Railroads, union clash over use of track inspection technology

U.S. freight railroads want to know why the Federal Railroad Administration appears to be halting the use of safety technology that has been successfully piloted among six Class I railroads.

But union members argue that the technology doesn’t cover all the elements of a track inspection.  The technology is using enhanced track geometry as part of a broader automated track

inspection program to detect defects in the rail track that the human eye can’t see.  All of the Class I railroads, except Kansas City Southern, were granted permission from the Federal

Railroad Administration (FRA) to deploy pilot programs testing the technology. But FRA in recent months denied Norfolk Southern’s request to continue its pilot program after its expiration

date, and the federal agency also declined to approve BNSF’s request to extend the program to two additional territories. That caused BNSF to sue FRA in federal court in April over the

denial. “To make us even safer, the solution is going to be in technology and being able to use various technological ways of inspecting equipment in particular, versus visual inspections,

to get to a better place,” said Michael J. Rush, senior vice president for safety and operations for the Association of American Railroads. We’re in a good place now, but we always strive to

be better. And technology is really the answer.” TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE... ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN IN CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT No payment required NEED HELP? CONTACT US