July 22, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bipartisan group of 35 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Administrator David Fink urging the agency to reconsider its proposal to repeal certification requirements for train dispatchers and signal employees. The certification requirements were designed to strengthen rail safety, training, and accountability.
In the July 20 letter to FRA, the lawmakers expressed opposition to the agency’s May 2026 proposal to repeal the certification rules, and requested a detailed response by July 28. The letter was led by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV-01), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, and Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA-08), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also signed the letter.
In response to news of the letter, ATDA President Ed Dowell said, “I am glad to see Congress getting involved in this process and trying to ensure that the FRA is doing what is best for rail workers. Safety should always be the primary concern on the railroad and dispatchers should have the support and resources they need to do their safety-critical jobs.”
FRA issued final rules in May 2024 requiring railroads to establish formal certification programs for both train dispatchers and signal employees. Those rules were intended to improve safety by standardizing training, qualification, testing, and oversight for crafts whose decisions directly affect rail operations. The requirements stem from congressional direction found in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which asked the FRA to evaluate certification of safety-critical rail employees. In 2015, FRA determined that train dispatchers were among the crafts eligible for certification. FRA also noted that “…besides the vigilance required by train and engine crews, no function of railroad operations is more critical to the safety of train movements than train dispatching”.
The congressional letter challenges FRA’s rationale for repealing the rules, noting that the agency’s cost-benefit concerns appear modest compared with the scale of the freight rail industry and the potential consequences of preventable dispatching or signal-related accidents, environmental damage, service disruptions, and risks to workers and the public.
