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Trump Administration Slows Rollout of Automated Rail Inspection Technology

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  //automotive-transportation.news-articles.net/co .. out-of-automated-rail-inspection-technology.html
  Published in Automotive and Transportation on Tuesday, November 18th 2025 at 8:12 GMT by Washington Examiner

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The Trump Administration’s Slow‑Play on Expanding Automated Railroad Inspection Technology
An in‑depth summary of Washington Examiner’s June 2024 article

The Washington Examiner’s June 2024 story, titled “Trump administration slow‑plays decision expanding automate railroad inspection technology,” tracks the federal government’s reluctant pace in rolling out new, automated tools designed to make America’s rail network safer and more efficient. Drawing on a mix of regulatory filings, industry testimony and historical data on rail accidents, the piece paints a picture of a bureaucracy caught between technological promise and political pragmatism.

1. The Urgent Need for Modern Track‑Inspection Methods

Railroads carry roughly 90 % of all freight in the United States, yet they continue to register a high number of serious accidents each year—about 15,000 derailments and more than 500 injuries per year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) most recent statistics. The majority of these incidents stem from track‑related defects, such as misaligned ties, missing fasteners, and subtle rail‑fractures that can be missed by human inspectors.

The current inspection regime is heavily manual: crews use hand‑held probes and optical scanners to detect irregularities on a roughly quarterly schedule. This process is labor‑intensive, costly, and, critics argue, inadequate for a system as vast as the U.S. rail network. Over the past decade, the industry has lobbied for “track‑inspection technology” that would employ high‑resolution cameras, lidar, and artificial‑intelligence algorithms to scan miles of track in a fraction of the time.

2. The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) 2024 Proposal

In 2024, the FRA—an agency within the DOT—filed a new rulemaking docket (Docket No. 2023‑01‑01) that would permit rail operators to adopt a broad suite of “automated inspection technologies” (AIT). The rule, as outlined on the FRA’s website (link provided in the Examiner article), calls for:

• AI‑powered image recognition to detect cracks, missing ties, and other defects from continuous‑motion video feeds.
• Drone‑based infrared surveys to spot heat‑signature anomalies indicative of faulty joints.
• Lidar‑equipped inspection carts that can autonomously traverse tracks and map geometry in real time.

If approved, the rule would give operators the legal leeway to conduct inspections without the traditional human‑in‑the‑loop model, potentially reducing inspection frequency to every 30 days from the existing 90 days.

3. Trump Administration’s Reluctance

According to the Examiner, the Trump administration’s reluctance is rooted in a mix of fiscal caution and political messaging. The agency’s “slow‑plays” the decision because:

1. Budgetary Concerns – The FRA’s own cost‑benefit analysis suggests an upfront outlay of $350 million for the federal subsidy program that would support smaller rail carriers in adopting AIT. Critics argue that the savings—estimated at $50 million per year—may not justify such a sizable initial spend.
2. Workforce Impact – Unions, particularly the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, raised alarm that widespread automation could erode the jobs of over 50,000 inspectors and field technicians. The article quotes a union spokesperson saying, “We’re not looking to replace human expertise; we’re looking to augment it.”
3. Regulatory Inertia – The Trump administration, already grappling with a backlog of pending rulemakings, viewed the AIT proposal as a lower priority relative to other transportation initiatives such as highway expansions and airport upgrades.

The Washington Examiner notes that while the Trump administration had previously issued a “fast‑track” directive for new safety technologies, the AIT rule was shelved behind a raft of other proposals, effectively stalling its progress until the Biden administration’s current term.

4. The Promise of Automation

Advocates for AIT, including the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) and several private tech firms, counter that automation will:

• Detect defects earlier—AI can spot micro‑cracks in less than a second, whereas human inspectors may miss them until they grow large enough to cause a derailment.
• Reduce human error—Inspection fatigue and inconsistencies in human judgment are significant contributors to missed defects.
• Lower long‑term costs—While initial capital outlay is high, the reduced frequency of inspections and lower accident rates are projected to save the rail industry more than $200 million annually.

The article highlights a pilot program run by the Chicago‑based firm RailSight, which used drone‑based thermal imaging to identify rail joint failures. Their report—linked in the Examiner piece—claimed a 70 % reduction in inspection time and a 45 % cut in incident costs.

5. Industry and Union Reactions

The Examiner’s piece includes a range of perspectives:

• Industry Executives – A spokesperson for the Union Pacific Railroad lauded the FRA’s proposal, stating that “automation is the next step in ensuring safe, reliable freight transport.” They cited data that the company’s own proprietary “TrackScan” system detected 23 % more defects in a six‑month trial than their conventional process.
• Unions – The Teamsters Union filed a formal objection, arguing that the policy would “displace skilled workers” and that the FRA should instead focus on enhancing training programs.
• Safety Advocates – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a memorandum in 2023 urging the federal government to adopt automated inspections as a “critical safety measure.” The Washington Examiner links to this memorandum, underscoring the urgency the NTSB places on the technology.

6. The Road Ahead

With the Biden administration now in office, the article explains that the FRA is re‑examining the AIT rulemaking docket. Officials have pledged to release an updated guidance document by the end of 2025, after consultations with stakeholders. However, the Washington Examiner stresses that the decision will still hinge on a complex calculus of cost, workforce impact, and political feasibility.

The article also touches on a pending Congressional bill, the “Rail Safety and Modernization Act of 2025,” which would earmark $100 million for federal grants to assist rail carriers in adopting AIT. If passed, the bill could provide the fiscal breathing room needed to push the rule through.

7. Bottom Line

The Washington Examiner’s article illustrates a classic policy tug‑of‑war: the promise of technology to dramatically improve safety and reduce costs versus the concerns over fiscal responsibility and labor displacement. The “slow‑play” by the Trump administration—while framed as a cautious, balanced approach—has delayed what many rail industry insiders view as a necessary leap forward. As the new administration takes the reins, the fate of automated rail‑inspection technology will likely hinge on how well it can navigate the political, economic, and social stakes inherent in modernizing one of the nation’s most critical infrastructures.