Kansas became the 10th state in the nation Wednesday to require two-person railroad crews despite objections from freight railroads, but the industry may challenge the rule in court as it has in other states like Ohio. The major freight railroads have long pushed to cut crews down to one person, but unions have resisted because they believe it’s safer to have two people working together to operate trains. Gov.
The railroad industry maintains there isn't enough evidence to show that two-person crews are safer and many short-line railroads already operate with a single person aboard. 'Regulatory efforts to mandate crew staffing such as the latest in Kansas lack a safety justification,' said spokesperson Jessica Kahanek with the Association of American Railroads trade group.
The other states that have rules requiring two-person crews on the books are California, Wisconsin, Arizona, West Virginia. Minnesota, Washington, Nevada and Colorado. Those state regulations could be unnecessary if the Federal Railroad Administration approves a proposed rule to require two-person crews or if a package of rail safety reforms proposed in Congress that includes that requirement is approved.
Kahanek, the industry spokesperson, said the railroads believe crew size should be determined by contract negotiations with the unions — not by regulations. Union Pacific is in the process of testing out how quickly a conductor in a truck can respond to problems on a train compared to the conductor aboard the locomotive, although the railroad is still maintaining two people at the controls of its trains during the test.
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