Carmen ask the White House to stop a rule that cuts freight car inspections — just months after the President called on Congress to strengthen them.
On October 2, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division (BRC-TCU) submitted a formal filing to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is reviewing a Federal Railroad Administration rule known as “Brakes III.” Our request is simple: send the rule back to the Department of Transportation.
Brakes III would let freight cars travel up to 2,500 miles between brake inspections — two-thirds farther than today’s 1,500-mile limit — and would let railroads shuffle blocks of cars between trains without the inspections that are required today. In exchange for fewer inspections, the railroads get an electronic record. That record tracks who last tested a car and how many miles it has left. It does not find a single defect.
“The President told Congress to pass the Railway Safety Act, and the heart of that bill is better, more frequent freight car inspections by qualified Carmen. Brakes III does the exact opposite. You cannot champion rail safety on one hand and sign off on fewer inspections with the other. We are asking the Administration to send this rule back.” — Don Grissom, General President, Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division
We went and looked. Here is what we found.
In September, BRC Carmen, federal inspectors from FRA, and BNSF Railway jointly inspected three BNSF trains at Donkey Creek, Wyoming. These trains were already running about 1,530 miles since their last full inspection under BNSF’s extended-mileage program — farther than today’s limit, and only about 60 percent of the distance Brakes III would allow.
- 131 of 407 cars — nearly one in three — had at least one defect.
- 70 defects involved air brakes, including inoperative brakes and brake cylinders out of adjustment.
- Other defects included missing coupler pins, a broken coupler yoke, a leaking wheel-bearing seal, and broken or missing handholds and steps that train crews rely on.
- Every one was a federal defect, and FRA’s own inspectors recorded matching counts.
- All three trains had passed the railroad’s automated brake-detection technology before a single Carman laid hands on them.
“A completed brake test or an electronic record does not correct those physical conditions. As a Carman who participated in the inspections, I regard these trains as evidence that running longer intervals between inspections is unsafe. The condition of the equipment must determine the safety judgment, rather than the mileage the railroad wants to run.” — Daniel Chancellor, General Vice President, Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division
That is not an isolated finding. Using BNSF’s own data, Carmen at two Nebraska terminals recorded 5,027 air-brake repair findings in categories where the railroad’s automated technology flagged 654. Technology is a useful tool. It is not a substitute for a trained inspector.
A rule that contradicts the Administration’s own agenda
This Administration has been clear about rail safety. In May, President Trump personally urged Republicans to support the Railway Safety Act, and the White House issued a formal statement backing it. Vice President Vance co-authored the original bill after the East Palestine derailment. Secretary Duffy has said he supports it.
The core of the Railway Safety Act is inspections: making sure every freight car is inspected by a qualified inspector at designated locations, barring railroads from rushing those inspections, and directing the Secretary to ensure the adequacy of train brake inspections. Brakes III moves in the opposite direction on every one of those points. Finalizing it now — while Congress is acting on the President’s call — would hand the bill’s opponents an argument that the Administration doesn’t mean what it says.
The math doesn’t work, either
FRA estimates the rule will save railroads roughly $15 to $31 million a year. Its analysis assigns zero value to the added risk of moving cars farther without inspection. But the East Palestine derailment — which began with the failure of a single wheel bearing on a single freight car — has generated more than $2 billion in costs, by Norfolk Southern’s own accounting. One event like that would wipe out the rule’s entire ten-year savings many times over. The rule’s own record also predates East Palestine: the public comment period closed in March 2021, and FRA itself admitted it was “not clear” the rule would improve safety under all conditions.
“Every car that leaves a terminal with a defect we never got the chance to find is a risk to the crew on that train and to every community it passes through. The President has asked for stronger inspections. We’re asking his Administration to stand by that, and send Brakes III back.” — Don Grissom
February 3, 2023, 8:13 p.m.: A surveillance camera in Salem, Ohio, captures the overheating wheel bearing on fire, about 20 miles before the train derailed in East Palestine. Image: National Transportation Safety Board final report.
What we’re asking
BRC-TCU has asked the White House to return the rule to the Department of Transportation, to require an updated public record that reflects what happened at East Palestine and what Carmen are finding today, and to hold off on any final action until Congress completes work on the Railway Safety Act. If the Administration decides to move forward in some form, our filing lays out common-sense conditions — a lower mileage limit, real inspection technology paired with qualified Carmen, and independent oversight — that would reduce the harm.
The Carmen who inspect America’s freight cars aren’t asking for anything new. We’re asking the Administration to keep its word on rail safety. Send Brakes III back.