Mineta

The California State Legislative Board of the United Transportation Union (the Union) and David W. Eden seek review of a final decision of the Federal Railroad Administration (the FRA) that the San Joaquin Valley Railroad (the SJVR) did not violate the FRA’s accident reporting regulations, 49 C.F.R. Part 225 (2001) and, *1170 in particular, Part 225.33’s prohibition of harassment intended to discourage a person from reporting a railroad accident. Holding that the case did not involve a reportable accident, we deny the petition.

FACTS

The administrative record from which we have drawn the following statement of facts is redolent of the tensions of railroad and roundhouse life, and the several reports and letters give some inkling of why there was sufficient tension between the Union and the carrier for the Union to pursue this case. At the same time none of “the facts” was established by testimony under oath or subjected to cross-examination; and they are narrated here only to give a sense of what led to this petition for review.

On April 11, 2000, David W. Eden, a conductor on the SJVR, detrained in order to line a switch. He “hung” his left toe on trash next to the rails and…