OMAHA, Neb. (NEWSnet/AP) — About 1,000 engineers and conductors who work for Norfolk Southern will soon be able to report safety concerns anonymously through a federal system without any fear of discipline.

Norfolk Southern is the first of the six major freight railroads to follow through on promises to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s program in the aftermath of last year's fiery Ohio derailment. The one-year pilot agreement is limited to members of just two unions who work in Atlanta, Georgia; Elkhart, Indiana; and Roanoke, Virginia.

But federal officials who urged the railroads to do more to improve safety touted the agreement Monday as a breakthrough coming just days before Saturday’s one-year anniversary of the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said he hopes his railroad’s agreement to join the reporting system will set an example for the rest of the industry.

The major freight railroads have resisted joining the anonymous reporting system because they wanted the ability to discipline workers who use the hotline in certain circumstances. The Association of American Railroads trade group has said railroads were worried that the system could be abused by workers who try to avoid discipline by reporting situations a railroad already knows about.

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