The appeal by the American freight railroad company regarding the new regulations for two-person crews has been rejected.

According to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday, the appeals filed by six U.S. railroad companies and two industry groups against a new regulation requiring that many trains be staffed with at least two crew members during operation were dismissed. U.S. freight railroads, including Union Pacific Railroad and Berkshire Hathaways BNSF Railway, opposed the crew staffing requirements proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration. This regulation was introduced in the wake of a train derailment incident in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, which raised serious scrutiny on railroad safety and saw unions fighting to maintain crew member levels. The incident led to the leakage and ignition of rail cars containing toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals. Rail companies, among other arguments, contended that the crew staffing regulation exceeded the Federal Railroad Administrations general rulemaking authority. The court rejected the railroad companies' arguments and dismissed their petition for review of the regulation.