The ongoing debate surrounding the deployment of longer trains by Class I railroads persists, with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) making a recent plea to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). They are urging the FRA to issue an immediate order restricting the maximum length of freight trains to 7,500 feet.
In a letter addressed to FRA Administrator Amit Bose, signed by BLET President Eddie Hall and dated October 9, the BLET emphasizes the need for an emergency order due to the prolonged process of establishing a regulatory standard.
The union holds a crucial need to set train length limits, as not all locomotive engineers possess the necessary training or experience to handle longer trains, which can exert more significant in-train forces than shorter ones. Additionally, the existing rail infrastructure may not always be equipped to accommodate these extended train lengths.
Hall also referenced two safety advisories issued by the FRA in February and April, which underscored the potential role of train composition in recent train accidents.
“With train length continuing to expand, the Carriers have implemented the train length growth without training locomotive engineers to handle these monstrous trains properly,” Hall said. “Class I Railroads have failed to consider route infrastructure, e.g., passing sidings, crossings at grade, cross-over switches, and public interactions (such as proximity to schools and hospitals) when building and dispatching very long trains. This was never an issue with trains within the 7,500-foot length.”
Furthermore, the BLET disclosed that copies of their letter have been dispatched to all Class I railroads, urging them to voluntarily curtail their train lengths without a formal regulatory standard.
The union attributes the rise of longer trains to the adoption of precision scheduled railroading, an operational strategy aimed at streamlining rail operations.
“Now, very long trains are the ‘new normal.’ Best practices do not exist,” Hall said. “The railroads have responded by simply adding more distributed power locomotives (“DPU”), but this does not solve any problems of very long trains … When trains are excessively long, train engineers are unable to adjust their operations to accommodate for terrain, which can mask where in-train forces are occurring throughout the train.”
On the other hand, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), representing the Class I railroads, has asserted that the industry has developed training programs and technological solutions to address operational challenges posed by longer trains. They also highlight an improvement in the industry’s safety record, with the mainline accident rate decreasing by 44% since 2000. Some critics argue that regulating train lengths might lead to an increase in shorter trains obstructing rail crossings at a higher frequency.
Meanwhile, regulatory considerations regarding the length of freight trains remain pending before the FRA. The agency recently concluded a comment period regarding the collection of monthly data from freight railroads on train lengths and weights.
Source: Freightwaves
