The Biden administration has finalized a new rule requiring large freight railroads to have two-person crews for each of their trains.
The announcement was made on April 2, and comes nearly a year after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, triggering months of concerns over toxic chemicals that had spilled out.
Although the Norfolk Southern train had three crew members aboard, the incident still sparked a wide-ranging discussion regarding rail safety.
“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,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement to the New York Times. “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 Association of American Railroads — which represents major freight railroads — expressed skepticism in the wake of the announcement in a statement of its own to the Times, asserting that two-person crews represent “an unfounded and unnecessary regulation that has no proven connection to rail safety.”
Prior to the new mandate, 11 states already had rules in place requiring two crew members.
