AAR seeks waiver of compliance for FRA's close-call reporting reg

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) last week petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain safety provisions involving the FRA's Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) program. 

The C3RS program would encourage certified dispatchers to report close calls and protect the employees and the member railroads from discipline or sanctions arising from the incidents reported per the C3RS implementing memorandum of understanding (IMOU) between the FRA, railroads and labor unions that have agreed to participate in the program.

On behalf of its members, the AAR is petitioning to shield member railroads' reporting employees from certain mandatory punitive sanctions that would otherwise arise as reported in parts of the regulation, according to a filing published Oct. 3 in the Federal Register.

Interested parties are invited to submit data or written comments. FRA does not anticipate scheduling a public hearing on the matter, according to the notice.

If any interested parties want an opportunity for oral comment and a public hearing, they should notify FRA, in writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for their request. Communications are due Dec. 2.

FRA partners with NASA to operate C3RS as an independent third party. The program informs corrective actions that mitigate hazards and shares data and analyses conducted by NASA under C3RS with the railroad industry, which ultimately improves rail safety, according to FRA officials.

BNSF Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Railway are among the railroads that have joined the program. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called on all Class Is to enroll in the system after an NS train derailed last year in East Palestine, Ohio.