{"id":46051,"date":"2019-03-15T12:55:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T16:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/?p=46051"},"modified":"2019-03-15T12:55:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T16:55:05","slug":"fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"FRA denies KCSR\u2019s request to outsource brake tests to Mexico","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
Willis<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nIn a victory for safety, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) denied a request by Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCSR) to outsource brake inspections to Mexico, the AFL-CIO\u2019s Transportation Trades Department (TTD) reports.
\n\u201cIn its decision, the FRA correctly told KCSR that their request \u2013 which TTD and our rail unions strongly opposed \u2013 was \u2018not in the public interest or consistent with railroad safety.\u2019 We could not agree more,\u201d said TTD President Larry I. Willis.
\nIn 2008, the FRA granted KCSR conditional regulatory relief of 49 C.F.R. \u00a7 232.205 (a)(1) and 49 C.F.R. Part 215. In lieu of conducting the required inspections at the International Bridge interchange, the FRA allowed KCSR to move freight cars received in interchange from KCSR\u2019s Mexican operations across the U.S.\/Mexico border to KCSR\u2019s yard in Laredo without performing a full Class I brake test at the border. One of the conditions set by the FRA was that KCSR must perform Class III brake tests (set and release) at the International Bridge interchange. In their petition to the FRA, dated May 31, 2018, KCSR requested that the Class III brake tests be performed at their Mexican Nuevo Laredo and Sanchez Yards instead of at the interchange.
\nIn their request, KCSR maintained that it would be safer to perform the tests at the Mexican yards due to vandalism while the trains are stopped and blocked Mexican crossings, however, KCSR offered no specific evidence demonstrating any safety or security risks of performing the Class III tests at the interchange.
\n\u201cFRA cannot approve KCSR\u2019s request to move the test to its affiliate KCSM\u2019s (Kansas City Southern de M\u00e9xico Railway) yards 9 miles across the border within Mexico. \u2026The Board is denying KCSR\u2019s May 31, 2018, request to modify the existing relief in this docket because KCSR has not demonstrated that a modification is in the public interest or consistent with railroad safety,\u201d the FRA\u2019s Robert C. Lauby, associate administrator for railroad safety, said in his response letter to KCSR, dated March 8, 2019.
\n\u201cThe FRA\u2019s decision is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough,\u201d Willis said. \u201cLast year, the FRA granted KCSR permission to operate trains with crews from Mexico to Laredo, nine miles across the border. This decision was made without input from the public or any guarantee U.S. safety standards are being met.\u201d
\nSMART TD and BLET sent a joint letter<\/a> to U.S. DOT opposing the decision to allow KCSR to operate Mexican train crews within the United States.
\nClick here for related documents, including KCSR\u2019s 2007 and 2018 requests and FRA\u2019s responses.<\/a>
\nClick here for the full press release from the TTD.<\/a>
\nClick here to read about SMART TD\u2019s opposition to Mexican crews operating inside the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a victory for safety, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) denied a request by Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCSR) to outsource brake inspections to Mexico, the AFL-CIO\u2019s Transportation Trades Department (TTD) reports. \u201cIn its decision, the FRA correctly told KCSR that their request \u2013 which TTD and our rail unions strongly opposed \u2013 was \u2018not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":6,"featured_media":43648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,18,25],"tags":[175,89,4248,4246,4249],"member_types":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFRA denies KCSR\u2019s request to outsource brake tests to Mexico - SMART Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FRA denies KCSR\u2019s request to outsource brake tests to Mexico - SMART Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a victory for safety, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) denied a request by Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCSR) to outsource brake inspections to Mexico, the AFL-CIO\u2019s Transportation Trades Department (TTD) reports. \u201cIn its decision, the FRA correctly told KCSR that their request \u2013 which TTD and our rail unions strongly opposed \u2013 was \u2018not […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SMART Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-15T16:55:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/FRA_fb-logo.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"180\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"180\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"amyr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"amyr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"amyr\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/#\/schema\/person\/32d7996d81f2ddbf2099238b9315f71d\"},\"headline\":\"FRA denies KCSR\u2019s request to outsource brake tests to Mexico\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-15T16:55:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-15T16:55:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico\/\"},\"wordCount\":478,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/fra-denies-kcsrs-request-to-outsource-brake-tests-to-mexico\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/FRA_fb-logo.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"FRA\",\"KCS\",\"KCSR\",\"Larry I. 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