In March 2023, leaders of America’s largest railroads promised to voluntarily adopt the Confidential Close Call Reporting System in the weeks after the tragedy in East Palestine. C3RS is a safety program that allows railroad workers to confidentially report near-miss accidents and safety lapses without fear of reprisal. It also allows railroads, rail unions, and safety experts to collect data and spot areas of concern. Except for BLET’s pilot project at Norfolk Southern, Class I freight railroads did not live up to those promises and continue to embrace a policy of harsh discipline against workers who report safety violations and injuries.
At last week’s AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD) news conference related to rail safety, many rail labor leaders spoke about the benefits of C3RS. During his remarks, BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative Vince Verna said that Federal Railroad Administration data reveals significant safety improvements at railroads that participate in C3RS.
“Currently around 30 railroads are participating in C3RS. Of those participating, FRA has reported an average of 26.5% improvement of total train accidents per million train miles and these improvements have come at a 5% faster rate than they otherwise would have,” Verna said. “If railroads continue to sit on the sidelines, we call on Congress to pass safety legislation that requires participation at all levels of the industry.”