US rail regulators will stop measuring safety, start measuring delays

US rail regulators will stop requiring railroads to report spending on a specific safety system. Instead, they will require weekly reports on two measures of service reliability. This means regulators will focus less on how railroads prevent accidents and more on how well they deliver goods.

For years, US rail regulators required detailed reports on Positive Train Control, a system designed to prevent collisions and derailments. Now that the system is fully installed, those reports are ending. The shift means regulators will prioritize tracking how quickly trains move goods, rather than how safely they operate. This could change how rail companies allocate resources and what regulators choose to enforce.