While many see government as a neutral watchdog for industries such as railroads and shipping, in practice it often becomes an unwanted “management team” as the late Trains Magazine editor David P. Morgan once said. With that in mind, the Center for Transportation Advancement joined organizations such as the American Consumer Institute, Unleash Prosperity, and the Maine Policy Institute to oppose such mandates by signing on to a coalition letter discussing the issue.

Link (including signatories) : Keep Prescriptive Rail Mandates Out of Surface Transportation Legislation

Letter Text

he Honorable Sam Graves
Chairman, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

The Honorable Rick Larsen
Ranking Member, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

The Honorable Ted Cruz
Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The Honorable Maria Cantwell
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Dear Chair Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Chair Cruz, and Ranking Member Cantwell,

We are writing to oppose the inclusion of Railway Safety Act (RSA)–style mandates, or similar prescriptive rail regulations, in any surface transportation reauthorization legislation.

Surface transportation bills are intended to modernize infrastructure, improve mobility, and support economic growth. As such, they are not an appropriate vehicle for resurrecting rail mandates that have repeatedly failed to advance through Congress on their own merits and have even been set aside by the committees of jurisdiction due to concerns about cost, feasibility, and unintended consequences.

At a time when affordability dominates voter concerns and policymakers in both parties are focused on reducing costs across the economy, embedding RSA-style provisions in a must-pass transportation bill would amount to a vote against affordability.

Higher costs without demonstrated safety gains

RSA-style mandates would impose extensive new regulatory requirements on freight railroads and the broader supply chain without clear evidence of improved safety outcomes. That means higher operating costs, reduced flexibility, and higher prices for American consumers.

Freight rail is a critical backbone of the U.S. supply chain. Increases in rail costs flow directly into the price of food, fuel, building materials, manufactured goods, and energy. Adding new regulatory mandates to surface transportation legislation would undermine stated goals of affordability, competitiveness, and economic stability.

Prescriptive mandates undermine innovation

Another problem with prior RSA proposals is they relied on one-size-fits-all statutory mandates rather than data-driven, risk-based regulation, including:

• Crew-size mandates that would freeze current practices regardless of evolving technology or operational needs, despite no evidence such mandates would have prevented past accidents.
• Overbroad hazardous material definitions that would effectively classify most freight trains as hazmat trains, vastly expanding regulatory reach over routine operations.
• Inspection requirements focused on minimum time thresholds rather than inspection quality or outcomes.
• Technology prescriptions that risk locking in existing systems while discouraging next-generation safety innovation.

The rail industry’s most significant safety and efficiency gains have come through private investment, operational flexibility, and technological advancement. Rigid statutory mandates would impede that progress.

A better approach

Surface transportation reauthorization should focus on modernizing and streamlining transportation policy, including updating or eliminating statutory provisions that are outdated, duplicative, or misaligned with current technologies and operating realities. Rather than layering new mandates onto an already complex regulatory framework,

Congress should use this legislation to reduce unnecessary burdens and ensure federal law reflects the modern supply chain.

We urge Congress to keep RSA-style mandates out of surface transportation reauthorization and instead pursue policies that advance safety, affordability, and economic growth through flexibility, innovation, and sound governance.