FRA Follows Suit with Emergency Order on Haz Mat Train Operations

Following the emergency rules issued by Transport Canada ( see my 7/30/13 post here ) the FRA issued an Emergency Order on Friday with similar requirements.

The FRA Emergency Order and Safety Advisory calling for as yet to be scheduled Rail Safety Advisory Committee meeting, are effective immediately and are in direct response to the Lac Megantic disaster in Quebec. Though the FRA Order notes that neither Transport Canada nor the Canadian Transportation Safety Board has determined a cause of the Lac Megantic derailment, the FRA Order clearly focuses on the securement of unattended trains. The FRA Order prohibits haz mat trains from being left unattended outside of yards or terminals unless authorized, and requires communication between train crews and dispatchers about how trains are secured (including tonnage and number of hand brakes applied) if a train is left unattended.

The FRA Order also requires railroads to have qualified employees inspect rail equipment which emergency responders have been on before leaving a train unattended, which is a nod toward the theory that actions of firefighters had some role in the Lac Megantic breakaway train. Prior to the train rolling away, a fire in a locomotive had been extinguished by local authorities.

Unlike the Canadian emergency rule, the FRA Order does not immediately mandate minimum 2 man crews on haz mat trains, rather, the Safety Advisory notes that crew size will be a task discussed at the forthcoming meeting of the RSAC.

FRA Safety Advisory Issued following Switching Fatalities

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued Safety Advisory 2011-02 "to remind railroads and their employees of the importance of following procedures when going between rolling equipment." The Advisory from the Federal Register publication is attached here.Despite the overall improvement of railroad safety in recent years, the FRA pointed to 5 fatal incidents from May 2009 to September 2011 as the reason for issuing the Advisory to remind railroads and employees of "the critical importance of maintaining and abiding by railroad rules and procedures designed to ensure safety when going between rolling equipment."

Among the recommondations to railroads the FRA makes are:

1) review current rules and operating practices that require employees to go between rolling equipment to determine if adequate protection is provided to employees;

2) develop, implement, and monitor communication protocols that require employees of multi-person crews to inform other crew members when the need to enter between rolling equipment arises;

3) convey to employees that their personal safety is their responsibility and that railroad management supports and encourages those employees that make safety their number one priority.

The Safety Advisory is not directed to any particular railroad, but to the industry in general.