[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76191-76192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29762]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Safety Advisory 2013-08]


Operational Tests and Inspections for Compliance With Maximum 
Authorized Train Speeds and Other Speed Restrictions

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of safety advisory; Operational tests and inspections 
for compliance with maximum authorized train speeds and other speed 
restrictions.

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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2013-08 to stress to railroads 
and their employees the importance of compliance with Federal 
regulations and applicable railroad operating rules regarding maximum 
authorized train speed limits and any relevant speed restrictions. This 
safety advisory contains five recommendations to railroads to ensure 
that compliance with maximum authorized speeds and other speed 
restrictions are addressed by appropriate railroad operating policies 
and procedures and to ensure that those policies and procedures are 
effectively implemented.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Herrmann, Acting Director, 
Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance, Office of Railroad Safety, 
FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 
493-6037.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The overall safety of railroad operations 
has improved in recent years. However, the recent fatal accident in 
Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, New York, which is the subject of FRA's 
Emergency Order No. 29, highlights the need to ensure that speed 
restrictions mandated by Federal regulation and those imposed by a 
railroad's own operating rules are adhered to. That accident also 
demonstrates the importance of operational testing that pertains to 
ensuring employee compliance with applicable speed limitations and 
restrictions.

Metro-North Spuyten Duyvil Derailment

    On Sunday, December 1, 2013, Metro-North passenger train 8808 
(Train 8808) was traveling south from Poughkeepsie, New York, to Grand 
Central Terminal in New York City when, at approximately 7:20 a.m., the 
train derailed as it approached the Spuyten Duyvil Station. The train 
consisted of seven passenger coach cars, including a control cab 
locomotive in the lead position, and a conventional locomotive at the 
rear of the train, operating in a push-pull configuration (a control 
cab locomotive is both a passenger car, in that it has seats for 
passengers, and a locomotive, in that it has a control cab from which 
the engineer can operate the train). Each of the seven cars derailed 
along with the trailing locomotive. As of December 6, the derailment 
has resulted in four fatalities and more than 60 reported injuries.
    As is customary, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 
has taken the lead role in conducting the investigation of this 
accident pursuant to its legal authority. 49 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.; 49 
CFR 800.3(a), 831.2(b). FRA is also investigating the accident. As 
Train 8808 approached the Spuyten Duyvil Station from the north, it 
traveled over a straightaway with a maximum authorized passenger train 
speed of 70 mph before reaching a sharp curve in the track where, by 
the railroad's own rules, the maximum authorized speed was reduced to 
30 mph. A preliminary review of the information on the locomotive event 
recorders by NTSB indicates that the train was traveling approximately 
82 mph as it entered the curve's 30-mph speed restriction. This means 
Train 8808 was exceeding the maximum authorized speed on the 
straightaway by 12 mph and traveling nearly three times the railroad's 
maximum authorized speed as it entered the curve. Information obtained 
from the train's event recorders also indicates that approximately six 
seconds before the locomotive came to a stop, the locomotive throttle 
was placed in idle and an application of the train's brake system was 
made.
    FRA's accident statistics reveal that the railroad industry's 
recent safety record with regard to this area of compliance on main 
tracks is good, but FRA believes the December 1 accident highlights the 
need to remain vigilant in ensuring employee compliance with 
operational speed limits and restrictions for trains and locomotives. 
As such, FRA intends to focus its inspections on railroad operational 
testing activity over the next several months on compliance with 
maximum authorized train speeds and relevant speed restrictions. FRA 
strongly encourages railroads and other industry members to re-
emphasize the importance of compliance with maximum authorized train 
speeds and any applicable speed restrictions, and to conduct 
operational testing at a level that will ensure compliance with all 
posted speed restrictions.
    Recommended Railroad Action: In light of the recent accident 
discussed above, and in an effort to ensure the safety of the Nation's 
railroads, their employees, and the general public, FRA recommends that 
railroads do each of the following:
    (1) Review the circumstances of the December 1, 2013, Spuyten 
Duyvil derailment with each of their operating employees.
    (2) Provide instruction to their employees during training classes 
and safety briefings on the importance of compliance with maximum 
authorized train speed limits and other speed restrictions. This 
training should

[[Page 76192]]

include discussion of the railroad's absolute speed limits, speed 
restrictions based on physical characteristics, temporary speed 
restrictions, and any other restrictions commonly encountered.
    (3) Remind their employees that Federal railroad safety regulation, 
at 49 CFR 240.305(a)(2) and 242.403(e)(2), prohibits the operation of a 
locomotive or train at a speed which exceeds the maximum authorized 
speed by at least 10 mph.
    (4) Evaluate quarterly and 6-month reviews of operational testing 
data as required by 49 CFR 217.9. A railroad should consider increasing 
the frequency of operational testing where its reviews show any non-
compliance with maximum authorized train speeds. A significant number 
of operational tests should be conducted on trains that are required to 
reduce speed by more than 20 mph from the maximum authorized train 
speed. Operational tests should use the reliable methods available, 
such as reviewing locomotive event recorder data and testing by radar 
to verify compliance with maximum authorized speeds.
    (5) Reinforce the importance of communication between train 
crewmembers located in the controlling locomotive, particularly during 
safety critical periods when multiple tasks are occurring (e.g., 
copying mandatory directives, closely approaching or passing fixed 
signals and/or cab signals at a reduced speed, approaching locations 
where the train's movement authority is being restricted, during radio 
conversations with other employees or job briefings about track 
characteristics) and during extended periods of inactivity.
    FRA encourages all railroad industry members to take actions 
consistent with the preceding recommendations. FRA may modify this 
Safety Advisory 2013-08, issue additional safety advisories, or take 
other appropriate action necessary to ensure the highest level of 
safety on the Nation's railroads, including pursing other corrective 
measures under its rail safety authority.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 10, 2013.
Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-29762 Filed 12-13-13; 8:45 am]
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