Railroads will be allowed to reduce inspections, rely more on technology to spot track problems

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: News Tribune Jefferson City, MO/AP

8 hours, 15 minutes ago


The nation's freight railroads are going to be able to try relying more on technology and inspect their tracks in person less often after the federal government approved their waiver request on Friday.

The Association of American Railroads trade group asked for the relief from inspection requirements that were written back in 1971 because railroads believe the automated track inspection technology they use today is so good at spotting problems early that human inspections aren't needed as frequently. They say that extended tests that BNSF and Norfolk Southern ran show that safety actually improved even when human inspections were reduced from twice a week to twice a month.

The Federal Railroad Administration didn't go quite that far in its decision, but the agency said railroads will be able to cut inspections down to only once a week under the approved waiver. The railroads had also asked for permission to have up to three days to repair defects identified by the automated inspections. But the Federal Railroad Administration said any serious defects in the tracks must be repaired immediately and all defects should be addressed within 24 hours.

Union says technology can miss problems. These automated inspection systems use an array of cameras and lasers installed either on a locomotive or on a railcar that can be pulled as part of a train to assess whether the tracks are moving out of alignment or shifting. But the union that represents track inspectors says the technology can't detect things like the rock underneath the track shifting, vegetation growing into the path of the trains, a crack in the rail or railroad ties rotting out. Plus, inspectors can spot a combination of small defects that might together derail a train where the machine might not register a problem, the union says.

Read more: https://www.newstribune.com/news/2025/dec/06/railroads-will-be-allowed-to-reduce-inspections/

[cbabe]

1. Someone is making bank.

KRON4
https://www.kron4.com › news › technology-ai › dog-hit-by-waymo-in-sf-weeks-after-beloved-cat-struck-and-killed

Dog hit by Waymo in SF, weeks after beloved cat struck and killed

4 days agoSunday's incident comes just weeks after a beloved cat, known as the "Mayor of 16th Street," was struck and killed by a Waymo in San Francisco's

[Silent Type]

2. Have no doubt technology can handle a lot of monitoring. It's a least an aid to inspectors.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

26. The tech will take time and money to implement.

I'm sure the RRs will create a concept of a plan, as they reduce the number of inspectors.

RR execs will expect bonuses.

[underpants]

3. Cutting jobs. Eh, if there's a derailment who's really going to get hurt?

People who live near the tracks. Hell it’s a 50/50 shot they live on the wrong side anyway.


It’s like the derailment in East Palestine Ohio wasn’t really that important to them other than for the political TV coverage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Palestine,_Ohio,_train_derailment

[FredGarvin]

6. Using technology is a good thing

It improves quality of manufacturing.

[underpants]

11. It's less (good) jobs and less safe.

My father in law was railroad and it changed my wife’s life trajectory. That’s why her father got the job. My mother in law has her own railroad pension because of the union. He paid into that not Social Security.

[IronLionZion]

12. Yup, it's mostly low income folks who live near freight rail tracks

MAGA are always willing to sacrifice such people even if they voted MAGA.

[underpants]

15. Exactly. 👍

[Gore1FL]

4. It's in their own best interest to inspect the tracks.

I am guessing they ran some sort of a pilot, already. It would be interesting to see the data they are using to make this call.

[FredGarvin]

7. Europe used this tech for decades

Equip a rail car with sensors that measure things that a group of people walking down the tracks cant.

[FredGarvin]

5. Technology is good

Lets face it, using technology has benefits.

[displacedvermoter]

9. But the use of these technologies is being pushed over human inspections

not to enhance safety, but to save money and to serve as an excuse to fire people.

That is the benefit Duffy and the railroad companies care about

[jfz9580m]

17. It is not about technology

If people have a knee-jerk reaction by now, it is not against technology so much as the people pushing it.

The tech industry has to face the fact that they are going to be viewed with suspicion going forward when they have: 1) blatantly or passively championed deregulation; 2) are okay with or actively for algorithmic capture of reality with divide and rule that invariably gives an edge to politicians with the least democratic instincts imaginable (all of the GOP and a handful of conservadems) and 3) hyped up mediocre, sub-standard trash like it’s amazing. That last makes the deregulation and secrecy with which they operate look especially suspicious. These are people with such huge egos. If they are secretive as they typically are, it’s not something awesome they are hiding. It’s collateral damage and mediocrity ffs. A credulous or bought off tech press gushes about so much junk that the whole enterprise has lost all credibility.

