BNSF has gone to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) asking for a waiver that should set off alarms for every yard employee working Remote Control Operations (RCO).
What BNSF is Asking For
In Docket No. FRA-2025-0687, BNSF is asking FRA to let them change when we are required to perform a conditioning run of the Remote Control Pullback Protection system, AKA run our zone. Right now, the rule is clear: you run the zone at the first practical time after the start of your shift. That conditioning run verifies that the pullback system will actually stop the movement and that the protected zone is set up the way it’s supposed to be.
BNSF wants to roll that requirement back so it happens whenever it is convenient for them. They’re saying that changing the timing will “promote greater utilization” of pullback protection and improve safety.
That’s backwards.
Why Running Our Zone Matters
A safety system that isn’t verified at the start of a shift is not a safeguard. It’s a gamble. Rail yards are dynamic environments. Switches get thrown. Cars get shoved. Maintenance happens. Conditions change constantly. The conditioning run forces us to eliminate assumptions before those assumptions kill somebody.
Retread On Bad Tires
As crazy as this sounds to those of us who have run RCO box jobs, BNSF isn’t the first to try this.
In 2017, Union Pacific asked FRA for essentially the same waiver. It was denied. FRA’s Railroad Safety Board decided it was “not in the public interest and not consistent with railroad safety.”
SMART-TD told the FRA that its statement remains true in 2026. We told them this waiver does not provide an equivalent level of safety, and we reminded them of the precedent the first Trump Administration’s FRA set with the 2017 denial of UP’s attempt.
Yard Foreman Safety Is Not Optional
When a pullback system fails, when a shove goes wrong, when equipment ends up on the ground, it’s not the BNSF executives getting hurt or fired.
It’s us.
SMART News will keep you informed when FRA puts out its final decision on this ridiculous waiver request from BNSF.
To read SMART-TD’s comments to the FRA on this waiver, you can follow this link. ►
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