Trump administration wants to ensure Mexican crews operating trains in the US can speak English

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A number of Mexican train crews who had just hauled trains over the border to American rail yards in Texas had trouble understanding important safety information in English during recent focused inspections the Trump administration ordered.

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 right at the border. The engineers union has been worried about using foreign crews for some time because of safety, security and job concerns.

The Federal Railroad Administration sent letters to both railroads urging them to reexamine their practices and make sure that Mexican crews can speak English and don’t operate a train more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) inside America.

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.

The Trump administration has also been cracking down on truck drivers who don’t speak English to make sure crews can communicate in an emergency and understand crucial instructions.

“Whether you’re operating an 80-ton big rig or a massive freight train, you need to be proficient in our national language — English,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “If you aren’t, you create an unacceptable safety risk.”

The Transportation Department has already withheld $40 million from California for not enforcing the English proficiency requirement, and Duffy has threatened to sanction several other states for incorrectly giving immigrants who are in the country illegally commercial driver’s licenses. That became a key concern after several deadly crashes occurred involving semitrucks driven by immigrants who shouldn’t have had licenses.

Crews have trouble understanding safety bulletins

FRA 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.

Inspectors found problems in Union Pacific’s Eagle Pass rail yard and CPKC’s facility in Laredo.

Union Pacific had a translator on hand to help its Mexican crews, but Fink said the railroad might try to remove that in the future, and inspectors worried about how well the crews understood operating rules and required brake tests.

At CPKC’s 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.

Unions say enforcement is overdue

The engineers union and the SMART-TD union that represents conductors praised the Trump administration’s move because they say Mexican crews aren’t as well-trained and need to understand crucial safety information.

Earlier this year, the engineers union also highlighted two arrests of members of Mexican crews on suspicion of smuggling — one for helping migrants cross the border illegally and the other for trying to bring drugs into the United States.

“The administration should be commended for standing up for border security, public safety and American jobs by creating stronger safety standards for crews that bring trains from Mexico to the United States,” BLET National President Mark Wallace said. “It’s critical that locomotive engineers are able to speak to dispatchers and first responders in English when trains are moving on U.S. soil.”

The railroads say they will work to follow the rules

“We have the same goals — a safe, secure border that keeps the supply chain fluid,” Union Pacific spokesperson Kristen South said. “Part of ensuring safe operations is good communication.”

CPKC spokesperson Patrick Waldron said his railroad — which operates one continuous network across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico — makes sure international crews at both borders do not travel more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) into the U.S.

“Safety is foundational to everything we do,” he said.

Union Pacific picks up and hands off trains to its partner, FerroMex railroad, at the border. It said changing out crews at its rail yard 7 miles (11 kilometers) over the border in Eagle Pass helps keep freight moving because previously the switch was done at a single-track bridge, forcing rail traffic to come to a halt. The railroad said it worked with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to make the change.