Remarks for

Clifford Eby

Deputy Administrator

Federal Railroad Administration

American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association

2007 Annual Conference

Salt Lake City , UT

September 22, 2008

9:00 am

Thank you, Larry.   Good morning.   Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Federal Railroad Administrator Boardman and I greatly appreciate all that AREMA has done for rail safety over the years.

There’s no question that rail transportation is the safest it’s ever been.   In all categories, accidents and fatalities are at historic lows.   And from 2004 to 2007, there was nearly a 25 percent reduction in train accidents.

However, the events in the Chatsworth section of Los Angeles overshadow this record and bring upon us an era of increased scrutiny and examination of railroad safety practices.   Although it’s been nearly three years since the last passenger fatality involving a passenger train, public perception sees only the most recent incident and has focused its attention on all that we do.

I traveled with the NTSB to Chatsworth and saw one of the worst accident sites you could imagine.   Television images doesn’t do justice to the amount of physical destruction and community pain I experienced.

And throughout my whole time there the questions were the same:   How did this happen?   Why did this happen?   What can be done to prevent such a tragedy from happening again?

These are questions we have to ask ourselves, in all disciplines of railroad engineering, as we are the guardians of safety.   We design, construct and maintain the infrastructure to ensure a safe operating environment.

There is no question the entire industry took a hit because of what happened in Chatsworth, but it also serves as a challenge for us to step up our efforts to bring safety to its next level.  

We’re engineers.   We’re wired to solve complex problems.   And we have to use our talents to bring accident rates even lower whether it involves structures, track, passenger cars, maintenance, or communication and signals.

Much of the attention in the past week has focused on positive train control.

Two weeks ago, few people outside the railroad industry ever heard of PTC.   Now, everyone knows about it.   However, they think there are off-the-shelf packages waiting to be installed.    And, they don’t understand that the highest fatality rates result from trespassing and at grade crossing accidents, not the rare train-on-train collision.  

FRA actually coined this term, and in 1997 our Railroad Safety Advisory Committee established a PTC Working Group which laid the groundwork for the development of a new generation of train control.   RSAC determined that PTC itself refers to specific safety objectives, not a specific technology to prevent train collisions, enforce speed restrictions, and assure roadway workers safety.

FRA has been a strong proponent of PTC and has worked tirelessly with many different railroads on many different systems.   Currently there are nine PTC projects in sixteen states are being tested on about 2,600 miles of track, though the progress of projects’ development varies considerably. 

And thus lies the problem with PTC right now:   it’s a work in progress.  

Among the problems yet to be resolved:

·       Radio frequency capacity is limited, and PTC systems may need to employ several portions of the available spectrum to achieve adequate capacity, particularly in dense terminal areas. Software defined radios and on-board communication management units may be a part of the answer, as well as appealing to the FCC for more bandwidth;

·       These systems are not 100% reliable right now, which is paramount for safety and service needs;

·       These systems are not interoperable. Requirements from railroad to railroad will not be identical, but they must be interoperable; and

·       Braking algorithms must be precise. If they are too conservative, operations will be inefficient; if they are too loose, safety will not be achieved. This is particularly difficult for heavy-haul freight operations.

I speak for Administrator Boardman when I say that progress to overcome these problems has been too slow.   And on his behalf, today I am issuing a challenge to those developing PTC systems:   create a reliable system within five years.

FRA has been providing technical support to railroads working to develop PTC systems.   And to help spur technological innovation, we anticipate issuing an RFP early next year for the development of a low-cost collision avoidance system.

While PTC systems are being perfected -- and they must be perfected before entering service – proven interim measures must be implemented in high density regions such as the Los Angeles basin.

And although events like the one in Los Angeles are rare, PTC needs to be deployed on all trains soon.   I’m confident we’ll meet the challenge of developing interoperatable PTC systems that save lives and prevent catastrophic accidents, but there are other issues in the railroad landscape which also needs our attention.

I am confident you will respond to the challenge on PTC, as you did to the challenge Administrator Boardman issued at the last year’s AREMA conference, to step up bridge safety efforts.    Many people have contributed to the positive accomplishments of the past year, and I want to give special thanks to Dr. Emely of AREMA and General Timmons of the ASLRRA for their leadership in driving the process.  

Administrator Boardman and I are very pleased with the quick work of the RSAC’s Bridge Safety Working Group. I understand this was one of the shortest turn around times of any task the RSAC has undertaken.  

The working group brought together representatives from industry, labor and government, and their hard work has given us a common vision and language for bridge management and set a unified, transparent, and consistent course to sustain the safety of railroad bridges.

The consensus “Essential Elements” document creates the framework for sound bridge management.   For the first time, industry and government will be on the same page and walk down the same path to ensure the structural integrity of the nation’s railroad bridges.   It is truly a step forward in transparency in the industry, establishing a common language for self evaluation, peer cooperation, and public understanding.   

In addition, RSAC has recommended--and I agree--that the Essential Elements be incorporated into FRA’s non-regulatory Policy on the Safety of Railroad Bridges.    I know Administrator Boardman looks forward to signing the papers to make that happen before he leaves Washington .

There also has been tremendous work during the past year on other aspects of railroad bridge safety, including AREMA’s publication of the first-ever Bridge Inspection Handbook.   AREMA did a great job developing this document--and with many of our bridges having been built in the 1930’s or earlier—it is critical to have such guidance available now.  

Many of you here in Salt Lake City contributed to the book, and I thank you for your exhaustive efforts.   You’ve documented today’s best practices in bridge inspection, and provided sound direction and advice based on recognized engineering practices to assist railroads in meeting their bridge inspection duties.

