Remote trains carrying hazmat fall outside Congress’ push for rail regulation

(Source: NBC News, April 1, 2023)

Congress is pushing to mandate a specific crew size on trains following a series of dangerous incidents. But the legislation leaves out a type of train that regularly carries hazardous chemicals in major metropolitan areas with no licensed engineers onboard.

“It is unbelievable that the Union Pacific, and the other self-regulated railroads, have chosen not to use a certified locomotive engineer in the cab of these trains,” Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said in a statement. “With the assistance of armies of lobbyists, the railroad companies have spent millions convincing lawmakers to allow self-regulation — that is, to ‘trust us’ to protect the public from hazards,” Hall continued. “But those assurances are nothing but broken promises.”

Full story: NBC News