The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has finalised a set of 11 deregulatory rules and deleted more than 1,000 words from the Federal Register in an attempt to progress the development of solutions, practice modernisation and bolstering of safety for workers and passengers across the rail industry in the United States.

The FRA published a deregulatory package to eliminate redundant and decades-old requirements and codify longstanding FRA Safety Board waivers in early July 2025 – with this announcement marking the first of the rules to be finalised.

More than 1,000 words have been removed from the Federal Register

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Actions include:

• Removing stencilling requirements for railroad freight cars used exclusively for tourist, historic, excursion, educational, recreational, or private purposes
• Allowing railroads to satisfy accident/incident reporting recordkeeping requirements by posting electronically a listing of all injuries and occupational illnesses at an establishment
• Updating enforcement procedures to allow for electronic service and clarify FRA’s enforcement discretion
• Codifying longstanding waivers that have granted relief from certain locomotive engineer and conductor certification requirements for railroads that participate in the FRA-sponsored Confidential Close Call Reporting System program
• Codifying longstanding waivers by revising the definition of a non-traversable curb in FRA’s train horn regulation, making it possible when a curb is installed to allow highway speeds up to 45 mph

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said:

We can’t build big, beautiful infrastructure that will serve Americans for generations if our industries are burdened by outdated regulations that stifle innovation and ignore the latest safety practices.

These critical updates will enhance safety, support our great rail workforce, and enable the next wave of innovative technologies on our tracks.

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