September 30, 2025
Fort Worth, Texas – The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) will end on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) at 23:59 hours on September 30, 2025. The abrupt ending follows two negotiation extensions that did not yield a tri-party agreement between the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA), BNSF, and FRA to continue the program.
Although ATDA and FRA did not reach an agreement to continue C3RS at BNSF, they did recently sign an agreement to extend the program on the Norfolk Southern system (NS) through August 11, 2026.
In response, ATDA President Ed Dowell said, “It is unfortunate that an agreement could not be reached to continue this essential safety program on BNSF. At the same time, we are appreciative that NS demonstrated its commitment to safety by extending this valuable program. Moving forward, ATDA remains eager to reach an agreement that secures C3RS on the BNSF System, as well as all of the other Class I railroads.”
