The Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) tracks injuries on railroads. The FRA’s most recent report on employee injuries shows a drastic reduction of employee injuries from 2015 to 2016 on all major railroads operating in the northeast, except Metro North. See, http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Query/castally1.aspx

The total number of reported Metro North employee injuries was essentially the same from 2015 to 2016, while all other major northeast railroads saw a drastic drop in reported employee injuries from 2015 to 2016. The LIRR saw a 30% decrease (284 down to 197), Amtrak a 41% decrease (270 down to 157), PATH a 23% decrease (155 down to119), New Jersey Transit a 28% decrease (121 down to 86), MBTA a 37% decrease (69 down to 43), CSX a 29% decrease (27 down to 19). In 2015 Metro North had 201 reported employee injuries and in 2016 it had 200 reported employee injuries – a 0.5 percent decrease.

Why is there such a discrepancy in the direction of reported injuries from 2015 to 2016 on Metro North compared with all other major northeast railroads? Are other railroads getting safer while Metro North is failing to improve workplace safety? Are Metro North employees more confident they will not be retaliated against for reporting on the job injuries compared with employees on other major northeast railroads? One year does not exactly make a trend, however, the stark contrast between the decrease in employee injuries on every other major railroad in the northeast and Metro North should be looked into further.