Bill Text: NJ AR195 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the Federal Railroad Administration to stop Class I freight railroads from using precision-scheduled railroading.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-11-20 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [AR195 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-AR195-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Federal Railroad Administration to stop Class I freight railroads from using precision-scheduled railroading.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the Federal Railroad Administration to stop Class I freight railroads from using precision-scheduled railroading.
Whereas, Under the Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) oversees the safety of the United States railroad system, including the freight rail industry; and
Whereas, A Class I freight railroad is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of $900 million or more after applying a railroad revenue deflator, and there are seven Class I freight railroads in the United States, which make up most of the freight rail industry; and
Whereas, Six of the Class I freight railroads have implemented "precision-scheduled railroading" (PSR), which the railroads consider a strategy intended to increase efficiency and reduce costs; and
Whereas, Alternatively, representatives of railroad stakeholders, employee unions, and shippers associate PSR with reductions in staff, longer trains, and reductions in assets, such as locomotives and railcars; and
Whereas, Although there are federal statutes and FRA regulations governing the safety of railroad operations, there are no federal statutes or FRA regulations governing PSR specifically; and
Whereas, In 2022, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a study to look into the safety of PSR and interviewed representatives from the FRA, Surface Transportation Board (STB), Class I freight railroads, railroad unions, and stakeholders to better understand PSR and its safety concerns; and
Whereas, The GAO found that most Class I freight railroads reduced their numbers of employees and that the largest decrease in employees was among mechanical staff who are responsible for the maintenance of equipment, including railcars and locomotives; and
Whereas, In 2022, all Class I freight railroads ran longer trains, with some train lengths almost doubling in length; and
Whereas, Across all Class I railroads between 2011 and 2021, the number of locomotives in service decreased by approximately five percent and the number of railcars decreased by approximately 32 percent; and
Whereas, The FRA recognizes potential risks associated with the PSR changes and has studied the risks associated with employee fatigue, the brake systems in trains that operate longer rides, and longer trains in general; and
Whereas, The FRA has also conducted engineer and conductor training audits and set out some safety programs but has not set any safety regulations that directly affect PSR; and
Whereas, Although the FRA safety data does not yet show a clear causal relationship between PSR and changes in railroads' train accident and incident rates, the FRA has observed some short-term increases in accident and incident rates at some locations where PSR has been in practice; and
Whereas, The FRA officials continue to analyze safety data and are not ruling out a relationship between PSR and rail safety; and
Whereas, The continued implementation of PSR may lead to safety issues, like faulty locomotives or equipment from the lack of mechanical maintenance staff, which can lead to train derailments, similar to the one in eastern Ohio that devastated the local environment and surrounding areas; and
Whereas, Two Class I freight railroads use railways within this State, and their ability to run safely and efficiently are vital to the safety of the State; and
Whereas, While the FRA continues to investigate the safety risks associated with PSR, Class I freight railroads should pause their use of PSR; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges the Federal Railroad Administration to stop Class I freight railroads from using precision-scheduled railroading.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to stop Class I freight railroads from using precision-scheduled railroading (PSR). PSR is a strategy associated with an increase in efficiency and a decrease in costs. However, many railroad stakeholders and employees associate PSR with safety issues, including employee fatigue and locomotive upkeep. Although the FRA has begun to implement programs to combat some of the anticipated risks of PSR and continues to study the safety of PSR, this resolution urges the FRA to stop the use of PSR by Class I freight railroads.