I would love for the backlash against Trump to focus on these technofascists over pettier crap in a populace that is going crazy.
They are the cancer striking at the very roots of democracy and this wasn’t overnight. This is a 20 year (at least) project at this point.

These are their bloody patron saints:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/google-ap-amit-mehta-san-francisco-sundar-pichai-b2592280.html

https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-eliminate-regulations

This is the world they want-where “woke” or left is a bloody sleazy monopolist and covert fascist like Google and the right is the increasingly Nazi, overtly fascistic Musk.
None of this is about tech. That’s a strawman.

It’s about these parasitic billionaires (and their sycophants) behind the tech.

(And I scoff at any MTG style “populists” they try to shill next. With that ass Vance pretending to be a fan of Bernie, Zohran and Ro Khanna (I guess AOC, being a woman, didn’t make the cut), some sort of totally phony, Thiel funded astroturf “anti tech” is going to be the next bullshit pitch to exploit the backlash.

It’s one long exasperating grift. It’s similar to an ass like Tristan Harris sounding faux alarms about tech - those fake populists of the GOP.)

[yonder]

18. This would be a fine OP by itself.

[jfz9580m]

19. Thank you yonder

I have many rants inside my head these days and Trump 2.0 makes them spill out more but ..lol..I have mixed feelings about posting anything impassioned even under an anonymous handle

Self consciousness kicks in whenever indignation fades ;-/.

It doesn’t fade much these days though

[fujiyamasan]

27. Preventive tech is great

And it can alert engineers and technicians ahead of time when something about to breakdown.

But I’m wary of technology being a replacement for human inspections. As we know with this administration, regulations that enhance safety are viewed as a burden, so this is just another way to make things easier and cheaper for the corporations.

[electric_blue68]

8. One of the railroad Track Maintenance Monitoring things my dad did during WW2....

It was a specialized sleep away/galley car with 3 or 4 people.

They had these metal brushes that swept over the rails. These would send electrical signals to, I think, oscilloscopes.

What they were looking out for was hidden rail metal fatigue, particularly because the rails were experiencing massive increases in load bearing during the war.

The rails would start to hollow out from the inside - so totally hidden!
But it would be indicated by a difference in the electrical signals displayed.
I think they sprayed red paint at those spots for the repair crews.

Three days for repairs?! Doesn't sound very good. Maybe depends on what needs repairing.
________________________
On rare occasions at night while in the subway I've seen a practically windowless car come through. I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was doing the same monitoring.

[jfz9580m]

20. Interesting post

Thanks..bookmarking.
I woke up with a severe headache this morning that’s making thinking harder than usual, but I should reread it later.

[electric_blue68]

21. Cool! Glad you found it interesting. I hope you felt better as the day went on!

[Emile]

10. They use remote control instead of engineers now

on local train switching. What used to be a four man crew, is now done by one person walking along side of the train with a remote control in his hands operating the engine.

[SWBTATTReg]

13. I guess that folks can still sue them if negligent on maint., etc. But they probably, being a carrier, have some law

protecting them on limits of liability...

[TygrBright]

14. What could possibly go wrong? n/t

[Cirsium]

16. "Hold my beer" n/t

.

[Botany]

22. Good Idea reduced inspections and maintenance worked great in eastern Ohio in 2023

[hatrack]

24. And railroads would NEVER cut corners on safety to save money with human crews!

Lac Megantic Quebec, 2013 - 47 fatalities.

[Botany]

25. Or hire an environmental firm to do the clean up as was the case in Palestine, OH whose advice was .....

…. just let the fires burn off the chemicals because that was the easiest and cheapest way to go. Instead of covering the fires with foam, then water, recovering the foam, water, and any of the chemicals that had
leaked out, and then when it was save removing the remaining chemicals from the tank cars.

[lark]

23. krasnov continues at his record settig pace to kill Americans - for his own personal profit!!

Worse person in the world!

[Sneederbunk]

28. The technology probably needs inspected too.