ATLANTA, Georgia: Concerns were raised about flaws being missed after Norfolk Southern sparked renewed concerns about flaws being missed during railcar inspections by telling employees this week they should spend no more than a minute looking at each car.
However, the railroad said the rule simply reflects the current industry standard, and there are no plans for disciplining employees for missing that one-minute target.
For years, rail unions have warned about increasingly rushed inspections across the industry. This concern followed railroads eliminating one-third of their workforce under a leaner operating model.
The Federal Railroad Administration’s Chief Safety Officer, Karl Alexy, noted that the agency had been closely monitoring inspection times before Norfolk Southern’s recent announcement and will continue to observe how the company follows through.
Concerns about rail safety intensified last year after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in February, spilling hazardous chemicals and igniting a fire in East Palestine, Ohio. This incident led the railroad and the broader industry to commit to reforms, though Alexy acknowledged that overall safety records haven’t seen significant improvements in recent years.
The issue of rushed railcar inspections is part of a broader worry among rail laborers about whether the lean Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) model might compromise safety.
Alexy emphasized that many experienced workers were lost due to workforce cuts, both as part of the PSR model and because of the pandemic downturn, leaving railroads heavily reliant on newer employees who are still learning the job’s risks.
Norfolk Southern executives previously stated they would avoid rushed inspections for safety reasons. However, a recent directive for minute-long inspections, issued shortly after Mark George became the new CEO this fall, seems to signal a shift.
Norfolk Southern says this standard will help determine if they have enough carmen at each location to perform the necessary inspections. If an inspection takes longer than a minute, it could indicate a need for more staff or follow-up with the railcar’s owner to ensure proper maintenance.
“By no means are employees expected to ignore or disregard safety issues. If a problem is spotted, employees are required to address it, either by correcting the issue on-site or by pulling the car for further maintenance,” Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Heather Garcia said.
Alexy said if that is truly how this rule is used, it might not be a problem. But he said that if the new one-minute standard is “taken to an extreme, it could be” a step backward in safety at Norfolk Southern, which has been stressing safety ever since the East Palestine derailment.
The test will be how railroad managers implement the rule in the field across the eastern United States, where Norfolk Southern’s trains operate.
