Norfolk Southern Joins Federal Safety Reporting Program
The freight railroad company is the first to participate in the Confidential Close Call Reporting System, a move hailed by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as a step towards improving safety.
- Norfolk Southern, the operator of the freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, nearly a year ago, has agreed to participate in a federal program that allows employees to report safety issues confidentially.
- The program, known as the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), will be tested in a one-year pilot program that will apply to about 1,000 employees in Atlanta; Elkhart, Ind.; and Roanoke, Va.
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has urged other major freight railroads to join the program to improve safety.
- Norfolk Southern is the first of the six major freight railroads to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s program.
- Major freight railroads have resisted joining the anonymous reporting system due to concerns that workers might abuse the program to avoid discipline.
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