[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14516-14518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05996]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Safety Advisory No. 2016-01]
Movement of Roadway Maintenance Machines Over Highway-Rail Grade
Crossings
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory.
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SUMMARY: FRA recently completed its investigation into a fatal accident
that occurred when an on-track roadway maintenance machine traveling on
main track collided with a motor vehicle at a highway-rail grade
crossing. FRA is issuing this Safety Advisory 2016-01 to heighten rules
compliance and situational awareness of railroads, railroad
contractors, and their respective employees when operating roadway
maintenance machines over highway-rail grade crossings. This Safety
Advisory makes recommendations to railroads and railroad contractors
regarding the need to review, update, and follow rules and procedures
governing the safe movement of roadway maintenance equipment over
highway-rail grade crossings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick T. Warren, Deputy Associate
Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program Implementation, Office
of Railroad Safety, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 25,
Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493-1366; or Joseph Riley, Track
Specialist, Track Division, Office of Railroad Safety, FRA, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493-6357.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2015, a fatal accident occurred
when an on-track roadway maintenance machine, traveling as part of a
large roadway work group (rail gang) over main track, collided with a
private motor vehicle at a public highway-rail grade crossing in
Gilroy, California (Gilroy). The driver of the motor vehicle died as a
result of the collision.
While investigating this 2015 accident, FRA reviewed its accident
data regarding other collisions at highway-rail grade crossings
involving railroad maintenance-of-way equipment. FRA's review found
that between January 2010 and November 2015, 187 accidents involving
maintenance-of-way equipment and motor vehicles occurred at highway-
rail grade crossings. The 187 accidents resulted in 2 fatalities to
highway vehicle motorists, 62 injuries to motor vehicle occupants, and
6 injuries to railroad employees.
The January 2015 accident referenced here and FRA's review of
accident data described above illustrate the safety risk to railroad
and railroad contractor employees and the public when roadway
maintenance machines travel over highway-rail grade crossings. This
risk is heightened when roadway maintenance machines, including hi-rail
vehicles, fail to activate grade crossing warning devices. To reduce
this safety risk, FRA recommends that the railroad industry evaluate
relevant railroad rules and emphasize compliance with those rules and
any other procedures governing the safe movement of on-track equipment
over highway-rail grade crossings.
Accident Summary
The accident description provided below is based on FRA's
investigation of the January 2015 accident and serves to illustrate the
risks associated with moving railroad roadway maintenance machines over
highway-rail grade crossings. On January 9, 2015, near Gilroy, a Union
Pacific Railroad Company (UP) system rail gang was in the process of
changing job locations from a siding track to an industrial lead track
approximately 12 miles away. The rail gang consisted of 62 pieces of
roadway maintenance machinery moving over UP main track to a new job
location under the authority of a train dispatcher. At approximately
1:05 p.m., a spiker/gager roadway maintenance machine (40th machine in
the consist) was traveling approximately 12 miles per hour over the
Masten Avenue highway-rail grade crossing in Gilroy and collided with a
motor vehicle (pickup truck) as it proceeded westbound over the
crossing. The driver was the sole occupant of the pickup truck and
received fatal injuries.
The spiker/gager operator was operating in reverse and was not
facing the direction of the machine's movement, relying on side mirrors
to see in the direction of movement. Additionally, a semi-tractor
trailer had stopped short of the crossing for a traffic light and may
have blocked the spiker/gager operator's view of westbound vehicular
traffic approaching the highway-rail grade crossing. Applicable UP
rules require that ``[t]rack cars and on-track equipment must approach
all grade crossings prepared to stop and must yield the right-of-way to
vehicular traffic. If necessary, personnel will be deployed to flag the
crossing to protect movement of a track car or other on-track
equipment.'' UP's rules further specify:
When approaching any grade crossing equipped with automatic
warning devices and the automatic warning devices are not activated,
all track cars and on-track equipment must stop short of the
crossing and not proceed until safe to do so, unless the crossing
has been closed or barricaded or is protected by properly equipped
flaggers.
FRA's investigation indicates that the operator of the spiker/gager
involved in the collision failed to follow applicable UP rules by not
stopping short of the crossing and failing to yield the right-of-way to
vehicle traffic. It appears that the spiker/gager had fallen several
hundred feet behind the machine it was following and FRA's review of
the downloaded grade crossing warning device data indicated the
crossing gates had recovered (lifted) before the spiker/gager arrived
at the crossing. Unlike trains, roadway maintenance machines do not
always shunt or maintain shunt in track circuits to trigger activation
of grade crossing warning device systems and, in most cases, roadway
maintenance machines are not designed or built to shunt the track
circuit.
