ATLANTA, Aug. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC)
and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA), in
partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA),
announced Tuesday their joint participation in the FRA's
Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). This 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.
In January 2024, Norfolk Southern
announced the first pilot program under the FRA's supervision in
the industry, in conjunction with the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers and Trainmen, and the International Association of Sheet
Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation
Division.
"This is another step in our journey to become the gold standard
of safety in the rail industry," said Alan H. Shaw, Norfolk
Southern 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."
In April 2024, the American Train
Dispatchers Association announced the first Class I train
dispatcher pilot program, covering 100% of the Burlington Northern
Santa Fe train dispatchers, and is currently the only C3RS pilot
program on BNSF.
"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," said 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," said 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."
Participation in this C3RS pilot is further reinforcement of
Norfolk Southern, ATDA, and FRA's shared commitment to
collaboration and transparency to advance safety. 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.
About Norfolk Southern
Since 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its
predecessor companies have safely moved the goods and materials
that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric
and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to
furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers
avoid approximately 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by
shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7
million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and
is the largest rail shipper of auto products and metals
in North America. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive
intermodal network in the eastern U.S., serving a majority of the
country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to
every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as
the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by
visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com.
About American Train Dispatchers Association
The
American Train Dispatchers Association is an AFL-CIO-affiliated
craft union representing members on Class 1, Commuter, Passenger,
and Shortline Railroads who safely and efficiently control trains
and on-track equipment, as well as protect signalmen, maintenance
of way employees, and other on-track workers. Additionally,
the ATDA represents bridge operators, clerks, conductors,
engineers, load dispatchers, maintenance of way, power directors,
power supervisors, and yardmasters. The organization is
headquartered in Cleveland, OH.
You can learn more about ATDA at www.ATDA.org.
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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation