Tuesday, November 02, 2004 (Washington, DC) Train crews will more likely survive and suffer fewer and less severe injuries from accidents under regulations proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), published in today’s Federal Register.

Newly manufactured and rebuilt freight locomotives will be designed to meet minimum crashworthiness safety performance standards of the Federal Railroad Administration to better ensure that the structural integrity of the locomotive cab is maintained in the event of an accident or collision. The proposed rule builds upon, and significantly augments, industry standards implemented in 1989.

“Locomotive engineers and conductors deserve increased safety protection as they transport the goods and raw materials that keep the American economy moving,” said FRA Acting Administrator Betty Monro. “We have spent considerable resources researching and testing the applicability of new technology. It exists, it works, and we should use it to protect the lives of our railroad workers.”

The proposed regulation would require that the locomotive withstand a frontal impact with an object intended to simulate the lading carried by a heavy highway vehicle, as well as an oblique impact with an object simulating a misaligned or offset intermodal container on a train traveling on adjacent parallel track.

Proposed standards include the integration of anti-climbing features, collision posts, short-hood structures, and under-frame structural improvements. External fuel tanks will be strengthened to decrease the chance of a rupture and the interior of the locomotive cab will have emergency egress, emergency lighting, and reconfigured controls.

The Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, a consensus oriented rulemaking body of representatives from the FRA, the railroad industry, rail labor, manufacturers, suppliers, and others examined this issue and recommended these regulatory improvements.

Comments about the proposal may be submitted to the docket for the proceeding (FRA 2004-17645) via the U.S. Department of Transportation online Docket Management System at http://dms.dot.gov until January 3, 2005.

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