On November 5, 2025, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a Safety Alert entitled “Unexpected Movement of Unsecured Equipment on Railroad Track.”  As part of the NTSB’s mission of promoting safety in the rail industry, the NTSB issued this Safety Alert because of its recognition that railroad workers “face significant risk of serious injury or death when they enter the gauge of the track without first ensuring that all equipment on the track is stationary and properly secured against movement.”¹

The Problem of Railroad Workers Fouling Tracks

The NTSB highlighted the sad fact that 5 railroad workers were seriously injured or killed by moving equipment after “fouling”² the track within a one-year period between July 2024 and July 2025.  One of those tragic accidents involving a Norfolk Southern worker was investigated by the NTSB and written about in a prior blog.      

The NTSB found that similar and recurring problems led to these 5 accidents and used the Safety Alert to put the spotlight on potential safety lapses: 

  • Railroad cars can appear to be stationary and unexpectedly start to roll, especially on a downhill grade, when not properly secured by handbrakes; 
  • Railroad freight cars and tank cars (“tankers”) can move unexpectedly when the freight in the cars or liquid in the tankers shifts;
  • Slack action can also cause unexpected and/or sudden movement in rail cars which can create risk of injury for an unsuspecting worker performing tasks in the gauge of the track or riding the side of a rail car;
  • Moving rail cars or locomotives may hit stationary rail cars in a railroad yard for whatever reason, including during blind moves, and set them in motion unexpectedly;
  • Any track slopes or grades in rail yards can also add to the risks when unsecured equipment moves unexpectedly.        

How Can Railroad Workers Be Protected from Crush Injuries?

Safety Alert SA-104 provides advice for railroad workers and railroad companies to help prevent crush injuries associated with fouling railroad track.  The NTSB recommended preventative action which railroads can take to better protect workers form these injuries, including: 

  • Ensure that operating rules related to securing railroad cars and locomotives are easy to understand; 
  • Require railroad management to check that procedures related to properly securing railroad cars and locomotives are being followed;
  • Revisit and revise operating rules as necessary after a “close call”  happens;
  • Provide training to railroad workers to ensure they know to only foul railroad tracks when necessary;
  • Require that employees are properly briefed on safety procedures related to fouling track; 
  • Reinforcing that railroad workers should stop working if the safest course of action is not being followed.

It is more important than ever for railroad workers and their families to understand their rights under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA).  The FELA is the law that protects railroad employees if they are injured and rail workers are not covered by state worker’s compensation laws.  In many ways the FELA is more beneficial to injured railroad workers and their families, but they need to understand their rights.  As one famous Supreme Court case³ noted, the FELA, “was a response to the special needs of railroad workers who are daily exposed to the risks inherent in railroad work and are helpless to provide adequately for their own safety…The cost of human injury, an inescapable expense of railroading, must be borne by someone, and the FELA seeks to adjust that expense equitably between the worker and the carrier.” 

The railroad injury lawyers at Doran and Murphy have successfully handled railroad injury lawsuits and claims for the last 3 decades.  Call our offices at 1-800-374-2144 for a free, confidential consultation or you can contact us here.  There is no risk to you or your family, and we only get paid if you get paid for your injury!

¹https://www.ntsb.gov/Advocacy/safety-alerts/Pages/SA-104.aspx

²According to NTSB Safety Alert SA-104, “a track is fouled when an individual or equipment is in the gauge of the track or within 4 feet of the nearest rail of the track and can be struck by a moving train or on-track equipment.  

³Kernan v. American Dredging Co., 355 U.S. 426 (1958)