New federal rule will require freight trains to have a 2-person crew

Unions and regulators say the second crew member plays a crucial safety role in helping operate the train and respond to emergencies.

Major freight railroads will have to maintain two-person crews on most routes under a new federal rule that was finalized Tuesday.

The Transportation Department's Federal Railroad Administration released the details of the rule Tuesday morning, after working on it for the past two years.

There has been intense focus on railroad safety since the fiery February 2023 derailment in eastern Ohio, but few significant changes have been made apart from steps the railroads pledged to take themselves and the agreements they made to provide paid sick time to nearly all workers. Such changes include adding hundreds more trackside detectors and tweaking how they respond to alerts from them. A railroad safety bill proposed in response to the derailment has stalled in Congress.

Rail unions have long opposed one-person crews because of a combination of safety and job concerns. Labor agreements requiring two-person crews have been in place for roughly 30 years at major railroads, although many short-line railroads already operate with one-person crews without problems. The unions say conductors play a crucial role in helping operate the train and keeping engineers alert, and they serve as a first responder if there is a problem or crash.

"As trains — many carrying hazardous material — have grown longer, crews should not be getting smaller," said Eddie Hall, the president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union. He praised the FRA for taking the step Biden promised, which marks a milestone in labor's long fight to preserve two-person crews. Hall said keeping two people in the cab of a locomotive is crucial now that railroads are relying on longer and longer trains that routinely stretch miles long.