[[Page 14517]]
FRA's investigation also indicates that before the rail gang
equipment started its movement, a job briefing was held that identified
the railroad's safety procedures to follow during the movement. The job
briefing instructed the machine operators to ``bunch-up'' at grade
crossings, allowing no more than 50 feet between equipment. The
bunching-up of equipment is intended to allow the equipment to travel
over highway-rail grade crossings in a safe and efficient manner, as
well as to lessen the time the public is stopped at the crossing. The
job briefing did not include instructions regarding theuse of flaggers
to protect movements over highway-rail grade crossings.
Rules Compliance, Situational Awareness, and Grade Crossing Protection
Measures
Generally, railroad rules govern the movement of roadway
maintenance machines over highway-rail grade crossings.\1\ Under most
applicable railroad rules governing movement of on-track equipment over
highway-rail grade crossings, roadway maintenance machines do not have
the right-of-way over vehicular traffic. Industry practices typically
require such equipment to approach every highway-rail grade crossing
prepared to stop and not proceed until it is seen that the grade
crossing is clear. For example, under the applicable UP rule in
question, roadway maintenance machines are required to stop when
approaching a grade crossing with automatic warning devices when such
devices are not activated unless the crossing has been closed or
barricaded or is protected by properly equipped flaggers. When grade
crossing warning devices are activated, machine operators must still be
prepared to stop.
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\1\ FRA's grade crossing safety regulations in 49 CFR part 234
do not specifically address roadway maintenance machine movements
over grade crossings. In addition, 49 CFR part 214, subpart C
establishes protections to prevent roadway workers from being struck
by rolling equipment, but does not mention, nor is it generally
intended to address, movement of roadway maintenance machines in
travel mode over highway-rail grade crossings under the authority of
a train dispatcher. See 61 FR 65959, 65961 (Dec. 16, 1996). FRA
conducted a post-accident inspection of the spiker/gager that was
involved in the collision and found it was in compliance with
applicable FRA regulations governing roadway maintenance machines at
49 CFR part 214, subpart D.
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Most of the 187 accidents described above occurred while on-track
equipment was traveling over a highway-rail grade crossing and not when
roadway work groups were performing work at a crossing. FRA's review of
the data indicates that tampers and regulators were involved in the
highest number of roadway maintenance machine/highway vehicle
accidents. Further, when railroads operate roadway maintenance machines
singly or in pairs, machines may not be readily visible to motorists.
Railroads and railroad contractors should develop procedures for the
safe movement of all configurations of roadway work group equipment and
ensure that operators are trained and qualified to recognize crossing
characteristics that present greater safety risks.
As mentioned above, roadway maintenance machines do not reliably
shunt track circuits and may not always, or continually, activate
highway-rail grade crossing warning devices. Operators may encounter a
variety of challenging grade crossing characteristics, including: heavy
vehicular traffic, long-angled four-lane crossings, right-turn-on-red
locations, and highway traffic signals interconnected with the highway-
rail grade crossing warning devices. Railroads should review their
inventory of grade crossings and identify crossings that pose
significant challenges to roadway maintenance machine operators.
Railroads should also consider installing lockable wayside warning
device activation equipment or other appropriate measures for use by
operators of roadway maintenance machines at heavily trafficked four-
lane crossings or long-angled crossings.
FRA also recommends that railroads emphasize compliance with rules
governing the safe movement of roadway maintenance machines over
highway-rail grade crossings in job safety briefings and employee
training. Railroads and railroad contractors should monitor employee
compliance with rules addressing equipment movement over highway-rail
grade crossings. On certain railroads where rules governing the safe
movement of machines over crossings are contained in the railroads'
operating rules, Federal regulation requires that each railroad conduct
operational tests to ensure its employees comply with the railroad's
operating rules. See 49 CFR 217.9. As the description of the January
2015 accident indicates, compliance with railroad rules governing the
movement of on-track equipment over highway-rail grade crossings is
safety-critical. FRA recommends that railroads evaluate their current
procedures for monitoring compliance with rules governing the movement
of roadway maintenance machines over highway-rail grade crossings and
determine whether their procedures are sufficient.
FRA is aware that some railroads have installed shunting devices on
roadway maintenance machines, such as hi-rail vehicles, that can be
switched on or off to activate grade crossing warning devices as a
roadway maintenance machine approaches a crossing.\2\ FRA strongly
recommends that railroads utilizing such devices stress to operators
that such shunts are not fail-safe and may lose shunt without warning.
