House rail subcommittee hears sharp debate over waiver to cut visual track inspections

At a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, lawmakers, labor officials and industry witnesses debated a request by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and related Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) waivers to reduce the frequency of mandated visual track inspections from twice weekly to twice monthly and to permit up to 72 hours before a railroad must address an identified defect.

The dispute centered on safety: labor leaders and some lawmakers warned the change would raise derailment risk, while industry and pro-innovation witnesses argued outcome-based rules and automated inspection technologies can improve safety if properly implemented.

The disagreement matters because current FRA regulations require human visual inspections twice a week and immediate remediation of many defects; the waiver request would shift parts of that enforcement timeline and rely more heavily on automated track inspection (ATI) systems and other sensors. Supporters say updated rules can accelerate adoption of technologies that detect problems earlier or more consistently. Opponents, including the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) and some…