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Momentum is a powerful force. Right now, it is on rail labor’s side and our leadership is doing a great job of using it to the advantage of our membership. Monday, May 22, Joe Bennett, general chairperson of GO-851, and Brian Killough, general chairperson of GO-513 announced a tentative agreement with CSX to grant paid sick leave to its members.   

This announcement continues the progress that has been made by their counterpart in the northern region of CSX (GO-49) and by the general committees of Norfolk Southern. Paid sick leave has been the goal of railroaders for generations. It is not only the quality-of-life issue that defines our industry but also a validation of the dignity of our profession. Not only were Brothers Bennett and Killough able to get paid sick leave in this tentative agreement, but they were able to gain traction in several other areas as well.   

The tentative agreement synopsis is as follows:  

  • Provides five paid sick with the option to convert two personal days to paid sick days for conductors and trainmen. 
  • Unused sick days are converted to cash at the end of the year with the option to defer those payments into a 401(k).  
  • Incorporates the current 2023 CSX Revised Attendance Policy (the most lenient policy at CSX in decades) as a component of the CBA and is only subject to amendments under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act.  
  • Allows conductors to carry over up to 100 personal days from year to year rather than carrying over just 30 and losing the rest.  
  • Provides improved work/rest initiatives with the formation of a Joint Labor/Management Committee to implement “Smart Rest” options, which could provide for up to 24 hours off between tours of duty and voluntary rest day schedules.  
  • Reintroduces the safety boots program for trainpersons.  
  • Allows local union officials to be reimbursed for lost earnings when they mark off for vacation scheduling rather than just a basic day’s pay rate.  
  • Permits train service employees, when practicable, to drive themselves or their own crew within defined terminal switching limits under limited conditions.  

“We thank CSX CEO Joseph Hinrichs and Executive Vice President Jamie Boychuk for exhibiting flexibility and working with our union in a collaborative manner in reaching this tentative agreement,” SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson said. “This serves as a vital first step to giving T&E personnel the paid sick time they deserve, and I am hopeful this accommodation will be soon extended to the employees working under the jurisdiction of all other rail carriers.”  

Brother Killough was quick to give credit for this TA coming together to SMART-TD Vice Presidents J.D. (John) Whitaker and Jamie Modesitt.   

“Brother Whitaker did a great job taking the lead on these negotiations, and Joe and I are excited about the end results. Not only did our team put us in a position to get the paid sick time our people need and deserve, but we got CSX to put the attendance policy into the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” Killough said. “That is a way bigger deal than most people realize. They can’t make a unilateral change to the attendance policy if this passes, and you can’t put a price tag on that kind of progress.”  

Bennett also brought the attendance policy up while he was discussing the advantages of this TA.   

“I’ve been working for CSX since 1998, and in the span of my career, they have had 4 or 5 different attendance policies. Each one was worse than the one it replaced,” he said. “Now we put ourselves in a good situation where they can’t just change our lives by simply sending out a system bulletin.”  

Another item in the agreement that both GCs brought up was the reinstatement of the boot program.   

“When CSX stopped providing safety boots for our men and women, it made a statement. It couldn’t have been a big enough expenditure to have made a real difference to them, but the money and implied downgrade in respect meant a lot to our guys,” Bennett said. “Hopefully, CSX agreeing to reinstate the program is just as good of an indicator of what is on the horizon as losing it was.”   

The boot program’s discontinuation was one of the first moves CSX made as E. Hunter Harrison embarked on implementing Precision Scheduled Railroading.  

Both Bennett and Killough went out of their way to point out that this tentative agreement is not written in stone. Bennett wanted it known that “We worked long and hard on forming this agreement and getting our members the paid sick time they obviously deserve, but it is up to individual locals to vote on whether or not this agreement gets ratified.”  

Per the SMART Constitution, each Local chair will be given the opportunity to cast a ballot, and the fate of this agreement will be decided by a simple majority of this vote.   

