[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:
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Number of
Accident cause Number of mainline
incidents derailments
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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)..............................
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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