CSX has submitted notification to the FRA that it intends to implement the Automated Track Inspection waiver beginning July 1, suspending normal visual track inspection frequencies prescribed under 49 CFR 213.233(c) and replacing a portion of those inspections with ATI technologies.

Here are some key takeaways from the CSX submission:

• Begins July 1, 2026.

• The waiver will cover 3000.14 route miles and 4516.42 track miles, including most of the Interstate 95 corridor and some of CSX's busiest lines.

• Includes 40 different subdivisions spanning every service lane.

• One reporting group for the purpose of calculating required metrics, namely ATI defects found per 100 miles tested and ATI-found multiclass drop defects found per 100 miles tested.

• Declining to opt into Condition 13 metrics. These are optional metrics meant as a way for the railroads to provide metrics to prove some of the AAR's claims.

• Timetables and track charts have been redacted and marked as proprietary information (first railroad to do this).

• CSX plans to use three different geometry platforms including nine Ensco autonomous boxcars, two geometry cars, and one Holland locomotive-based system.

Some submitted baseline data from the month of April reported by CSX to the FRA is below. Early field reports data from the carrier includes both track inspector-found defects and ATI-found defects. Here are some things of note:

• Track Inspectors found 252 defects, 1 multiclass drop defect and zero geometry defects across 56,989 visual inspection miles for the month of April.

• ATI found 60 geometry defects and 1 multiclass drop defect across 26,730 miles of testing.

• 33% of ATI-found defects were ultimately not found during track inspector verification according to railroad officials.

The BMWED will continue to monitor the CSX submission and other submissions as they come into the FRA. Stay informed by frequently following our Track Inspection Resource Center on the Brotherhood website at www.bmwe.org/trackinspection.