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The nation’s freight railroads will be able to rely more on technology to inspect their tracks and less on in-person inspections after the federal government on Friday approved their waiver request.
The Association of American Railroads trade group asked for the relief from inspection requirements that were written back in 1971, as railroads believe the automated track inspection technology they use today is adept at spotting problems early on. They report that extended tests BNSF and Norfolk Southern ran show 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.
