In a relatively rapid reversal of policy, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Railroad Safety Board on Dec. 5 approved a new “temporary waiver” (Docket No. FRA-2025-0059) allowing U.S. railroads, freight and passenger, to expand field testing of automated track inspection (ATI) technology and “collect crucial data to improve safety.”
The five-year (that’s temporary?) waiver “gives the rail industry a long overdue opportunity to demonstrate how ATI technology can assist safety inspectors by identifying defects or hazards that might otherwise be missed during routine visual inspections,” the agency said. Recently confirmed FRA Administrator David Fink, a career railroader, noted the waiver “will provide the industry with an opportunity to demonstrate the potential of ATI technology to enhance rail safety and improve efficiency. ATI technology is designed to enhance already effective visual inspections by catching things that human eyes miss.”
FRA, describing the Railroad Safety Board as “comprised of technical experts within the agency,” said that railroad operations under the ATI waiver “will be similar to previous ATI test programs conducted by freight and commuter railroads, with only minor changes to railroads’ non-automated track inspection activities such as the addition of data collection and sharing requirements.” This “will enable the agency to better evaluate potential benefits and drawbacks.”
The Association of American Railroads applauded the development: “FRA has acted on the industry’s waiver request, representing a step forward. Our team is reviewing the technical details to fully understand the scope and conditions of the decision. ATI is a proven safety technology, and expanding its use will strengthen safety and reliability across the nation’s rail network.”
Railroads have been using ATI technology for several years, but FRA rules requiring manual track inspections have limited its use to supplemental—except under a waiver. FRA granted waivers under the direction of Former Administrator Ron Batory (like Fink, a career railroader), but Batory’s incompetent successor Amit Bose—lacking any practical railroad knowledge and well-known for putting politics first and cozying up to rail labor—cancelled them.
The full waiver details are contained in a Dec. 5 Decision Letter FRA sent to AAR Associate General Counsel Stephen N. Gordon. There are no fewer than 12 Waiver Conditions, most of which have complicated provisions. In “quick” summary:
“FRA’s Railroad Safety Board reviewed [AAR’s] petition, public comments received, and the results of FRA’s investigation and analysis. The Board determined that partially granting AAR’s request by modifying the conditions and expanding the scope to include more railroads will allow the demonstration of the effectiveness of expanded (Autonomous) TGMS (Track Geometry Measurement System) testing in conjunction with a uniform level of reduced visual inspection and is in the public interest and consistent with railroad safety. Accordingly, the Board grants the waiver, subject to the following conditions:
- “Railroads must notify FRA at least 30 days in advance of the intended Waiver start date.
- “Prior to the Waiver start date, railroads must provide training to all track inspectors, first line supervisors, and any other affected employees working on the proposed Waiver subdivisions. This training must include the change in track inspection procedures and TGMS operations, verification requirements, and reporting. Training must be provided to employees who transfer onto Waiver subdivisions and when new subdivisions are incorporated.
- “The Waiver will take effect on the railroad’s proposed start date. The subdivisions covered by the Waiver may not be changed during the one year from the proposed start date to ensure data consistency. To add or remove subdivisions, the railroad must notify FRA at least 30 days in advance of the end of the current one-year Waiver operating period and include all the information from Condition 1. The changes will take effect at the start of the next one-year operating period.
- “Upon request by FRA, railroads must provide all documentation and data covering any technical aspects of the operation and characteristics of its TGMS vehicles, inspection procedures, recordkeeping, maintenance records, and training.
- “TGMS used to comply with this Waiver shall be capable of measuring and processing the necessary track geometry parameters to determine compliance with 49 CFR Part 213, Subpart C, Track Geometry, and meet the requirements of 49 CFR § 213.333(b).
- “TGMS inspections must be performed at least monthly on all main track and sidings on the TGMS Waiver subdivisions as identified in Condition 1. Diverging routes and crossover tracks are not subject to this condition.
- “Visual inspections may be reduced from twice weekly to once weekly. Traversal requirements under § 213.233(b)(3) remain. However, the railroads may record and report situations when the traversal requirements caused an additional inspection in locations with more than two main tracks.
- “Railroads must protect all multiclass drop TGMS defects upon notification and must protect all TGMS defects within 24 hours of notification.
- “Railroads must maintain … safety metrics on each group as defined by Condition 1.
- “Railroads must submit a monthly report for each group as defined by Condition 1, detailing Waiver compliance and implementation data. Monthly reports must be submitted to FRA within the first 5 days of the next month. These reports will be collated and published with FRA’s analysis on the regulations.gov docket to ensure transparency and must include all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the Waiver conditions. Monthly reports must include any additional data or information for FRA consideration.
- “Railroads must submit an annual report that shall include, in addition to an aggregated summary of the monthly report required information, an analysis comparing present track conditions to track conditions immediately before the start of the TGMS Waiver as well as a summary of all accidents that have occurred on each subdivision of the TGMS Waiver.
- “Railroads must notify FRA at FRAtracksafety@dot.gov within 24 hours of any derailment that occurs on any track segment that is part of this Waiver, regardless of monetary damage.”