Both GCs have reached out to the locals they represent and provided the language of the tentative agreement. They are working to schedule conference calls with their local leaders in hopes of answering any questions they might have and ensuring that accurate information is being provided to the crew bases so they can make their decisions based on facts.  

SMART-TD is grateful to the leadership of Brothers Bennett and Killough for getting this agreement to this point. They have not only made us proud but have made strides to improve the lives of the SMART members they serve. We encourage all the members of these two general committees to read the agreement in its entirety and let your voices be heard in your local meetings. This union is in place to represent you. For SMART-TD to function properly, it requires that you take an active role, especially in matters of this level of importance.  

SMART-TD Minnesota State Legislative Director (SLD) Nick Katich along with the Minnesota State Legislative Board are proud to announce that the morning of May 24, Gov. Tim Walz has signed HF 2887, and a two-person crew minimum for freight trains is now officially the law of the land in the state. 

The massive transportation omnibus bill was passed by the state Legislature May 21st and, along with the minimum crew size provision mandating a crew of two, has infrastructure dollars to bring many more railroad jobs in passenger service to Minnesota.

“The Minnesota Legislative Board began working on minimum crew size in 2015,” Katich said. “At that time, Phil Qualy was director, and I was his assistant. We passed it in the House once and the Senate once, but never together.” Katich was elected in May 2020 after Qualy’s retirement and continued the fight.

The 2023 legislative session in Minnesota has been very fast-paced and intense. Minimum crew size began as its own bill in the Senate with a companion in the House. It was heard and passed through all committees with the railroads very actively opposing it.

“It was difficult when the railroads were testifying to keep a straight face,” commented Katich. “Some of their claims were so false or misleading it would make you sick. Our job was to help the lawmakers see through the smokescreen and we did just that.”

While the stand-alone bills made it back to the floor of both chambers, time was running out to act on them individually, so the decision was made to include the policy in the omnibus bill.

“Our motto with this legislature has been ‘Take yes for an answer,’” Katich said. “Whatever keeps us moving forward.”

In addition to minimum crew size, rail labor chalked up some other wins too. The Northern Lights Express, Amtrak’s passenger service between Duluth and Minneapolis, has been fully funded at $194.7 million. This allows access to matching funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and means more work opportunities for our members. Two more state rail safety inspectors, additional funding for passenger rail corridor studies and railroad-provided first responder training are also included.

“We all need to thank our bill’s chief authors, Sen. Jen McEwen (Dist. 8) and Rep. Jeff Brand (Dist. 18A), as well as Transportation Committee Chairs Sen. Scott Dibble (Dist. 61) and Rep. Frank Hornstein (Dist. 61A) for guiding our legislation over the finish line. Their fierce advocacy for rail labor will not be forgotten.

“I would like to personally thank the Minnesota Legislative Board for their unwavering support and confidence, the local officers who volunteered to pitch in, and the members and retirees for keeping track and sending encouragement. I would also add that I would like to thank our friends in the Minnesota AFL-CIO. They had our backs and watched for the railroad lobbyists lurking around where they shouldn’t be.”

Minnesota becomes the third state this year to require two on a crew, following Ohio and Kansas.

SMART-TD would like to congratulate SLD Katich and his team on a job very well done, and we would like to point out that this is the first year of this biennium and we are all excited to see what comes out of year two!

On April 26, the Federal Transportation Agency (FTA) posted a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding public transportation agency safety plans. The agency is seeking feedback and suggestions from bus employees and other interested parties on what changes federal overseers can make in public transportation that would result in safety improvements for bus operators, riders and pedestrians alike.

The SMART Transportation Division intends to file a public comment on behalf of our bus members. We need our members in bus service to help us tell your story. The stakes get no higher than keeping you and your riders safe. We hope all our bus members take the time to consider and share what changes in regulations, training, maintenance practices and bus design would be most vital in keeping you as safe as possible as you do your incredibly valuable work.

