03 Apr Biden-Harris Administration Announces Final Rule on Train Crew Size
On Tuesday, April 2, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its rule to generally require a second crewmember on all trains. In finalizing this rule, FRA reviewed and considered over 13,500 written comments received during the 146-day comment period—in addition to the testimony from a one-day public hearing.
“Common sense tells us that large freight trains, some of which can be over three miles long, should have at least two crew members on board – and now there’s a federal regulation in place to ensure trains are safely staffed,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This rule requiring safe train crew sizes is long overdue, and we are proud to deliver this change that will make workers, passengers, and communities safer.”
The final rule codifies train crew staffing rules at a federal level, leading to freight and passenger rail operations being governed by a blanket set of rules in all states.
The federal rule was put in place as Ohio, Virginia and Colorado, among others, have recently considered legislation to require two-person rail crews.
In addition, the final rule contains some differences from the initial notice of proposed rulemaking in how it treats freight railroads, especially Class II and III freight railroads.
In limited cases, the rule permits exceptions for smaller railroads to continue or initiate certain one-person train crew operations by notifying FRA and complying with new federal safety standards.