Federal rules provide that safety-sensitive employees (train & engine, signal and dispatcher) are subject to alcohol/drug testing after certain accidents,on a random basis, pre-employement and for reasonable suspicion. Railroads may also test on their own authority for other circumstances and other methods. For example, a number of railroads conduct hair testing for pre-employement screening. While not sanctioned (yet) by the Department of Transportation, such tests can identify people who have used drugs months in advance.

Advise your students that if they are interested in a field where their job certainly won't be exported, they should plan on a life free of drug use. If they're not caught in the pre-employement test, they'll still stand for a random test at any time. The culture in the industry has changed - many employees are no longer patient with a habitual user and while there are self-referral programs such as Operation Red Block to help a person get their act together, if a person continues to come to work dirty they'll probably not last.