SMART-TD’s National Legislative Department is working with both vice presidents of the Bus Department to build the best argument possible; however, SMART-TD is fully aware that you are ultimately the experts on this topic, and we are asking for your input and ideas on this project.

Topics currently being considered for inclusion in our NPRM response include the items listed below. These topics have not been decided on at this point and are in no way ordered by priority.

Pedestrian Safety

  • Changing the rearview mirror and camera placement to eliminate blind spots;
  • Addressing windshield design;
  • Addressing fare box placement to get them out of the operator’s line of sight;
  • Audible announcements telling pedestrians the bus is turning and in which direction.

Operator Safety

  • Mandating the installation of driver barriers that do not have access points allowing riders to physically touch operators;
  • Having doors built into the left side of the bus allowing the operator to exit the bus separate from the riders;
  • Disallow transit companies from disciplining operators for leaving their seats in the case of an emergency or in the use of their de-escalation training;
  • Additional de-escalation training;
  • Two-way radios;
  • Silent alarms;
  • Public Address posters in the cab of all public transit vehicles describing elevated criminal penalties for assaulting transit workers.

Rider Safety

  • Passenger education ad campaigns;
  • Announcements over loudspeakers at bus terminals;
  • Transit police funding for both large- and mid-sized markets;
  • Rider ambassador programs;
  • “Call 9-1-1” alerts to be displayed on destination or next stop signs.

Mechanics’ Safety

  • Training and certification in repairing electric and alternative fuel buses safely;
  • Federal intervention on bus manufacturers voiding warranties when our mechanics make repairs.

Public Policy

  • Increased federal penalties for assaults on transit workers;
  • Federal requirements for all bus carriers to report rider incidents reported by operators, and FTA compiling these into reports made available at regular intervals.

Health Safety

  • Cashless fares;
  • Mask mandates.

If you would like to contribute additional topics for us to consider, please reach out to SMART-TD Government Affairs Representative Dan Banks by June 2. He can be reached by email at dbanks@smart-union.org, or by phone at (216) 227-5450. Please engage in this process and allow SMART-TD to fight for you armed with the best information and ideas possible.

Each year, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) prepares a Form BA-6, Certificate of Service Months and Compensation, for every railroad employee with creditable railroad compensation in the previous calendar year. The RRB will mail the forms to employees during the first half of June. Anyone with compensation reported in 2022 who has not received Form BA-6 by July 1, or who needs a replacement, should contact an RRB field office by calling toll-free at 1-877-772-5772. A statement can also be requested online by clicking the “Request Documents” button at RRB.gov/myRRB, or by using the toll-free number’s automated menu at the end of the recorded greeting to request a statement of service months and compensation.

Form BA-6 provides employees with a record of their Railroad Retirement service and compensation. The information shown is used to determine whether an employee qualifies for benefits and the amount of those benefits; therefore, it is important that employees review their Form BA-6 to see whether their own records of service months and creditable compensation agree with the form.

When reviewing the 2022 compensation total, employees should be aware that only annual earnings up to $147,000 are creditable for Railroad Retirement purposes in that year, and that $147,000 is the maximum amount shown on the form. In addition, the form shows service credited on a month-by-month basis for 2021, 2020, and 2019, when the maximum creditable compensation was $142,800, $137,700, and $132,900, respectively. The BA-6 also lists the employer(s) reporting the employee’s 2022 service and compensation.

Besides the months of service reported by employers, Form BA-6 shows the number of any additional service months deemed by the RRB. Deemed service months may be credited under certain conditions to an employee who did not work in all 12 months of the year, but had creditable Tier II earnings exceeding the monthly proration of the creditable Tier II earnings maximum for the year. However, the total reported and deemed service months may never exceed 12 in a calendar year, and no service months (reported or deemed) can be credited after retirement, severance, resignation, discharge or death.

The BA-6 form also indicates the number of months of verified military service creditable as service under the Railroad Retirement Act if the service was previously reported to the RRB. Employees are encouraged to submit proofs of age and/or military service in advance of their actual retirement. Filing these proofs with the RRB in advance will streamline the benefit application process and help prevent payment delays.

