BNSF, BRC seek expansion of FRA test waiver for brake technology
The Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division (BRC) is supporting BNSF Railway Co.‘s request to expand a Federal Railroad Administration waiver for the railroad’s brake health effectiveness program (BHE).
The BHE is a safety technology that measures the temperature of car wheels as a train passes through detectors where the wheels are analyzed to ensure braking systems are operating properly, BNSF officials said in a press release.
The technology assists the BRC inspectors by focusing their inspection and repair efforts on specific cars, which helps make the inspection process more effective, they said. If no defects are found, the train will continue to its destination.
BNSF implemented the technology four years ago on intermodal and grain cars through an FRA test waiver. Now BRC and BNSF are partnering to request an expansion of the waiver.
“Embracing technological developments like BHE not only creates a safer network, but ultimately allows us to grow the railroad together which is in the best interest of all of us,” said Keith Solomons, BNSF’s vice president of mechanical.