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Union Pacific train interfered in federal safety audit, senator states

U.S. railway Union Pacific interfered in a federal safety audit after employees were coached how to respond, prompting the federal rail company to end the review, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee stated on Friday.

Senator Maria Cantwell stated she was opening a probe into Union Pacific's actions after the Federal Railway Administration informed the committee this month it was required to discontinue its assessment due to Union Pacific's actions to undermine the integrity of the evaluation process.

She asked the company to supply all documents concerning the security culture audit, in addition to policies and plans to improve its security culture.

Union Pacific stated security is its essential foundational pillar and would respond to Cantwell's letter.

The FRA did not immediately comment.

Cantwell said the FRA discovered that staff members companywide had been coached to offer particular reactions to safety inspector surveys and report the interactions they had with inspectors to supervisors.

Cantwell said she was deeply worried about these FRA findings and the chilling effect the Union Pacific actions have on worker reporting of safety concerns. She added she is worried this shows a weak safety culture and mentioned Union Pacific's derailment rate that is 30% higher than the next-highest significant railway.

In June 2023, the FRA said it would perform security evaluations of all major U.S. railroads following the February 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern-operated train in Ohio.

Last month, the chair of the National Transport Safety Board said Norfolk Southern threatened the board, sought to manufacture proof and stopped working to provide files during its investigation of the Ohio derailment.

Cantwell's committee in May 2023 authorized sweeping rail security legislation to mandate making use of innovation that can determine devices failures and boost fines for safety violations, however that expense has actually stalled in Congress.

(source: Reuters)