[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82500-82502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25924]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Safety Advisory 2023-07; Review and Implement New Predictive 
Weather Modeling and Proactive Safety Processes Across the National 
Rail Network To Prevent Weather-Related Accidents and Incidents

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

ACTION: Notice of safety advisory.

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SUMMARY: Since the beginning of 2021, 123 rail accidents/incidents have 
been reported to FRA as having been caused, in whole or in part, by 
severe weather conditions or weather-related events (e.g., hurricanes, 
tornadoes, wildfires, flooding, mudslides, and summer heat). These 
extreme weather conditions and events not only present hazards to 
railroad workers, operations and infrastructure but can also severely 
impact the customers and communities relying on the railroads for 
travel and transportation of critical goods. To reduce weather-related 
accidents/incidents and improve the efficiency of the national rail 
network during severe weather events, FRA is issuing this Safety 
Advisory to recommend that railroads review existing policies, 
procedures, and operating rules related to predicting, monitoring, 
communicating, and operating during severe weather conditions or 
subsequent to extreme weather events. FRA also recommends that 
railroads collaborate to develop best practices for utilizing weather 
forecasting technologies, predictive weather models, and weather-
related action plans throughout the industry.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Charles P. King, Director, Office 
of Railroad Infrastructure and Mechanical Equipment, at 202-329-5031 or 
[email protected].
    Disclaimer: This Safety Advisory is considered guidance pursuant to 
DOT Order 2100.6A (June 7, 2021). Except when referencing laws, 
regulations, policies, or orders, the information in this Safety 
Advisory does not have the force and effect of law and is not meant to 
bind the public in any way. This document does not revise or replace 
any previously issued guidance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    From January 2021 through the end of July 2023, there have been 123

[[Page 82501]]

accidents/incidents reported to FRA where one of the cause codes was 
related to weather conditions (cause codes M102, M103, M105, M199, and 
T109 on FRA Form 6180.54). Over half of these accidents/incidents were 
main-track derailments. A detailed breakdown is provided below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Number of
             Accident cause                  Number of       mainline
                                             incidents      derailments
------------------------------------------------------------------------
M102--Extreme environmental condition--               11               4
 TORNADO................................
M103--Extreme environmental condition--               16              10
 FLOOD..................................
M105--Extreme environmental condition--               40              12
 EXTREME WIND VELOCITY..................
M199 \1\--Other extreme environmental                  7               0
 conditions.............................
T109--Track alignment irregular (buckled/             49              40
 sun kink)..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    FRA has previously issued Safety Advisories concerning weather-
related accidents/incidents. On September 4, 1997, FRA issued Safety 
Advisory 97-1, recommending safety practices to reduce the risk of 
casualties from train derailments caused by damage to tracks, roadbeds, 
and bridges resulting from uncontrolled water flows and similar 
weather-related phenomena. FRA amended Safety Advisory 97-1 on November 
14, 1997, by revising the recommendation concerning the transmission of 
flash flood warnings to train dispatchers or other employees 
controlling the movement of trains.
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    \1\ Includes all other environmental conditions such as falling 
trees, rockslides, ice or snow, etc.
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    Additionally, FRA issued Safety Advisory 2012-03 on July 16, 2012, 
to remind track owners, railroads, and their employees of the 
importance of complying with their continuous welded rail (CWR) plan 
procedures and reviewing their current internal engineering 
instructions that address inspecting CWR track to identify conditions 
that increase the likelihood of buckling of rail. To heighten awareness 
of the potential consequences of an unexpected track buckle, 
particularly considering the unusually high and prolonged, record-
breaking temperatures that affected much of the United States in the 
summer of 2012, Safety Advisory 2012-03 highlighted a series of train 
accidents that were caused by the rail buckling under severe heat 
conditions (commonly referred to as sun kinks in the rail). The number 
of mainline derailments caused by track buckles or sun kinks continues 
to be unacceptable to FRA.
    In addition to FRA's Safety Advisories, MxV Rail Service released a 
Technology Digest Article earlier this year, addressing some of the 
challenges the rail industry is experiencing with weather and heat-
related track defects.\2\
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    \2\ MxV Rail Technology Digest TD23-015, Climatic Impacts on 
Railroad Infrastructure (July 2023) (available at https://www.mxvrail.com/technology-digest/).
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Recommendations

