Railroad labor submits joint comment to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting denial of the petition for waiver by Norfolk Southern (NS). The joint unions include: Brotherhood of Railway Carmen/TCU-IAM (BRC), American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA), Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED), Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), SMART-Transportation Division (SMART-TD)
In the requested waiver NS seeks to avoid certain provisions of the federal railroad safety regulations, specifically the Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment; End-of- Train Devices (see FRA-2014-0034-0001). A waiver would allow NS trains to travel further distances in-between, and in some cases avoid, required brake inspections.
The labor organizations requested that FRA deny the request for a waiver from compliance and not promote a path where expediency and convenience impose short cuts on safety. The men and women the labor organizations represent and their experience has continuously shown that full compliance with FRA’s safety regulations is the surest way to improve railroad safety.
“Again we see a carrier try to bypass safety in order to promote convenience,” said TCU National Vice-President and Carmen Division President Rich Johnson. “We must continue to fight these attempts to place railroad safety and our members’ safety at risk.”
Click here to read the Joint union comment sent to the FRA.