For employees who received separation or severance payments, the section of the form designated “Taxable Amount” shows the amounts of separation allowance or severance payments that were subject to Railroad Retirement Tier II taxes. This information is shown on the form because a lump sum, approximating part or all of the Tier II taxes deducted from such payments made after 1984, which did not provide additional Tier II credits, may be payable by the RRB upon retirement to qualified employees or to survivors if the employee dies before retirement. The amount of an allowance included in an employee’s regular compensation is shown under “Compensation Amount.”

Form BA-6 also shows, in the section designated “Employee Contributions,” the cumulative amount of Tier II Railroad Retirement payroll taxes paid by the employee over and above Tier I Social Security equivalent payroll taxes. While the RRB does not collect or maintain payroll tax information, the agency computes this amount from its compensation records in order to advise retired employees of their payroll tax contributions for federal income tax purposes.

In the lower-right corner of the form, there is a field that indicates if the employee is eligible to claim unemployment or sickness benefits. The RRB provides detailed instructions for reviewing the form on the agency website at RRB.gov/BA6.

There are instructions on the back of the form and the web page on how to file a protest if service and compensation totals are incorrect. The law limits to four years the period during which corrections to service and compensation amounts can be made. Also, if personal information is incorrect or incomplete, such as the name, birthdate, or address, the employee should contact an RRB field office to have it corrected. For most people, the address of the RRB office serving their area is provided on the form along with the RRB’s nationwide toll-free number (1-877-772-5772).

With daily headlines nationwide about railroad safety legislation, it has come to feel like every day is “Railroad Day on the Hill.” However, the event is formally held once a year on the legislative calendar for representatives from rail unions and rail carriers alike to descend on D.C. to discuss the issues that face our industry.

Members of the SMART Transportation Division contingent, including Alt. National Legislative Director Jared Cassity and Vice President Chad Adams, meet with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (front, right) on May 17 in Washington, D.C.

Under normal circumstances, building relationships with the 535 members of Congress falls on SMART-TD’s staff of three in our Washington D.C. National Legislative Department, but on May 17th’s Railroad Safety Day, plenty of reinforcements within our union marched forth to lead the effort with other labor groups.

This support came in the form of 35 men and women representing 15 different states. State legislative directors, vice state legislative directors, general chairpersons, local legislative reps and state legislative vice chairs from across the country answered the call to help SMART-TD National Legislative Director Greg Hynes, Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity and Legislative Department Chief of Staff, Jenny Miller educate our nation’s lawmakers on rail safety.

This formidable group of SMART-TD representatives was not in D.C. as tourists. Between the group of attendees, they held over 100 meetings with legislators sharing the gospel of the Railway Safety Act of 2023, shorter trains, increased quality of life and better safety inspections of rolling stock with any Congress member or staffer willing to listen.

Arizona State Legislative Director Scott Jones (right) meets with U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton on May 17.
Arizona State Legislative Director Scott Jones (left) meets with U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on May 17.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses a rally for paid sick leave for U.S. workers Wednesday, May 18, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

In addition to holding this important series of meetings and reaching out to over 100 members of the House and Senate, SMART-TD representatives attended a press conference in support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as he announced his legislation known as the Healthy Families Act. This legislation includes provisions ensuring that every company with over 100 employees provides a minimum of 7 paid sick days to its employees. This bill has language in it that speaks directly to railroad companies.

This bill indicates the progress our union made in the 2022 national contract negotiations. In December 2022, Sanders pushed for similar legislation that was strictly aimed at railroaders and though it won a majority of votes in both the House and Senate, it failed to get the 60 votes it needed to carry a filibuster-proof supermajority and make it to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming (left), U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, SMART-Td Wyoming State Legislative Director April Ford and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis meet on Railroad Safety Day May 18, 2023.
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming (left), U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, SMART-TD Wyoming State Legislative Director April Ford and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis meet on Railroad Safety Day May 18, 2023.