    In light of the continued occurrence of weather-related rail 
accidents/incidents, FRA is making the following recommendations to 
railroads:
    1. Railroads should evaluate their communication and training 
programs, rules, policies, and procedures related to severe weather and 
ensure those programs are adequate to ensure weather-related action 
plans can be promptly implemented. In evaluating these rules, policies, 
and procedures, railroads should ensure preparation and response 
training curriculums are up to date and include critical information 
necessary for operating personnel, whether simulated drills are 
performed to test employee response and recovery from severe weather 
events, whether employees receive sufficient training on weather 
monitoring software (including updated new training when software 
enhancements are introduced); whether policies and procedures for 
communicating weather events are adequate; whether backup communication 
and dispatching systems are present and tested regularly; and whether 
evacuation and safety plans are all-encompassing, to include railroad 
personnel working in the field and those in transit (e.g., on the 
rails, in yards, and traveling on roadways).
    2. Railroads should evaluate their weather forecasting policies and 
procedures. In assessing the relevant policies and procedures, 
railroads should consider integrating weather forecasting policies and 
procedures (and the outcomes from those policies and procedures) into 
dispatch operations and whether those policies and procedures should be 
incorporated into positive train control systems. Railroads should 
additionally consider whether the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) 
predicting, and monitoring capabilities are utilized adequately and 
consistently within those policies and procedures.
    3. Railroads should evaluate their operating infrastructure to 
identify critical and geographical elements susceptible to severe 
weather events. Railroads should identify operating infrastructure 
sensitive to extreme weather events and review plans and policies to 
monitor the infrastructure proactively and reactively. Railroads should 
consider issues such as whether technology can be introduced to monitor 
critical infrastructure in real-time and how weather-related action 
plans can be revised to establish standardized interfaces with other 
railroads, agencies, and municipalities (e.g., United States Coast 
Guard and local and State authorities) in the event of a weather-
related event. Railroads should review and update these plans and 
policies periodically and ensure weather-related action plans address 
specific risks to the identified critical infrastructure.
    4. Railroads should evaluate existing weather-related action plans 
and ensure that those plans detail the necessary proactive planning, 
maintenance, communication, and other actions necessary to address the 
risks presented by severe weather conditions. As part of these action 
plans, railroads should consider developing and implementing an 
auditing program for severe weather alert systems or other alternative 
methods to ensure such systems remain in working condition. Railroads 
should ensure such systems are tested routinely, and their 
functionality is consistent with all current weather-related action 
plans.
    5. Railroads should establish standard operating thresholds to 
ensure their weather-related action plans adequately prepare for severe 
weather events. Railroads should ensure sufficient rules, policies, and 
procedures are implemented and periodically reviewed and updated to 
enable effective determinations as to when it is safe to operate in 
extreme weather conditions and when it is not (considering 
environmental exposures for railroad personnel and other relevant 
factors). Rules, policies, and procedures should address weather events 
such as wind,

[[Page 82502]]

heat, cold, flooding, flash flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, fire, 
visibility, snow, ice, sand drifts, earthquakes, landslides, and 
environmental factors such as the air quality index.
    6. Railroads should work together to develop best practices for 
utilizing weather forecasting technologies, predictive weather models, 
and weather-related action plans throughout the industry. In doing so, 
railroads should consider how much deviation exists between railroads 
related to operational weather rules, policies, and procedures. 
Railroads should consider whether those deviations are justified and to 
what extent rail safety would benefit from industry-wide 
standardization of weather-related rules, policies, procedures, and 
weather-related action plans in general. Railroads should also consider 
whether individual railroad weather-related rules, policies, and action 
plans include adequate collaboration with tenant and interchange 
railroads.

Conclusion

    FRA encourages all railroad industry members to take actions 
consistent with the recommendations of this Safety Advisory to prevent 
weather-related accidents/incidents. FRA may modify this Safety 
Advisory, issue additional safety advisories, or take other appropriate 
action necessary to ensure the highest level of safety on the Nation's 
railroads, including pursuing other corrective measures under its rail 
safety authority.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-25924 Filed 11-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P