Could politics be playing a role?

- FRA has issued a total of 29 Emergency Orders during its decades of existence. In the past the agency might have used a Compliance Agreement in such a case.
- Their rate of issuance seems to have increased in the last few years
- The industry's safety record has seen significant improvement since deregulation and the process continues
- This emergency order is consistent with Administrator Szabo's public position that FRA will promulgate a rule requiring 2-persons on every crew. (In case you are not aware, Szabo is the former Illinois State Legislative Rep for UTU.)

While MetroNorth has had a string of serious incidents, this EO was issued while the investigation is in its early stages. While it gives the appearance of an agency that is tough and intolerant of misbehavior, it remains to be seen wether two people in the cab will address what could be anything from a medical condition, a cell phone distraction, or even multiple people in the cab of that train swapping stories rather than minding the store. After all, we're talking about a weekend morning commuter train, possibly with a light load of passengers and with multiple crew members with few tickets to punch or doors to open.