Press Releases

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) introduced legislation to strengthen protections for rail yardmasters by giving them the same protections as other rail yard workers. 

"Yardmasters serve a critical role in our nation’s railroad network. They oversee the operations of a rail yard and manage the duties of various rail workers" said Congressman Carbajal. "They not only direct the activities of their fellow workers but also passenger and freight trains when they arrive and depart. But currently, there are no limitations to the number of hours a yardmaster can work in a day, week, or month. This is not only dangerous for the well-being of the yardmasters but the safety of workers on the yard and train passengers." 

“Railroad incidents have sparked major concerns here in my district and across America,” said Congressman Lawler. “Ensuring safe conditions for those who operate our railways is essential to ensuring the safety not only of these workers but also of the communities in which these railways operate. Unfortunately, yardmasters are exempt from existing hours of service laws despite the integral rial they play. The Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act will ensure safe conditions for these essential workers and I’m proud to join Congressman Carbajal in introducing this critical common sense legislation.”

The bipartisan Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act would include railroad yardmasters under federal hours of service requirements which currently cover safety-sensitive rail workers such as locomotive engineers, conductors, switchmen, dispatchers, and signal employees.

The bill ensures that a yardmaster may not be required or allowed to remain on duty for more than a total of 12 hours, and then must receive a minimum of 10 hours off duty.

First introduced in 2019, the Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act passed the House in 2020 as part of the INVEST in America Act. 

The bill has also been endorsed by SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.