FRA warns Class Is to correct training program deficiencies

The Federal Railroad Administration is warning Class Is that it will take action if they fail to adequately address deficiencies in their training, qualification and certification programs for train crews.

In a Jan. 5 letter to the top executives at the seven Class Is and Association of American Railroads, FRA Administrator Amit Bose noted that some changes made to training, qualification and certification programs have not adequately addressed the deficiencies the agency identified in audits of those programs.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021 requires the FRA to audit the railroads' training programs to determine whether they "provide locomotive engineers and conductors the knowledge, skill and ability to discharge their responsibilities safely — a cornerstone for the safety of rail operations," Bose noted in the letter.

The agency has reviewed several programs submitted by the railroads, and has tried to take a "collaborative approach" by providing detailed comments regarding regulatory compliance, he said.

"Some programs have been reviewed by the FRA several times, and in some cases, the revisions to a program barely made incremental progress toward correcting the deficiencies that FRA took great care detailing in successive letters to the railroad," Bose wrote.

"To encourage full compliance, please be advised that FRA is committed to pursuing enforcement action if a railroad's resubmitted certification program continues to fail to address the deficiencies identified by FRA," he added.

When auditing a railroad’s programs, the FRA will take into account the opportunities it already provided to the railroad to address previously identified deficiencies, Bose said.

"I want to remind the industry that the quality and adequacy of these certification programs are fundamental to ensuring that your operating crews are properly trained to safely perform their assigned duties. This starts with certification programs that clearly meet the minimum training and qualification standards," the letter stated.

A copy of the letter also was sent to the presidents of the SMART Transportation Division and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the unions that represent the railroad employees who are trained under the programs being audited.