This week the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration released the Annual Enforcement Report for 2025. The Report demonstrates that fines increased by 25%, after completing more than 70,000 inspections. These inspections include railroads and other entities such as Hazmat Shippers.
The data demonstrates that the increased inspections resulted in the finding of nearly 250,000 defects in railroad inspections alone, and an additional 20,000 from the other entities that fall within the FRA’s inspection jurisdiction. These violations include:
- 594 Freight Car Safety Standards violations;
- 384 Track Safety Standards violations;
- 92 Roadway worker Protection violations;
- 350 Locomotive Safety Standards violations; and
- Nearly 2,000 Safety Appliance Statute and Regulation violations.
The Report breaks down the violations and overall fines by each railroad, with CSX receiving initial penalties of $3,531,916, Norfolk Southern receiving initial penalties of $5,049,701 and Union Pacific receiving initial penalties of $8,513,915. These penalties can later be lessened by appeals, remediation of hazards and negotiation.
These numbers only show the violations that were found on enforcement and inspection actions by the FRA, and are not nearly the number of violations that occur every day.
If you or a loved one have suffered an injury working for the railroad, please reach out to the attorneys at Doran & Murphy to discuss your rights.
