WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rail-employee fatigue too often leads to deadly accidents -- on and off the railroad -- and it is time for a science-based regulatory approach to cure the problem, the chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee said Feb. 13 at a Rail Subcommittee hearing investigating rail safety.

Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) promised legislation that will bring the century-old hours of service statute into the 21st century and assure that rail employees in safety sensitive positions are properly rested. This approach has support from the Bush administration, with Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman advocating giving regulators authority to measure, modify and monitor each carrier’s approach to reducing employee fatigue.

UTU National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer cautioned against scrapping the existing hours of service statute as Boardman proposed, urging, instead, that Congress retain the statute and give the FRA broad regulatory authority within the confines of the statute. Brunkenhoefer expressed concern that without a strong statute, future regulators, perhaps less concerned with rail safety than Boardman, might seek to dilute safety reglations aimed at reducing and eliminating employee fatigue.

Currently, railroads are the only mode of transportation where its federal safety regulator has no authority to adjust maximum hours of service and minimum uninterrupted rest periods. Boardman said the FRA would seek a consensus for such regulations through the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC).

In comments that appeared aimed at the railroads’ chief labor negotiator, Bob Allen, the subcommittee’s ranking Republican, Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), said it would be better if railroads and their labor unions could come to a negotiated agreement on safety issues because the federal government is likely to "screw things up worse." Rail Subcommittee Chairperson Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) suggested labor and railroad negotiators "lock the door" and not come out until they reach agreement.

Brunkenhoefer earlier had explained that Allen has steadfastly refused to discuss safety issues at the bargaining table even though the carriers had signed an agreement several years ago promising to do so. In fact, after carriers and labor agreed to language (in another area of safety) that was enacted into law by the Illinois legislature, the carriers then sued in federal court to overturn the law.

Rep. Grace Napoliatano (D-Calif.) chided rail carriers for lack of formal employee training aimed as assuring employees understand the dangers associated with sleep deprivation and science-based methods to manage their fatigue.

Also testifying was Tom Pontilillo, director of regulatory affairs for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, who said, "There is no question in our minds that safety degradation because of fatigue is a ticking time bomb in the rail industry."

Additionally, sleep scientist Steven Hursh, a consultant to the FRA, explained that sleep during daylight hours is not as restorative as nighttime sleep, and that as workers shift from days to nights, their internal body clocks, known as circadian rhythm, "get out of sync with sleep demands."

Under the statute, rail employees subject to hours of service limitations, may be kept on duty up to 12 hours, followed by only a single 10-hour rest period; and then be called back to work a second time for another 12-hour shift within a single 24-hour period.

Moreover, carriers may -- and often do -- require train crews to remain in the locomotive cab (to maintain locomotive security) for four, six or eight hours more after their 12-hour shift, followed by 10 hours off-duty, at the end of which they can be ordered to begin another shift.

Hours spent on the locomotive after the 12-hour shift are known as "limbo time" because they count neither as on-duty nor off-duty.

“Limbo time," Oberstar said, "can and has kept railroad operating crews effectively on-duty for well over 12 hours; and, in the case of the Union Pacific engineer involved in the 2004 Macdona, Texas, accident (which killed three), 22 hours (12 hours on-duty and 10 hours of limbo time)."

Oberstar observed that if a carrier ends an on-duty shift just one minute before the 12-hour maximum, the carrier is required to provide only an eight-hour rest period -- even if additional limbo time is involved -- before ordering a train crew back on duty. "Since the required eight or 10 hours of off-duty time includes commuting, leisure, and personal time, the duration of any period available for sleep could be even less than that," Oberstar said.

During questioning by subcommittee members, Brunkenhofer said, "Our membership lives in jet lag for their 30 year career. They don’t know when they will be called to duty, how long they will be on the job, or when they will go home. The result is divorce, troubled children and destruction of family values." He asked that legislation be enacted to eliminate limbo time and prohibit carriers from calling train crews during their minimum rest periods.

Brunkenhoefer also thanked UTU officers on BNSF Railway for providing him with helpful data on fatigue and rail safety.

To read FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman's testimony, click here.

To read UTU National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer's testimony, click here.