With the ramifications of this bill’s success weighing heavily on the quality-of-life improvements that SMART-TD continues to seek for our members, Sen. Sanders reached out to SMART’s Legislative Department and made a point of inviting our representatives to his press conference.

Following the successes of the day’s events, NLD Hynes expressed his gratitude to the army of SMART-TD leaders who made the trip.

“These men and women went above and beyond the call of duty to be here today, and because of them, we had a fantastic show of force in the halls of Congress. The validity of our issues speaks for itself, but when leaders from these different states show up to meet with their congressional and senate delegations it makes an impact on these lawmakers,” he said. “They hear from Jared Cassity and me all the time, but when someone from home comes to meet with them in D.C., it puts a face to our issues in a unique way.

“I want to thank each and every one of them for making the effort to come out this year, and with your help, we will deliver on the promise of the Railway Safety Act, the REEF Act, and all the issues that speak to the quality of life our members deserve and the dignity of the work they do each day.”

New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol (left), U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (center) and N.J. Legislative Vice Chairperson Joseph Williams meet on May 17 in Washington, D.C.
New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol (left), U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (center) and N.J. Legislative Vice Chairperson Joseph Williams meet on May 17 in Washington, D.C.
Michigan State Legislative Director Don Roach (left) meets U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens on May 17. At right of Stevens are Scott Hoose and Owen Smith.
Michigan State Legislative Director Don Roach (left) meets U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens on May 17. At right of Stevens are Scott Hoose and Owen Smith.
SMART Transpotration Division California Assistant State Legislative Director Scott Brent (Local 1202), U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA-8th District) and TD California State Legislative Director Louis Costa meet in Garamendi's office on May 16.
SMART Transpotration Division California Assistant State Legislative Director Scott Brent (Local 1202), U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA-8th District) and TD California State Legislative Director Louis Costa meet in Garamendi’s office on May 16.

As kids all over the world know, railroaders tend to work “all the live-long day.” This is baked into the cake and explained at hiring sessions of all the major railroads, but the hours-of-service (HOS) laws in place say, in no uncertain terms, that 12 hours is the extent of how long rail workers are supposed to be on duty.  

The first time the federal government limited the consecutive hours at work on a train or asset(s) for a railroad transportation employee was in 1907 when they set the mark at 16 hours. It has since evolved into the 12 hours that all of us in railroading are familiar with today.  

Though the intention of the HOS laws is that a rail crew is supposed to be entirely relieved of duty by the 12-hour mark and on their way home or to away-from-home lodging, we all know that is not how it plays out. Often, crews stop their train at the 12-hour mark and spend additional hours waiting on a recrew or transport.  

The carriers expect their transportation employees to skirt these federal laws. When crew members mark off time tickets, there is a mechanism to report to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that HOS have been exceeded. Unfortunately, self-reporting these violations to the carriers and FRA has not changed the reality on the ground.  

SMART-TD’s National Legislative Department is asking for all rail members to help us bring this quality-of-life issue into a better light. 

Today we are announcing that an Hours-of-Service Violation Report has been added to the SMART Union website. This new report can be accessed from the “Get Involved” menu on the home page of the website by clicking “Report a Worksite Issue.”  It is our intention and goal to use the data we collect from you to inform regulators, as well as congressional members, about the frequency and magnitude of these federal violations.  

SMART-TD’s leadership is very aware that after a criminally long day of work, no one looks forward to filling out long paperwork. We kept that in mind when we put together the form. It is short and won’t take longer than a minute or two to fill out. There is also a tutorial available that will hopefully answer any questions you might have. 

In the spirit of being user-friendly, the Technology Event and Safety Condition Reports that are available on the app have been streamlined as well. All three are pivotal to SMART-TD’s ability to represent you in the manner you deserve and they play a large role in our government affairs strategy.

The information we are trying to gather will only be effective if we consistently hear from our outlawed crews across all carriers about HOS violations. Please make your voice known and help us represent your interests in the halls of Congress and to hold carriers accountable now, and into the future.  

