Building a New Path to Washington
for America’s Railroad Signalmen

Passenger train crossing a mountain bridge, representing the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen rail-safety campaign

Challenge

Transforming a new relationship into tangible funding victories for rail safety.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) has represented the workers who install and maintain America’s rail signal and grade-crossing systems for more than a century. The union had a track record of winning federal funding for rail safety work, including a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) CRISI grant for its NexGenPOST2 research project. But a new Administration brought new leadership at the Department of Transportation, a full review of pending grants, and different priorities. BRS partnered with the CGCN Group to further develop its relationship with Secretary Sean Duffy and his team.

Without that relationship, BRS’s grants risked stalling or being overlooked. The work at stake mattered to rail workers and to the communities their systems protect.

Strategy & Execution

Making the Introduction

CGCN’s team includes former senior staff from Congress, the White House, and presidential campaigns, with longstanding ties to Secretary Duffy and his leadership team. We used those relationships to secure a dialogue between BRS leadership and the Secretary. That put the union in front of the decision-maker, not just program staff.

Speaking the Department’s Language

We helped BRS frame its request around the Secretary’s stated priorities: real infrastructure, safety, innovation, and a skilled American workforce. Instead of a generic funding ask, BRS presented its request as a direct investment in safer railroads and the workers who keep them running. It positioned itself as a partner working alongside the Administration to develop, test, and verify the technologies shaping the future of railroading.

Authentic Voices

As in every CGCN campaign, the people doing the work were at the center. Signalmen and BRS leaders explained in their own words what funding would mean on the ground. Those firsthand accounts gave the Department a reason to act.

Sustained Follow-Through

One meeting rarely closes a deal. CGCN kept the relationship active after the first introduction. We coordinated follow-up with the Secretary’s office and FRA leadership and kept allies on Capitol Hill informed so the process kept moving.

Outcome

  • BRS was selected for its second FRA CRISI grant, an award of up to $11.15 million for Phase II of the NexGenPOST2 project.
  • The funding supports a partnership between BRS, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Hum Industrial Technology, and ENSCO to advance rail monitoring technology, cybersecurity, and workforce development.
  • BRS now has a working relationship with Secretary Duffy, FRA Administrator David Fink, and FRA’s Office of Railroad Development and Innovation that it did not have before.

What began as an effort to open doors in a new Administration has become a foundation for lasting collaboration, meaningful federal investment, and safer American railroads.