BLET, SMART-TD seek two-person train crew laws at state level

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) continue to advance efforts to secure a law mandating a minimum of two crew members in the cab of all locomotives.

The unions recently provided their state legislative boards with model legislation that would secure minimum crew size laws at the state level. The proposed legislation stipulates that any person who willfully violates the two-person crew law would be subject to financial penalties.

Crew size has become a hot-button issue since the 2013 crude-oil train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. While an official cause of the accident has not been determined, the train was operated by a single worker, BLET and SMART-TD said in a prepared statement.

On the national level, the Safe Freight Act (H.R. 3040) is making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would require all trains used in connection with the movement of freight be operated by at least two people, with one being a certified locomotive engineer and the other a certified conductor, pursuant to Federal Railroad Administration regulations.