Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS), the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced joint participation in the FRA's Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), a pilot program is designed to enhance communication and transparency to help improve railroad safety.
Under the one-year C3RS pilot, dispatchers at Norfolk Southern can report safety concerns with the certainty that such reports will not result in discipline. Submitted safety concerns are de-identified by NASA and provided for review by a joint committee of NS, ATDA, and FRA representatives, who will identify and recommend corrective actions to improve safety.
"This is another step in our journey to become the gold standard of safety in the rail industry," says Alan H. Shaw, NS president and CEO. "We committed to working with our unions to make our safe railroad even safer, and we're proud to increase engagement and feedback through this pilot program. On behalf of Norfolk Southern, I want to thank the FRA for their leadership and reiterate our shared commitment to keeping rail the safest way to move freight over land."
"Having reached C3RS agreements with two of the Class I Railroads, I encourage each of the remaining Class I's to follow the path we have set with BNSF and NS," says ATDA president Ed Dowell. "We cannot continue to accept accidents as the price of doing business in this industry. Changing over a century of adversarial culture takes courage and I appreciate Norfolk Southern's leadership in recognizing that C3RS can make a difference. We also thank Secretary Buttigieg and FRA Administrator Bose for prioritizing C3RS expansion to the Class I railroads."
"C3RS is a commonsense safety program that allows workers to confidentially share their experiences and safety concerns to prevent unnecessary accidents, injuries, or deaths. I appreciate the American Train Dispatchers Association and Norfolk Southern coming together to join this important program," says FRA administrator Amit Bose. "All Class I railroads and their workers stand to benefit from the C3RS program, and FRA remains fully committed to expanding participation in this program even further."
Key takeaways:
- In January, NS announced the first pilot program under the FRA's supervision, in conjunction with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division.
- In April, the ATDA announced the first Class I train dispatcher pilot program, covering 100% of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train dispatchers.
- Key goals of the C3RS pilot program include collecting currently unreported unsafe practices, behaviors, or situations; identifying and implementing corrective actions; and sharing general trends and statistics to enhance railroad safety.