Again, the Waiver Conditions are complicated. I recommend you download the FRA letter below. To some, the Conditions are excessively complex—perhaps even nonsensical. Said one rail safety expert: “They’re appallingly asinine. Someone got to them. Compare them to the waiver BNSF had.” This is most likely a reaction to Condition 7, which cuts visual inspections 50%—not 100%—in Waiver territory.
BNSF ODIN Rollout
As for BNSF, its ODIN (Onboard Defect Identification & Notification) autonomous TGMS technology, developed and manufactured in house, has been ramped up—and will benefit from this Waiver, regardless of Condition 7. ODIN has a sensor array housed in a compact aluminum case that surveys and analyzes track as the locomotive passes over it at revenue speed. Angled lasers from each side of the device measure the gauge cross-level, alignment and track surface. Measurements are taken every foot. BNSF’s Technical Research & Development (TR&D) team in Topeka, Kan., produces the ODIN units, which are installed below the a locomotive’s draft gear. ODIN information is processed in real- time, and if a defect is found, “action is quickly taken to protect or correct the problem,” BNSF notes. “In addition to looking for defects, ODIN evaluates overall track condition, which helps us better plan our track maintenance.
“We introduced the system in 2023 as it was going through a pilot phase,” BNSF sayd. “In two years of testing, ODIN has proven to collect more precise data than our track geometry cars. Once we moved past the production and testing phases, the first in-service ODIN registered a defect in September of this year. Since the original ODIN, we’ve upgraded the software. We now have 30 ODIN units in service, monitoring the majority of our 32,500-mile network. We plan to have four more installed by end of year and another 24 coming on line in the first quarter of 2026 for 100% coverage of our network.”
“The changes we’ve made have been to improve software accuracy as well as add smarter defect-detection algorithms,” said Justin Devine, Director of Track Measurement. “Now that we’ve proven ODIN’s accuracy and ramped up production, we anticipate increasing our annual track inspections tenfold, from 400,000 miles a year up to an estimated 5 million miles. Eventually, ODIN-equipped locomotives will replace our four unattended track geometry cars, freeing up track time and train crews needed to operate them as well as saving fuel.”
Washington Post Editorial Trigger
FRA’s action immediately followed an unusual Washington Post Editorial Board commentary calling out POTUS 47 as “mimicking Biden’s approach to railroad safety,” adding that “advancing automated track inspection technology would be an easy win for the White House.” Also citing a Washington Examiner editorial, the Post chided that the Administration “wants America to lead the world on transportation technology, and it wants to remove burdensome federal regulations holding back technological progress. Why, then, is it allowing regulations to block American-made automation technology from being adopted?”
“Allowing full adoption requires updating archaic regulations,” the Post opined. The FRA has in the past waived some of the manual inspection rules for railroads to test ATI, including during [POTUS 47’s] first term. The data showed safety results as good or better than manual inspections. The Biden Administration declined to extend the waivers after the BMWED (Brotherhood of Maintenance-of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters) opposed an extension. Naturally they want to maximize the number of dues-paying members slogging around on the tracks. But if these track inspections can be done better with smarter technology, they should be—regardless of union distortions … An industry-wide waiver request is being slow-walked by the FRA, according to the Washington Examiner. Two of the rail unions opposed to the technology are affiliated with the Teamsters (BMWED and BLET, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen), and the Administration seems loath to challenge their policy priorities.”
Continuing with language clearly designed to appeal to POTUs 47’s nationalistic “America First” mindset, the Post said that “a forward-thinking FRA would be studying how artificial intelligence could be trained with track inspection data to predict where maintenance will be needed. To not even be willing to grant a waiver for already existing and successful automated systems because a handful of union lobbyists are upset is contrary to the technological aspirations of the Administration to beat China in the AI race … When Biden’s FRA halted the testing program, BNSF sued, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in 2024 that the pause was ‘arbitrary and capricious,’ a big no-no under federal law. ‘The FRA fails to provide even one rationale that survives our review,’ the Court said. At least it was expected that the Biden Administration would haplessly defend an outdated regulation at the behest of union bosses. Why would the [POTUS 47] Administration want to follow in its footsteps?”
Consider theLing-Term Benefits
For better or for worse, why indeed? Politics aside (and that’s an almost impossible task on Capitol Hill these days), this is the first common-sense, science-based move that David Fink has made following his confirmation as FRA Administrator. I expect that there will be many more. Bravo!
If only the rest of the Administration’s “leaders”—the Defense, Health & Human Services and Education Secretaries, two glaring examples of incompetence, for example—were as well-qualified and knowledgeable in their respective fields as the man now responsible for railroad safety. If only. But we’ll take what we can get.
I ask you to consider ATI’s potential benefits for an industry looking to grow volume and compete with trucking. They’re significant. Think of all the hours that track wouldn‘t need to be temporarily taken out of service for manual inspections because it could be inspected in real time and in far greater detail by equipment moving at track speed in a revenue train. Systemwide, this could add up to literally thousands of hours of unlocked capacity. M/w crews could be better-utilized to make repairs far more efficiently, to keep the railroad operating. Velocity improves. Throughput improves. Service improves. Most important, safety improves.
Extra capacity available on a safer, more fluid network should give railroads more leverage to market and sell their services, grow volume and increase market share. The question is, will they take advantage of the opportunity, or blow it by solely focusing on cost-cutting and headcount reductions?
