H.R. 9409: Remote Control Locomotives Safety Improvement Act of 2026

This bill would place new limits on how railroads use remote control locomotives, which are locomotives operated by someone not physically in the cab through a radio link.

What railroads would have to do

• For trains operating outside a yard, a human locomotive engineer would have to be physically in the cab of the lead locomotive and able to take control of the train.
• Remote control locomotives could not be used on a main line.
• Any train running on a main line would have to have a lead locomotive with a federally certified locomotive engineer physically in the cab.

Where the rules would apply

The bill defines a main line as track carrying at least 5 million gross tons of railroad traffic per year. It also says the new requirements apply immediately when the bill becomes law.

Limits on exemptions

The Secretary of Transportation would be barred from granting waivers from these requirements for:

• Class I railroads;
• Class II railroads; or
• Any train operating on track classified as class 1 or above under federal railroad track rules.

Enforcement and inspections

The Federal Railroad Administration would have to inspect and audit each Class I railroad within 180 days of enactment and take steps to ensure compliance. Within one year, it would also have to conduct unscheduled audits and inspections of other covered rail carriers as needed.

Regulations

The Secretary of Transportation would be required to issue any necessary regulations to carry out the law, including conforming changes to existing railroad safety rules.

Penalties

Violations could result in civil penalties. Each day a violation continues would count as a separate violation. The penalty would be the greater of 1% of the violator’s annual income or annual operating income, or $1 million.

Relevant Companies

• CSX (CSX) — A major U.S. freight railroad that could be directly affected by restrictions on remote control locomotives and related compliance requirements.
• UNP (UNP) — Union Pacific, a large freight railroad that could need to adjust operating practices and employee staffing on affected routes.
• NSC (NSC) — Norfolk Southern, which could face similar operational and compliance impacts.
• CNI (CNI) — Canadian National Railway, to the extent its U.S. operations fall under the bill’s requirements.
• CP (CP) — Canadian Pacific Kansas City, which could be affected in its U.S. freight operations.
• BNSF — Not publicly traded, so no ticker is listed; it could still be directly affected as a large Class I railroad.