front of a Union Pacific locomotive.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday vacated the Federal Railroad Administration’s May 2019 order on train crew size because the agency didn’t undergo an adequate public review process prior to issuing the order.

A three-judge panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco said FRA didn’t conduct adequate due process prior to declaring that its May 2019 order on train crew size preempted state laws requiring a minimum number of employees working on a freight train crew....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-circuit-court-rejects-fras-actions-on-train-crew-size

Kansas eyes regulations governing train crew size

A photograph of a Union Pacific train on a train track.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is proposing to require trains to have at least two crew members in the control compartment of the train’s lead locomotive unit.

The proposed regulation, which would apply to trains operating within state borders, would promote railroad and community safety because two-person crews help to prevent potential accidents or derailments, said a Wednesday press release from the office of Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.

“Kansas has faced issues ranging from...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/kansas-eyes-regulations-governing-train-crew-size

Join Our Newsletter
Enter your email to receive a weekly round-up of shipping news.
icon