The U.S. rail industry is under mounting pressure to meet the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) looming 2025 deadline to vacate the legacy 900 MHz frequency band, but slow progress has raised concerns about potential delays and disruptions to critical rail communications systems.
The FCC’s $110 million initiative, approved in 2020, mandates that Class I railroads—including major players like Union Pacific and CSX—shift to a new 900 MHz broadband spectrum to support critical upgrades in communications and safety technology.
In November, an FCC official told Federal Newswire that Class I railroads have made little to no progress in meeting the FCC’s April 2026 license renewal deadline for the new 900 MHz spectrum.
The initiative is designed to address long-standing infrastructure challenges, with the goal of improving rail operations, safety, and productivity across the industry.
To meet the deadline, railroads must transition away from the outdated 900 MHz private wireless network currently used by systems like Centralized Traffic Control (CTC), which is essential for managing train schedules and preventing accidents.
Currently, freight rail operators rely on slow 900 MHz two-way radios that do not meet modern 802.16 wireless broadband standards used in other industries. The initiative calls for replacing 10,000 of those radios industry-wide, among other upgrades.
BNSF Railway, one of the largest freight railroads in the U.S., did not respond to inquiries from Federal Newswire about its progress toward meeting the FCC mandate.
Questions directed to Sunny Bajaj, the AVP of Technology Services at BNSF, regarding the company’s plans for transitioning CTC operations to the new 900 MHz frequency or potentially other communication technologies went unanswered.
The FCC’s initiative aims to clear the current 900 MHz spectrum to make room for more robust broadband deployments.
According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), railroads have collectively committed $110 million for the necessary equipment upgrades. Of that amount, about $41 million is earmarked to clear the broadband spectrum, and $26 million has already been spent on upgrading legacy systems.
AAR has also spent more than $2 million over the past two years testing new technologies designed to meet the unique needs of rail operations.
Despite these investments, the transition has been slower than anticipated.
In May 2020, the FCC granted the railroads a new 900 MHz frequency, with a clear deadline of September 2025 to vacate the legacy spectrum.
This delay has raised concerns about whether the railroads will meet the FCC’s mandate or if the agency will need to find alternative uses for the spectrum.
While the FCC’s approval of a new spectrum block for railroads was a step forward, concerns are growing about whether the transition will happen on time as the industry continues to face technical, financial, and logistical challenges.
The transition is not only critical for the railroads’ internal operations but also for public safety. Aging infrastructure is increasingly ill-suited to support the growing number of automated systems and digital technologies that modern rail operations depend on.
If railroads like BNSF fail to meet the September 2025 deadline, they risk losing access to the spectrum, potentially delaying the safety and efficiency improvements needed to keep pace with the evolving demands of the industry.
