The head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) encouraged BLET members to get on board as the FRA continues to advocate for safety in the railroad industry. Speaking at the BLET’s Eastern Regional Meeting in Washington D.C. on July 30, FRA Administrator Amit Bose said: “I want you to know that it’s a different FRA today than when I started my job in 2021. We have an active, engage FRA workforce. I hope you engage with them. Don’t forget: You are our eyes and ears on the ground and we need your input.”
In addition to the new two-person train crew rule, the FRA is investigating accidents related to improper train make-up and excessive train length. “The number of long train is increasing, and the FRA is paying close attention to this issue.” Administrator Bose said the National Academy of Sciences is currently conducting a study into the safety of long trains. Administrator Bose explained: “You know what the railroad industry said? They said there’s no data to regulate long trains. So for the first time ever, FRA is collecting data on train length, and we plan to use the data in an effective way.”
After several recent high-profile accidents and fatalities, the safety of remote control locomotives is now on FRA’s radar. “Remote control operations is something the Rail Safety Advisory Committee is going to look at. We will be actively looking at operations in yards and on main lines to determine if safety can be improved. We plan a kick off meeting on that topic later this summer.”