Rail Regulators Threaten Innovation with New Mandate

A Federal Railroad Administration hearing today debates whether regulators should require a minimum crew size for rail, as a proposed FRA rule would do. CEI transportation policy expert Marc Scribner says "no."

"The proposed two-person crew rule is a naked attempt by the FRA to codify union featherbedding practices. Not only does the FRA’s arbitrary and capricious rule threaten innovation in the railroad industry, in the long-run it could perversely harm safety as error- and injury-prone humans are forced into the field by federal regulators when available technology makes them, at best, redundant. Administrator Feinberg should do the right thing and discontinue this dangerous rulemaking."

Scribner has previously written about this issue: DOT Compromises Safety and Efficiency for Union Favoritism