Commuter Rail
Safety
FRA
NTSB to FRA: Require Audio and Image Recorders on Locomotives
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration: Require the installation, in all controlling locomotive cabs and cab car operating compartments, of crash- and fire-protected inward- and outward-facing audio and image recorders capable of providing recordings to verify that train crew actions are in accordance with rules and procedures that are essential to safety as well as train operating conditions.
NTSB
NTSB Adds Improving Transit Railcar Design to ‘Most Wanted’ List
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board issued its 2010 Federal Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, adding rail, aviation and marine issues, and updating the status of other issues on the list. At the same time, the Board removed the issue areas dealing with improved protection for school bus passengers and fatigue in the pipeline industry. “Every one of the hundreds of currently open safety recommendations address concerns that the Safety Board has uncovered in its accident investigations,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said. “But the recommendations on the Most Wanted list represent those improvements that can have
Commuter Rail
Federal Railroad Administration Initiates Trespass Prevention Study in South Florida
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced that the City of West Palm Beach, FL and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), among other partners, will participate in the Trespass Prevention Research Study, a program designed to identify and review trespass laws and mitigation strategies. The goal is to successfully reduce trespassing incidents and fatalities, the feds said. The SFRTA area experienced ten fatalities due to illegal trespassing in the first eight months of 2008, half of which occurred in the West Palm Beach area. Research done by FRA in the region will help the agency better understand trespassing
Safety
Illinois Railroads Ordered to Compensate Employee Fired for Reporting Work-Related injury
KANSAS CITY — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered the Illinois Central Railroad Co. and the Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad, both headquartered in Homewood, Ill., to pay a former railroad employee more than $80,000 in back wages, compensatory damages and attorney’s fees. OSHA investigated the employee’s allegation that the railroads terminated his employment in retaliation for reporting a work-related injury he sustained while performing his job. OSHA’s investigation found that officials from both railroads ordered an investigation into the cause of the employee’s injury, which ultimately resulted in their decision to terminate
NTSB
NTSB to meet on ‘Most Wanted’ List
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting Thursday, February 18, at 9:30 a.m., in its Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. The Board will review its list of Most Wanted safety recommendations directed at federal agencies. The Most Wanted List was developed in 1990 to focus attention on safety improvements the Board believes will have the greatest impact on transportation safety. Some of the issues to be reviewed this year include emergency helicopter medical services, intelligent highway technologies, motor carrier operations and operator fatigue. The Board will also discuss
BNSF
Feds Announce New Safety Standards for Freight and Passenger Trains
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Administrator Joseph Szabo on Jan. 12 announced historic safety regulations requiring that Positive Train Control (PTC) technology be installed on the nation’s major rail lines as well as commuter and intercity passenger rail routes.
CSX
CSX, Georgia Formalize Railroad Security Partnership
ATLANTA – CSX Transportation and the state of Georgia have agreed to a “unique public-private” railroad security partnership they say will help protect the communities located along the railroad’s tracks. Under the “SecureNOW” partnership, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency-Office of Homeland Security can access CSXT’s Network Operations Workstation System. The secure, online system was developed CSXT and allows state and local officials to track the location of CSXT trains and their contents. In return, CSXT – which operates about 2,700 miles of rail lines in Georgia and has major rail yards in Atlanta, Savannah and Waycross – will work with
Safety
Operation Lifesaver Warns Hunters to Avoid Train Tracks
WASHINGTON — With deer hunting season in full swing in many states, Operation Lifesaver is reminding outdoor enthusiasts that hunting on or near train tracks is not only illegal trespassing, it could be deadly. Last year, 456 people died and 429 were injured while trespassing on railroad property nationwide, according to preliminary federal statistics. Operation Lifesaver is taking action to save lives by issuing pedestrian safety tips in time for hunting season. In addition, a new Operation Lifesaver hunting safety video has been posted on YouTube. A number of state Operation Lifesaver programs also are running billboard campaigns urging pedestrians