By Frank N. Wilner, Capitol Hill Contributing Editor; May 23, 2019
News item: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced May 23 that it is cancelling an April 2014 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to mandate a minimum of two crewmembers on every freight train. Additionally, the agency is preempting, as it may under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution giving the federal government dominion over interstate commerce, all state laws mandating crew size within state borders.
The April 2014 NPRM originated with former FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo, a career officer of the union representing conductors—the Transportation Division of the International Association Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD), which succeeded the United Transportation Union. It is the conductor who faces elimination were crew size reduced to one; thus, the effort to mandate minimum crew size.