On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Sarah Feinberg as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Feinberg had been serving as Acting Administrator for the past nine months.
Ed Wytkind, President of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), issued a statement applauding her confirmation:
“…In the nine months that Feinberg has served as Acting Administrator, she has led the agency through a series of rail accidents and derailments that have put a spotlight on the safety of rail transportation. Administrator Feinberg is the right kind of leader for these times who will focus the FRA’s resources on making sure we are doing everything possible to avoid future accidents and better protect rail employees.”
Administrator Feinberg has been leading the FRA through a tumultous time in the agency’s history. With ongoing safety issues present and pending, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) stated that “it is imperative that Ms. Feinberg end the FRA’s old, stale way of doing business, crossing its fingers that railroads comply with the law, and instead adopt a new approach that relies on strong, aggressive enforcement practices, regardless of whether the industry likes it.”
