The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) led an effort of over 30 free market organizations, including E&E Legal, to send a letter to Congress urging opposition to the Railway Safety Act.
The letter continues, in part:
We write to express our concerns over the current administration’s proposal to include the Railway Safety Act of 2025 (H.R. 928) as part of the surface transportation reauthorization. The act would establish that no freight train may be operated without a two-person crew consisting of a conductor and an engineer. The act is unnecessary and will instead serve as a drag on the railway industry’s efforts to modernize its operations, something that needs to be encouraged given the demonstrated vulnerability of our nation’s supply chain.
We live in a time when automated taxi services are being introduced in major cities and warfare by aerial drones is now commonplace on battlefields. There is no reason why the rail industry should not be at the cutting edge of transportation automation. After all, freight trains run on dedicated tracks rather than utilizing public roads, airways or waterways and do not carry passengers. They have an inherent safety edge over other forms of transportation.
