Railroad safety rule extended to yardmasters after decades of gap

What it does

This bill extends federal duty-hour limitations—rules that cap how long railroad workers can work without rest—to yardmaster employees (workers who supervise and coordinate trains and engines in rail yards). Currently, these protections apply only to train employees; the bill adds yardmasters to the same safety rules, requiring them to have mandatory rest periods and limiting consecutive work hours.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative function is to extend existing federal duty-hour safety protections to a previously excluded category of railroad workers. It is a straightforward labor-safety amendment with no hidden mechanisms or narrow beneficiaries.

What the text implies

• Yardmasters may face scheduling constraints that require railroads to hire additional staff or adjust shift patterns, increasing labor costs for rail operators.
• The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties; effectiveness depends on existing FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) oversight of § 21103 compliance.
• Yardmasters currently working under less restrictive schedules may experience immediate operational disruption if railroads have not pre-positioned staffing to absorb duty-hour limits.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Yardmaster employees gain explicit federal protections against excessive work hours, reducing fatigue-related safety risks for themselves and the public (rail yards are high-hazard environments). The bill imposes no new costs on citizens and aligns safety standards across railroad worker categories.

Named in the bill

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Railroad industry, Yardmaster employees, Train employees, 49 USC § 21103, 49 USC § 21101

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Jun 24, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 24, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Sep 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,399,645 in lobbying spend. A filing names 32 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Salud Carbajal, the sponsor, reported $631,982 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Int'l Ass'n of Sheet Metal Air Rail & Transp Workers Transp Div — $1,188,640 on 3 filings
• Bnsf Railway Company — $960,000 on 1 filing
• Csx Corporation — $251,005 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.