Information gathered on the SMART website and via any links on the SMART app is solely visible to SMART-TD and the details on the forms we receive (including the names of who reported) will not be given to carriers.  

PLEASE be a part of the solution to this problem. SMART-TD looks forward to working with you to help bring this abuse to an end. 

A CSX locomotive operated by a two-person crew powers a train with a mix of freight and tanker cars.

New rail safety rules mandate two-person crews for freight trains traveling in Ohio and require wayside defect detectors be installed 10-15 miles apart.

In 1993, newly elected President Bill Clinton was taking the reins from George H.W. Bush. “Home Improvement,” “Murphy Brown,” and “Murder, She Wrote” were winning the ratings war in American broadcast television (streaming hadn’t been invented yet), and the state of Ohio had passed its most-recent rail safety legislation.

The worlds of politics, entertainment, and railroading have changed dramatically in the 30 years since. On Ohio’s transportation front, freight carrier Conrail has been split among Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation, trains have tripled in length/tonnage, and technology has revamped every conceivable aspect of the industry, yet the Ohio legislative body has seen zero reason to adapt with the times … until today.

On March 31, Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law House Bill 23 (H.B. 23), which is the state’s transportation budget. This budget included in it two items known as the Ohio Rail Safety Bill with a two-person crew minimum for all freight trains traveling inside Ohio, as well as verbiage that regulates the use of wayside-defect detector technology in the Buckeye State.

WATCH: SMART-TD Ohio State Legislative Director Clyde Whitaker testified about rail safety issues before a U.S. Senate committee in March 2023.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the hard work and dedication of SMART Transportation Division Ohio State Legislative Director Clyde Whitaker that got these two common-sense rail-safety legislative components across the finish line. As we are all aware, the Feb. 2 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine near the Pennsylvania border and the industry scrutiny that followed played a large role in forcing state leaders to do some overdue soul searching about safeguarding the state’s communities from the greed of the nation’s rail carriers.

“I’m glad lawmakers placed party politics aside and worked together for the greater good, as the government should. These bipartisan efforts have placed safety above the false narratives of the railroads,” Whitaker said. “Safety of our members in the locomotive cab is now intact, and the public will be much safer going forward. Though a major victory, we do have a lot more to accomplish in Ohio.”

That being said, this legislative victory didn’t occur solely because of what happened in East Palestine. By the time the state and national media turned their attention to Ohio’s railroads, Brother Whitaker had already done the work of preparing the legislation and had built relationships in the state’s Legislature that were required to seize the momentum created by the derailment. Whitaker had also filed complaints with the Federal Railroad Administration months prior to the derailment, citing Norfolk Southern’s tendency to override alerts from defect detectors in order to keep freight moving. The fact that he had identified the problem prior to it leading to the disaster, gave all of his information and arguments about the Ohio Rail Safety Bill additional credence.

Whitaker had also filed complaints with the Federal Railroad Administration months prior to the derailment, citing Norfolk Southern’s tendency to override alerts from defect detectors in order to keep freight moving.

Whitaker and his team knew it was the right time to bring substantive changes in Ohio laws that would help protect our members and the general public for years to come, continuing to solidify bipartisan coalitions in both the Ohio House and Senate and going toe to toe with the rail lobbyists who were sent to Columbus to do the bidding of the carriers.

But Whitaker didn’t do it alone — this accomplishment came as a result of work done both in the present and the groundwork laid by the hard work of prior State Legislative Board officers and SMART-TD members alike, who got the word out to their state legislators that the legislation was necessary.

“I believe in giving credit, where credit is due,” Whitaker said. “Stu Gardner, our former director who is now retired, helped lay the groundwork in this battle, and I’m thankful he had faith in me to finish leading the charge.”

In the end, SLD Whitaker, SMART-TD, railroad workers, railroad families and common sense came out with a hard-fought victory. 

