OMAHA, Neb. — An appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s decision to drop a proposal to require at least two crew members on freight trains, a plan that was drafted after several fiery crude oil train derailments.
The ruling Tuesday from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will likely make it harder for the railroad industry to reduce the number of crew members in most trains from two to one. It opens the door for states to require two-man crews on freight trains that haul crude oil, ethanol and other hazardous commodities.
The court ruled that the Federal Railroad Administration acted arbitrarily when it dropped the safety measure President Barack Obama’s administration drafted in response to explosions of crude oil trains in the United States and Canada. The agency said in 2019 that safety data didn’t support requiring two-man crews on all freight trains.
The 2016 proposal followed oil train derailments including a runaway oil train in 2013 that derailed, exploded and killed 47 people while levelling much of the town of Lac Megantic in Quebec. Other derailments of trains carrying oil and ethanol have occurred in North Dakota, Oregon, Montana, Illinois, Virginia and other states.
Two-person crews are generally the norm in the industry, but freight railroads have proposed cutting that to one in contract talks now that railroads nationwide have installed an automatic braking system.
A Federal Railroad Administration spokeswoman declined to comment while the agency is reviewing the court’s ruling.
The Association of American Railroads trade group said the ruling would hamstring the industry’s efforts to increase automation, and it is evaluating whether to appeal.