FRA Proposes Rule Requiring At Least Two Crew Members for Trains Carrying Hazardous Materials
On July 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish minimum train crew sizes and other requirements related to train crew staffing (87 Fed. Reg. 45564). The Proposed Rule would require a minimum of two crewmembers on most trains traveling on the interstate rail network. It would, however, provide ten categorical exceptions for circumstances in which the FRA has deemed one-person crew operations to pose a low risk to railroad employees, the public, and the environment. The Proposed Rule would also allow railroads to seek approvals for legacy one-person crew operations on a case-by-case basis.