U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Josh Hawley Introduce Bipartisan Bill Requiring Automated and Manual Track Inspections

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WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Two U.S. Senators –– one Democrat and one Republican –– came together this week to sponsor a bill that would require the use of both automated and manual rail track inspections.

For several years, the rail industry has debated internally and publicly the question of whether automated track inspection using a variety of vehicle-mounted devices is the best option or should this be supplemented with manual inspection by human beings.

This week, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced that they’re co-sponsoring legislation called the Secure Tracks Act. This bill would require railroads to use both automated track inspection technology (ATI) and human track inspections. The press release announcing the bill said “While ATI technology can efficiently detect defects in the track, it fails to detect a variety of key issues that cause train derailments, and, therefore, human inspections continue to help reduce accidents and keep communities safe.”

Some believe this may be a response to the Federal Railroad Administration having recently given the green light to the expansion of automated inspection (waivers) to, supposedly, reduce the number of human inspections.

Senator Baldwin said, “Wisconsin families and businesses depend on safe and reliable railroads to get them to work, to get their products to customers, and for things they buy at the store. Railroads run through their cities and towns, and they deserve to know that every track is up to snuff and safe. I am all for using technology to keep our trains on the tracks and communities safe from derailments, but what we have learned is that technology can’t do it all alone. It misses things that humans see and hear, and if we want to make sure our railroads are safe, we need both technology and real people who have the experience and knowledge.”

Senator Hawley added that “Safety must be our top priority when it comes to our nation’s railroads. Technology can help us monitor our railways but there is no substitute for in-person inspections conducted by railroad professionals. We can’t cut corners, especially when it comes to keeping our trains on the tracks. Technology must serve workers—not the other way around.”

The Secure Tracks Act would:

• Require all main line track designated for operation at Class 3 speeds or higher to perform visual track inspections twice each week
• Require any defect or unsafe condition identified to be corrected, protected or removed from service immediately upon detection
• Require qualified inspectors, if they find a deviation, to immediately initiate remedial action and grants the inspector sole authority to authorize any subsequent movements to facilitate repairs on track that is out of service
• Prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from a waiver, exemption, or modification of any safety regulation if the proposed alternative inspection, detection, or monitoring method fails to identify or detect all defect conditions defined or recognized as unsafe under applicable Federal Railroad Administration regulations
• Require that a qualifying Track Geometry Measurement System (TGMS), a type of ATI, operates over various track classifications at specified frequencies.