Railroad BNSF stresses safety but is still held back by longstanding industry issues, report finds

Freight railroad BNSF is generally striving to improve safety on a consistent basis, but that message doesn’t always reach front-line workers who often don’t feel comfortable reporting safety concerns for fear of being disciplined, according to an assessment released Wednesday by regulators.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s review of BNSF’s safety culture also found that the company continues to be held back by some of the same issues that have been common across the industry for years.

This new report is the second one the agency has completed to address railroad safety concerns following the disastrous February 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as it works to review all the major railroads.

The BNSF review is more positive than last summer’s Norfolk Southern report, which said executives at that railroad were too often satisfied with only doing the minimum for safety.

The FRA found that company leaders consistently stressed safety as a core value, but at the lower levels of the railroad, some managers still prioritize keeping the trains moving ahead of safety.

“Changes in messaging create doubt among front-line craft employees as to the true goals, priorities and commitments of the railroad,” the agency said in the report.

Regulators also reiterated their recommendation for BNSF and all the major freight railroads to sign on to the confidential federal safety reporting hotline for workers to report concerns without fear of being punished.

BNSF earned praise for launching a pilot program with that hotline for its dispatchers earlier this year, but the FRA said it needs to be available to all rail workers. The industry has a long history of retaliating against workers who report too many safety concerns, because those issues slow down the trains while repairs are made.

All the major railroads promised to join that federal reporting system after East Palestine, but so far only BNSF and Norfolk Southern have announced limited pilot programs.

“Effective reporting systems improve safety by reducing risks and allow for changes and repairs to be made so safety incidents do not recur,” according to the report.

BNSF said it would review the FRA report and look for ways to continue improving safety, but said it is proud of its record after recording the lowest number of injuries in the railroad’s history last year and continuing to reduce train accidents this year.

“We will continue to make strides in our safety achievements and are committed to continuous improvement as we work to achieve our safety vision of operating a railroad free of accidents and injuries,” the railroad said in a statement.

BNSF is one of the nation’s largest railroads, with tracks crossing the Western United States. It is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate of Omaha, Nebraska.