Secure Tracks Act Targets ATI and Human Checks

The Secure Tracks Act would require railroads to use both automated track inspection technology and inspections carried out by people under a bipartisan Senate proposal introduced on Wednesday by U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). (baldwin.senate.gov)

Secure Tracks Act and human track inspections

The senators said the bill is meant to reduce derailments. Also, they introduced it after the Federal Railroad Administration approved waivers allowing major railroads to cut back some inspections performed by human workers, as previously covered by Railway Supply.

At the same time, in their view, automated track inspection (ATI) can detect defects efficiently, but it does not identify every issue that may contribute to train derailment prevention concerns. That, they argued, is why human track inspections remain an essential part of railroad track safety.

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“I am all for using technology to keep our trains on the tracks and communities safe from derailments, but what we have learned is that technology can’t do it all alone. It misses things that humans see and hear, and if we want to make sure our railroads are safe, we need both technology and real people who have the experience and knowledge,” said Baldwin.

Automated track inspection requirements in the bill

Under the proposed measure, all main line track designated for operation at Class 3 speeds or higher would be subject to visual track inspections twice each week. If inspectors identify a defect or unsafe condition, it would have to be corrected, protected or removed from service immediately after detection.

The bill also says that when qualified inspectors find a deviation, they must begin remedial action at once and would have sole authority to approve any later movements needed to support repairs on out-of-service track.

In addition, the legislation would prevent the secretary of transportation from issuing a waiver, exemption, or modification of a safety regulation if an alternative inspection, detection or monitoring method cannot identify every defect condition defined or recognized as unsafe under FRA regulations. It also would require a qualifying track geometry measurement system (TGMS), a type of ATI, to operate over various track classifications at specified frequencies. (progressiverailroading.com)

Debate over railroad track safety and FRA waivers

“Technology can help us monitor our railways but there is no substitute for in-person inspections conducted by railroad professionals. We can’t cut corners, especially when it comes to keeping our trains on the tracks. Technology must serve workers—not the other way around,” Hawley said.

Separately, a House companion bill is being led by U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.). Railroads already use ATI alongside manual and visual inspections, and the Association of American Railroads says the technology has been shown to identify up to 200 times more track defects than visual inspections. (titus.house.gov)

Still, the industry group criticized the Senate proposal. “In fact, FRA data shows that in 2025 freight railroads had the lowest rate of track-caused accidents in railroad history, thanks in part to the deployment of advanced technologies, like ATI,” said AAR spokesman Ted Greener in an email. “Taken together, this blended approach is working and delivering significant safety gains across the freight-rail network and in communities. Efforts to undermine implementation of ATI and other technologies in the future, like the Secure Tracks Act, are bad for safety, consumers and communities nationwide.” (progressiverailroading.com)

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