Feds Propose Two Crew Member Minimum On Trains, Irking Rail Industry And Drawing Praise From Safety Advocates

International Business Times discusses the Federal Railroad Administrations regulation that undermines technology. 

Marc Scribner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, agreed the newly proposed crew mandate makes little sense in light of the shift toward automation. Regulators are “trying to have it both ways,” he said. “After you’ve spent billions installing this new technology, we’re not going to let you use it to full capacity.”

While the compliance costs may be negligible today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Scribner said a two-member mandate impedes the industry’s future technological progress. “It harms innovation,” he said. “These costs start accruing in the future when positive train control is up and running and you see [other] new locomotive technologies.”

He added: “Railroads want some day to be able to operate single-member crews everywhere and eventually even fully automated trains. Obviously, the unions don’t like this.”

Read the full article at International Business Times.