BLET Presses FRA for Emergency Order on ‘Excessive’ Train Length (UPDATED)
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Citing numerous recent accidents caused in part by “excessively long” trains, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is urging the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to issue an Emergency Order establishing a maximum train length of 7,500 feet on the nation’s Class I railroads.
BLET National President Eddie Hall made the request in an Oct. 9 letter (download below) to FRA Administrator Amit Bose, noting that “five-mile-long trains have recently been put into operation as Class I carriers pursue higher profits under the guise of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR).”
“While train length has continued to grow, the carriers have failed to provide any additional training to engineers regarding how to properly handle these ‘monstrous’ trains,” wrote Hall, who acknowledged the FRA’s April 11 Safety Advisory, instructing the Class I carriers to reexamine the issue of train length, but said it “doesn’t go far enough.” Hall is now urging the FRA to “act before it’s too late.”
“While placing a Safety Advisory can shine the necessary light on a safety problem, it cannot address the risks that have been added to the railroad industry due to very long trains,” wrote Hall. “States are seeking legislative action to address the issue, as well. This is taking more time than safety will allow. A regulatory standard is needed, but those take a very long time. For this reason, we are requesting an Emergency Order. BLET is also providing a copy of this letter to all Class I rail carriers requesting that they take immediate voluntary action to address the absence of a regulatory standard by adding a maximum train length of 7,500 feet to all trains operated. We do not want to wait until the next rail catastrophe to act.”
AAR’s Jefferies: ‘There is No Emergency’
Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ian Jefferies responded to the BLET letter urging the FRA to issue an emergency order over addressing train lengths that exceed 7,500 feet with his own letter to FRA Administrator Amit Bose stating that “there is no emergency.”
“Railroads have safely operated millions of trains in excess of 7,500 feet over the last eight decades. Experience shows that these trains are safe. As such, there is absolutely no safety justification for the extraordinary step of an emergency order,” wrote Jefferies.
In his letter (download below), Jefferies provided examples of how trains longer than 7,500 feet have been operated safely for decades, over which time, he says, safety has improved.
“Decades of operating trains longer than 7,500 feet firmly support their safety. Taking emergency regulatory action would not improve safety. It would, however, create operational havoc and negatively impact existing customer arrangements. It would also immediately increase both the number of freight trains moving through public and private grade crossings (increasing safety risks) and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from rail operations. Such an extraordinary action is unwarranted, unsupported by any actual data or research, and unwise,” Jefferies concluded.
