Railroads Cut Inspection Frequency with New Tech Approval

Sat Dec 06 2025 01:03:15 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The federal government has approved a waiver allowing freight railroads to reduce track inspections from twice a week to once a week, leveraging advanced automated technology despite concerns from track inspectors' unions regarding safety.

In a landmark decision, the Federal Railroad Administration has permitted freight railroads to reduce track inspection frequencies, recognizing the efficacy of automated inspection technologies. This waiver raises concerns among unions advocating for regular human oversight, with potential implications for rail safety.

The nation’s freight railroads are set to rely more on technology for track inspections as the federal government approved a waiver request on Friday. The Association of American Railroads argued that sophisticated automated track inspection technologies have demonstrated reliability and effectiveness at spotting issues early, allowing for reduced human inspections.

Historically, regulations mandated inspections twice a week, dating back to 1971. However, tests by BNSF and Norfolk Southern suggested that safety remained unaffected even after inspections were cut to twice a month, prompting the new regulations. The Federal Railroad Administration confirmed that under the new waiver, inspections may now occur once a week.

While railroads sought a grace period of up to three days for repairing identified defects, the FRA insisted on immediate action for serious defects and stipulated that all other issues must be addressed within 24 hours.

Concerns from Track Inspectors

Despite the advancements, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division—the union for track inspectors—expressed concern that technology cannot fully replace human supervision. They pointed out that automated systems are limited in detecting underground issues, such as shifting ballast or vegetation encroachment, and may miss cumulative defects.

Union President Tony Cardwell remarked, 'This technology has been around for 30 years and hasn't significantly improved,' emphasizing that automated systems should assist rather than replace human inspections.

Railroads Advocate for Technology's Efficacy

Rail sector representatives, such as Mike Rush from the Association of American Railroads, argued that automated inspection systems have been proven to better detect geometry defects than manual inspections. BNSF’s data indicated a stark contrast in defect detection rates between the two methods.

Norfolk Southern added that reducing visual inspections has allowed inspectors to concentrate on critical areas that automated systems cannot assess, ensuring they remain vigilant to potential track problems.