The U.S. Department of Transportation said it will impose restrictions on Mexican train crews operating in that country after inspections raised safety concerns about the English proficiency of some staff members.
The department’s Federal Railroad Administration sent letters Friday to Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited after inspectors found that incoming crew members appeared to have had difficulty interpreting bulletins and communicating safety requirements in English to inspectors.
The department said crews from Mexico operating trains on behalf of the two railroads cannot operate more than 10 miles within the U.S. from their point of entry, and non-certified crews must stop at the customs inspection point and interpreters must be certified under safety standards.
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The two railroads had no immediate comment.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Railroad Administration was addressing concerns about cross-border train operators lacking basic English proficiency.
Duffy had already taken steps to tighten rules requiring English proficiency for truck drivers and threatened to withdraw funding to states for non-compliance.
“Whether you operate an 80-tonne truck or a huge freight train, you need to be fluent in our national language – English. Otherwise you create an unacceptable safety risk,” Duffy stated.
“These sensible measures will ensure that all train crew operators can communicate with inspectors and understand basic operational bulletins,” he said.
The Federal Railroad Administration informed railroads that because “hazardous materials documents and emergency response information must be maintained in English, the ability of the operating crew to understand these materials is critical.”
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He warned that incidents of crews operating in the US without a sufficient understanding of the English language to safely perform their duties could lead to enforcement action by the Trump administration.
The Teamsters union said the Transportation Department “took decisive action to restrict cross-border rail operations from Mexico” and praised the agency for protecting union rail jobs and prioritizing rail safety on trains entering the United States.
With information from Reuters.
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