US Appeals Court Upholds Two-Person Crew Mandate, Dealing Setback to Major Freight Railroads
Published on 08/12/2026 at 06:31 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The legal challenge mounted by six of America's largest freight railroads has collapsed. On August 11, 2026, the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the industry's bid to overturn a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulation requiring at least two crew members aboard freight trains.
Union Pacific and BNSF — the latter owned by Berkshire Hathaway — were among the plaintiffs, joined by two trade associations. Their argument rested on the premise that modern technology had made smaller crews feasible without compromising safety. The court disagreed, affirming the FRA's authority to set minimum staffing standards.
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East Palestine Disaster Shaped the Rule
The regulation traces its origins to a catastrophic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023. That incident galvanised the FRA into action, prompting the agency to mandate a second crew member on locomotives as a safeguard against similar tragedies. The court's ruling now cements that requirement into the operational reality of US freight rail.
Industry lawyers had contended that automation and sensor technology could compensate for reduced human presence. Judicial scrutiny, however, found no basis to second-guess the agency's safety calculus.
Congress Weighs Further Legislation
The judicial decision arrives alongside fresh legislative activity in Washington. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report released on August 10, 2026, examining automation in freight rail operations, catalogues several bills currently under consideration.
Among them, H.R. 8870 would write the two-person crew requirement into permanent statute. A separate measure, H.R. 9409, seeks an outright ban on remote-controlled locomotives operating on main lines. Two additional proposals — H.R. 7784 and S. 3987 — address inspection frequency and procedural standards across the rail network.
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Narrow Exceptions for Autonomous Innovation
The FRA has not closed the door on technological experimentation entirely. In February 2025, the agency granted a waiver to Parallel Systems, a company developing autonomous rail technologies. That carve-out, however, remains the exception rather than the rule.
For now, the judicial system and federal regulators appear aligned in prioritising human oversight over rapid automation. The practical consequence for Union Pacific, BNSF and their peers is straightforward: crew planning must continue to assume a minimum of two people per train, with no immediate prospect of regulatory relief.