On behalf of our members, and the members of every community the railroads roll through each day, SMART- TD would like to thank Gov. DeWine for his leadership on rail safety issues not only in Ohio but also on a national stage.

We would also like to thank the Ohio legislators and their staffs for their diligence and hard work on getting the legislation to the governor’s desk. SMART-TD is proud of the unbelievable work and professionalism we have seen from SLD Whitaker and the State Legislative Board as they shepherded the legislation through the legislative process, and most of all we want to thank all the conductors and SMART engineers who grind every day to move Ohio’s freight and protect its people by ensuring safe and effective rail operation.

Freight rail safety in the news

By a 19-2 vote, the Pennsylvania House Consumer Protection, Technologies and Utilities Committee advanced its comprehensive rail safety bill, H.B. 1028, out of committee May 3.

“This is a starting point,” said Republican Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Marshall (District 14) about the legislation. “This is an all-in approach.”

Democratic Committee Chairman Rep. Robert F. Matzie (District 16) was the primary sponsor of the legislation introduced April 25 that covers train length, two-person crews and wayside detectors.

““This is a unique situation relative to the severity of what happened in East Palestine, Ohio,” Matzie said before the bill’s passage through the committee. “We believe that rail safety does give us the purview to act. We believe time is of the essence. We don’t need another tragedy.”

H.B. 1028:

  • Fines carriers $10,000 for blocking rail crossings for more than five minutes.
  • Limits train lengths to 8,500 feet.
  • Permits rail labor representatives to have an active, participatory role while the state investigates rail safety matters.
  • Requires a two-person crew aboard freight trains and fines carriers who violate the provision.
  • Authorizes the state to inspect to ensure the functionality of wayside detectors in the state.
  • Authorizes a state study of hazmat/waste transport.
  • Create a reporting system when carriers operating trains carrying hazmat/waste report these to the state.

SMART Transportation Division Pennsylvania State Legislative Director Paul Pokrowka has been working for years to advocate for rail safety and to get similar legislation across the finish line.

“The incident February just across the border from our state in East Palestine brought attention nationwide to the importance of railroad safety,” he said. “Legislators in Pennsylvania have taken notice and have decided to do something about it. We appreciate their support and look to advance this legislation out of committee and into the full House and beyond — we thank Rep. Matzie and his staff very much for their help in advocating for H.B. 1028.”

Reps. Natalie Mihalek and Ryan Warner, both in the committee’s nine-member Republican minority, were the two votes against the bill’s advancement.

Neighboring Ohio had rail-safety legislation governing wayside detectors and crew size signed into law in late March.

Read the bill.

Looking to follow in the footsteps of Ohio, Pennsylvania’s Legislature has before it a comprehensive rail safety bill covering train length, two-person crews and wayside detectors.

H.B. 1028 was introduced by 24 representatives April 25 with the House Consumer Protection, Technologies and Utilities Committee scheduled to vote upon the bill on Wednesday, May 3.

Chairman Robert F. Matzie (District 16) was the primary sponsor, which has, among its provisions:

  • Fines carriers $10,000 for blocking rail crossings for more than five minutes.
  • Limits train lengths to 8,500 feet.
  • Permits rail labor representatives to have an active, participatory role while the state investigates rail safety matters.
  • Requires a two-person aboard freight trains and fines carriers who violate the provision.
  • Authorizes the state to inspect to ensure the functionality of wayside detectors in the state.
  • Authorizes a state study of hazmat/waste transport.
  • Create a reporting system when carriers operating trains carrying hazmat/waste report these to the state.

SMART Transportation Division Pennsylvania State Legislative Director Paul Pokrowka has been working for years to advocate for rail safety and get legislation across the finish line.

“The incident February just across the border from our state in East Palestine brought attention nationwide to the importance of railroad safety,” he said. “Legislators in Pennsylvania have taken notice and have decided to do something about it. We appreciate their support and look to advance this legislation out of committee and into the full House and beyond — we thank Rep. Matzie and his staff very much for their help in advocating for H.B. 1028.”

Read the bill.