Norfolk Southern, FRA, rail unions sign C3RS safety agreement

Norfolk Southern Railway, the Federal Railroad Administration and labor leaders from two rail unions yesterday signed an agreement to jointly participate in the FRA's Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS).

To date, NS is the only Class I participant in the program, which the railroad committed to in 2023 after an NS train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. After the derailment, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called on all Class Is to join the FRA's C3RS to help improve rail transportation safety.

The two unions involved in the pilot program with NS are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD).

Yesterday's signing ceremony took place at the U.S. Department of Transportation's Atlanta office. As part of the one-year pilot program, covered NS employees can report safety concerns confidentially. NS workers in Atlanta; Elkhart, Indiana; and Roanoke, Virginia, will participate in the pilot.

Reports will be reviewed by a joint committee including NS and labor representatives who will identify and implement safety improvements with the FRA's guidance, NS officials said in a press release.