Tuesday, February 24, 1998 (Washington, DC) FRA Final Report on CSXT: Progress Made on Safety Assurance Program

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today released its final report on CSX Transportation Incorporated (CSXT), a comprehensive FRA review prompted by a series of incidents in 1997. In addition to the results of the three-month audit, the FRA released recommendations for the railroad and its labor organizations to improve safety operations throughout the CSXT system.

"Safety is the highest transportation priority of President Clinton and Secretary Slater," FRA Administrator Jolene M. Molitoris said. "Through the safety partnerships with railroad labor and the FRA, and the strong commitment from the top management, this railroad is making positive steps towards improving rail safety. This final report identified key operational flaws in a railroad with an established safety record. FRA will continue to work with CSXT until all safety concerns have been adequately addressed."

The FRA final report, compiled in a safety inspection audit conducted from July to September 1997, identifies safety improvements on the CSXT operations in five critical areas: the transport of hazardous materials, motive power and equipment, operating practices, signal and train control systems, and track. The FRA launched a safety inspection team of 75 federal and state specialists and inspectors throughout the CSXT system following a series of derailments and collisions on CSXT property in June and July 1997.

The audit is based on the FRA=s safety assurance and compliance program model which focuses on identifying and remedying root causes of safety concerns across entire railroad system.

The three-month safety audit on CSXT identified:

Deficiencies in hazardous materials operations including: train consist accuracy, documentation for trailers on flat cars and containers on flat cars, compliance with placard labelling requirement, and training of personnel;

Safety inadequacies in crew management resulting in extended duty days and overall fatigue for operating crews;

Failure to report all accidents and incidents to the FRA as required by federal regulations;

Reports of harassment and intimidation when employees raised safety concerns that might interfere with train operations;

The need to more effectively manage its signal and train control operations in the following areas: preview and visibility of signals, maintenance of power and hand-operated switches, pole line maintenance, insulated rail joint maintenance, circuit plans, staffing, and training; and

Non-compliance with record-keeping provisions of the federal alcohol and drug testing protocol.

During the audit, FRA inspectors in many areas found an atmosphere at CSXT in which field managers consistently failed to demonstrate a full commitment to safety. It was reported to FRA inspectors that CSXT frontline managers emphasized train operations over safety considerations.

The CSXT railroad and rail labor leaders have already acted upon many of the FRA=s findings, initiating over 250 corrective action projects system-wide. FRA will continue to work with CSXT until all safety concerns have been adequately addressed. FRA, CSXT and rail labor have formed 16 action teams to jointly resolve safety concerns. The following steps have already been initiated by the CSXT, its labor organizations, and the FRA to address major safety concerns across the CSXT system:

New rules and methodologies have been implemented to ensure that hazardous material cars meet federal compliance standards as well as to measure the performance of the placard replacement program;

A high performance operation team has been created to identify barriers and propose resolutions to improve the process of locomotive inspection and repair;

A new operational test program was completed and implemented January 1, 1998 to educate CSXT representatives on how to conduct quality and meaningful operational tests; and

An improved crew management center has increased staffing levels, redesigned ways in which crews are called for duty, increased crew dispatcher training, conducted a fatigue/rest pilot project, and provided new computer software which enables employees to access train line-up information.

CSXT is the nation's third largest railroad. It has more than 18,500 miles of track and employs 28,500 people. The railroad operates in 20 eastern states, Washington, D.C., and Canada, and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

To obtain a copy of the FRA Final Report on the CSXT Railroad, access the FRA Web Page at http://www.fra.dot.gov or call the FRA's Office of Public Affairs at 202-632-3124.