OMAHA\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Federal Railroad Administration has sent letters to two railroad operators demanding they make sure that Mexican crews can speak English and don\u2019t operate a train more than 10 miles inside the United States. <\/p>\n
A number of Mexican train crews who recently hauled trains over the border to rail yards in Texas had trouble understanding important safety information in English during inspections the Trump administration ordered, U.S. officials said. <\/p>\n
Railroads Union Pacific and CPKC routinely rely on foreign crews at times to bring trains over the border to their rail yards in the U.S. before switching to American engineers and conductors. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union said handoffs used to happen at the border. The engineers union has been worried about using foreign crews for some time because of safety, security and job concerns.<\/p>\n
Union Pacific and CPKC said the railroads are committed to ensuring safety and security and will work to ensure they are complying with the rules.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has also been cracking down on truck drivers who don\u2019t speak English, saying it seeks to make sure crews can communicate in an emergency and understand crucial instructions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether you\u2019re operating an 80-ton big rig or a massive freight train, you need to be proficient in our national language \u2014 English,\u201d Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. \u201cIf you aren\u2019t, you create an unacceptable safety risk.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Transportation Department has withheld $40 million from California, which it accused of not enforcing the English proficiency requirement. Duffy has also threatened to sanction several other states that he says have improperly issued commercial driver\u2019s licenses to unauthorized immigrants. <\/p>\n
That became a key concern after several deadly crashes involving semitrucks driven by immigrants in the country illegally. <\/p>\n
Inspectors cite problems<\/p>\n
Federal Railroad Administration Administrator David Fink told both railroads they could face enforcement action if inspectors find additional occurrences of train crews operating in the U.S. without being proficient in English. <\/p>\n
Inspectors found problems in Union Pacific\u2019s Eagle Pass rail yard and CPKC\u2019s facility in Laredo, Fink said.<\/p>\n
Union Pacific had a interpreter on hand to help its Mexican crews, but Fink said the railroad might try to remove that person in the future, and inspectors said they worried about how well the crews understood operating rules and required brake tests. <\/p>\n
At CPKC\u2019s rail yard, Fink said, inspectors found numerous instances of train crews having a hard time understanding operating bulletins and U.S. regulations that require information about hazardous materials and emergency responses to be maintained in English.<\/p>\n
Unions support the move<\/p>\n
The engineers union and the SMART-TD union that represents conductors welcomed the Trump administration\u2019s move because they say Mexican crews aren\u2019t as well-trained and need to understand crucial safety information. <\/p>\n