FRA Picked a Side. And It's Not Railroaders or Rail Safety

Railroaders and the public have been hit with a harsh reality this week. FRA is no longer on our side, and they aren't even pretending to be a neutral party anymore. We all need to stop pretending. After what we saw this week, there's no gray area left. The FRA and DOT have abandoned their role as neutral referees and are no longer here to balance safety and business.

The FRA picked a side, and they are 100% on team Corporate Railroads

In the last 48 hours, the FRA dropped 11 final rules that make one thing clear: they are clearing the path for the railroads to do whatever they want, free of guidance and oversight, with hardly any consequences and even fewer workers. You don't need to read between the lines to see this reality. It isn't subtle. FRA is telling SMART-TD and every railroader that the risk to your well-being is worth it for the carriers' profit.

FRA Administrator Tells the World What He Thinks of Us

At a DOT technology event hosted at DOT headquarters on Tuesday, April 28, FRA Administrator David Fink made it as clear as possible that the goal is to push new tech out "as soon as practical." According to a report from Bloomberg, it includes autonomous railcars, additional AI monitoring of employees, and systems designed to cut crews out of the picture altogether. SMART-TD was invited but did not attend the party.

The event was a showcase of a future where railroads run with fewer people, less accountability, and more risk pushed onto whoever's left standing and the American Public. Our protest of the FRA's event wasn't about being against technology. It's about what happens when you take trained railroaders out of the equation.

During his speech, Fink (who not surprisingly was a railroad CEO) specifically pointed to Parallel Systems (a company actively working to operate freight trains without human crews) as the kind of innovation they want to move forward with. Let's connect the dots. They're rolling back the rules that protect us, while fast-tracking the technology most likely to replace us.

The FRA isn't pretending to balance safety and industry anymore. They're helping the industry overcome its biggest obstacle: dealing with a trained workforce and following the rules and regulations that protect it. We are now living this reality.

The railroads don't want to train us. They don't want to pay us. And they definitely don't want to be held accountable to keep us safe at work.