Railroads should emphasize that roadway maintenance machine shunting
devices should be utilized only as a supplement to compliance with
railroad rules that govern the movement of roadway maintenance machines
over highway-rail grade crossings. Operators of roadway maintenance
machines should approach every crossing prepared to stop and yield the
right-of-way to vehicular traffic unless the crossing has been closed
or barricaded or is protected by properly equipped flaggers.
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\2\ Typically, railroads instruct machine operators to approach
each crossing prepared to stop and not proceed into the crossing
until the grade crossing is seen to be clear because a loss of shunt
can occur in these situations.
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Railroad rules often establish minimum spacing requirements when
roadway maintenance machines are travelling. The number of machines in
large equipment groupings, such as the one described in the January
2015 accident above, can make it very difficult for machine operators
to maintain appropriate spacing. The combined length of a large
production gang's equipment may not permit movement over a crossing in
a single unit. To avoid the impacts from improper machine spacing and
to prevent accidents, FRA recommends that railroads utilize
appropriately equipped flaggers \3\ to provide warning for motor
vehicle traffic while large groups of roadway maintenance machines,
such as the one in the accident described above, travel over a highway-
rail grade crossing. Flag protection at highway-rail grade crossings
reduces the risk of a collision.
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\3\ See 49 CFR 234.5.
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Finally, it is imperative that roadway maintenance machine
operators exercise vigilance and awareness with regard to railroad rule
requirements, equipment spacing, speed, and the status of active
warning devices when approaching and traveling over highway-rail grade
crossings. For movements over extended distances, rail-bound machines
with turntables should be turned to run forward or flag protection
should be provided at all highway-grade crossings. FRA encourages
railroad management to adopt and adhere to policies that promote the
safest course of action in conducting on-track equipment movements over
highway-rail grade
[[Page 14518]]
crossings, particularly by taking into account the unique
characteristics that exist at individual crossings. FRA also encourages
the use of job briefings whenever work or job conditions change to
heighten employees' situational awareness of relevant safety risks.
Recommendations
In light of the above discussion, and in an effort to improve
situational awareness and rules compliance for roadway maintenance
machine movements over highway-rail grade crossings, FRA recommends
that railroads and railroad contractors:
1. Review with their roadway maintenance machine operators the
circumstances of the fatal incident described in this Safety Advisory
2016-01 and these recommendations;
2. Review, and update as necessary, their rules and procedures
governing the movement of roadway maintenance machines over highway-
rail grade crossings and provide instruction on those rules and
procedures to their employees;
3. Identify grade crossings that pose significant challenges to
roadway maintenance machines traversing the crossings and consider
installing lockable wayside warning-device activation equipment or
other appropriate measures for use by roadway maintenance machine
operators to ensure safe movement over such crossings;
4. Emphasize that their roadway maintenance machine operators must
approach every highway-rail grade crossing prepared to stop and ensure
that warning devices (where installed) are activated, the grade
crossing is clear, and motor vehicle traffic has stopped (or is under
the control of an appropriately equipped flagger) prior to entering a
crossing;
5. Emphasize to their roadway maintenance machine operators that
shunting devices are not fail-safe and may lose shunt without warning
if railroad rules permit the use of roadway maintenance machine
shunting devices (capable of being turned on or off to activate grade
crossing warning devices). Railroads should also emphasize that roadway
maintenance machine shunting devices should only be utilized as a
supplement to compliance with rules requiring machine operators to
approach crossings prepared to stop and to yield the right-of-way to
vehicle traffic;
6. Emphasize the importance of job briefings to discuss applicable
railroad rules governing operation of roadway maintenance machines
movements over highway-rail grade crossing(s), including the
identification of any higher-risk crossings and whether any crossings
will be protected by appropriately equipped flaggers or signal
personnel;
7. Ensure that when roadway maintenance machines are required to
travel extended distances, their machine operators are able to operate
this equipment while facing in the direction of the machine's movement;
and
8. Review their current procedures for monitoring compliance with
rules governing the movement of roadway maintenance machines over grade
crossings and make necessary updates. Regularly conduct operational
tests to ensure their employees comply with applicable rules governing
movement over grade crossings.
FRA encourages railroads and railroad contractors to take action
consistent with the preceding recommendations and to take other actions
to help ensure the safety of the Nation's railroad employees and the
travelling public. FRA may modify this Safety Advisory 2016-01, issue
additional safety advisories, or take other appropriate actions
necessary to ensure the highest level of safety on the Nation's
railroads, including pursuing other corrective measures under its rail
safety authority.
Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-05996 Filed 3-16-16; 8:45 am]
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