The BLET has called out five railroads for a backdoor attempt to make changes to Positive Train Control operating rules without going through proper regulatory channels.
Each railroad has in place FRA-approved Positive Train Control Safety Plans (PTCSP), which dictate safe operating procedures. On July 11, five railroads — BNSF Railway, Caltrain, New Mexico Rail Runner Express, Norfolk Southern, and South Florida Regional Transportation Authority — filed a request for amendment (RFA) to change operating rules in the event of unplanned PTC outages. The PTCSP RFA process is typically used to address simple software updates. However, the fine print in the railroads’ request included requests to waive safety regulations governing PTC operations.
The railroads are seeking permission to increase speed limits during PTC outages without any evidence that such increases are safe, among other applications for waivers. BLET has urged the FRA to deny the railroads’ request. The union’s position is that the proposed operating rules changes would make train operations less safe in the event of unplanned PTC outages.
“The BLET asserts that this request should not be made in a PTCSP RFA because it includes requests for regulatory waivers,” the union stated in an August 19 letter to the FRA, signed by National President Eddie Hall. “The railroads are attempting to use the PTCSP process, which includes minimal review and opportunity for public comment — and is intended to process simple software updates. Instead, the railroads are intending to make material modifications to operating rules and practices during the most dangerous times — emergencies and system failures… We urge the FRA not to grant regulatory waivers without a separate waiver request or petition for rulemaking to change the PTC regulation.”
The letter from BLET to the FRA can be found here (www.regulations.gov).