FRA thinks very highly of the Handbook.   In fact, last month we purchased and, working with ASLRRA, distributed a copy to each of the over 700 railroads in America .

In addition, the short lines have stepped up to play an important role. They recognize they are in a tough position because they don’t have the budgets and staff of a Class 1 railroad, and they know a single failed bridge inspection can potentially cut off their life blood.  

The risks are too high, which is why initiatives like the ASLRRA’s model bridge program, which will be rolled out to their membership in the near future, is so important.   The program is in line with the Essential Elements, and will serve as a template for workable and safe bridge management programs.

We’re off to a good start in furthering bridge safety, but we cannot rest on our recent accomplishments.   We’re heading in the right direction with a high level of consensus, but now we have to turn it into reality in the field, some of which is coming from the FRA.

We are developing a risk-based methodology which we’ll use to select Class II and Class III railroads for bridge safety program evaluations.

The first step in the initiative, a request for railroads to send us information on their bridge management programs, is under review at OMB.   We intend to implement this program next year, utilizing this survey information to prioritize the order in which we visit railroad properties for audit and to target those bridges which potentially pose the highest risk potential.

This data-based approach effort is part of the broader FRA risk reduction program we announced last month at our Rail Safety Summit.   In all areas of railroading, the risk reduction program will develop innovative methods, processes, and technologies to address the contributing risk factors that result in train accidents and employee injuries.

Although accident rates are at record lows, fixing something after it breaks or writing rule violation notices is increasingly unlikely to result in significant additional gains in rail safety.  

The Risk Reduction Program is aimed at supplementing current federal regulations, inspection requirements, and other compliance and enforcement activities.   It encourages voluntary participation of railroads and labor on projects that target specific risk categories such as confidential close call reporting systems, peer-to-peer accident prevention strategies, and fatigue risk management programs.

We want railroads to develop and strengthen their safety cultures so that the risk-based approach to safety eventually becomes second nature.

Finally, the Risk Reduction Program fully supports the strategic use of technology, such as trackside monitors, track geometry systems, and rail flaw and joint bar detectors.

The FRA is investing heavily in these types of technologies.   For example, we have funded the University of California at San Diego ’s efforts to refine hardware and software for a new technology that uses laser ultrasonic probes to detect certain internal rail defects.  

FRA has recently hired a rail flaw staff to support this and other rail research initiatives, and RSAC is considering standards for rail flaw detection equipment in order to make inspections more accurate and reliable.

We are also working with Amtrak on a compact, low cost Autonomous Track Geometry System.   Attached under a rail car, this system performs the same functions as traditional geometry cars, minus the crew, car, blocked track, and other associated costs.  

It’s currently being tested on Amtrak’s Auto Train, and it provides real time wireless feeds with GPS positioning on tract exceptions [tract or track?].   It yields ten times the usage of traditional geometry cars, covering more than 100,000 miles in just four months with great reliability.  

Another vital piece if technology which FRA has long supported is ECP brakes.

With FRA waiver approval, Norfolk Southern and BNSF are successfully operating trains fully equipped with ECP brake technology, and we expect UP to start its project soon.

FRA will soon issue the Final ECP Rule.   While I can’t give away the details, it moves the ball forward in terms of creating the standards by which ECP brakes will be implemented.

But like PTC, ECP braking is an investment the railroads need to make.   One can make a great business case for the investment.   ECP brakes are safer, providing better train control, shorter stopping distances, and a lower risk of derailment.   And its economics show that it will lead to capacity improvements as more trains can be spaced closer together on existing track at increased speed.  

This is important because we will see growth again in rail shipments.   Traffic has been relatively flat this year, but the freight railroad system is still operating at record levels.   And, the investment community sees the potential in rail.

We all know Warren Buffet acquired a significant stake in BNSF and Union Tank Car, and many transportation analysts believe the United States is headed toward a railway resurgence that will endure for some time to come.  

Which is good, because rail is a key to solving the congestion problem.

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that as the roads become busier, demand for rail-freight transportation will increase to 37 billion tons in 2035 from 19 billion tons in 2007, a 93 percent increase.

The reasons for this are simple.   Coal can’t be hauled on an airplane.   There aren’t enough tanker trucks in existence to carry the amounts of chlorine or other hazardous materials needed for our economy.   And while many other loads could be carried by air or truck, no one can do it as cheaply and efficiently as a train.  

To keep up with the growth in rail, the investment will be large.   One study estimates $148 billion must be spent during the next 30 years to revamp the nation's rail system with new track, signals, bridges, tunnels, terminals and service facilities.  

The Class I railroads are expected to be responsible for about $135 billion of that amount.    Additionally, the cost to upgrade the nation's short line and regional railroads to accommodate standard rail cars is expected to be about $7 billion through 2035.

This should keep AREMA members gainfully employed for quiet some time…but don’t expect the government to foot the bill. [you just said the Class Ones and short lines were footing it]

As Secretary Peters has said many times, the future of transportation infrastructure repair and development doesn’t begin and end with the federal government.  

Private industry, state, county and local governments must bear some of the burden.

We have a unique opportunity to unleash a new wave of congestion relief and capacity enhancements by tapping into the more than $400 billion in private capital available today for transportation projects.  

From FRA’s perspective, every dollar spent on rail is an investment in America ’s infrastructure.   Just imagine the benefits to your business and to society if we can increase tonnage and track miles through additional infrastructure improvements and new technologies.

This build out comes as the industry transitions away from its chief role in recent decades of hauling coal, timber and other raw materials in manufacturing regions. Now, increasingly, railroads are moving finished consumer goods, often made in Asia , from ports to major cities through several rail corridors designed to move products faster and reduce congestion.