SMART Transportation Division

Labor groups praise bill’s contents but key freight rail group is “disappointed.”

The groups want the Federal Railroad Administration to ensure that railroads’ requests to waive certain regulations stem from a true labor shortage.

The railroads say the union refuses to negotiate on train crew size as both sides prepare for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Should the Class I railroads see U.S. rail volumes sustainably increase, furloughed workers could be called back to meet network capacity needs, resulting in a bump up of headcount levels. But another factor that could affect headcount levels in the long-term is the deployment of automation technologies.