Reports have been presented to the Office of Homeland Security and the DOT Office of Security and Intelligence outlining both near term and long-term options for enhancing the security of the U.S. railroad network. And we’ve retained the services of an independent consultant to review the AAR’s report. Amtrak and Commuter railroads also are conducting their own security reviews. In fact, FRA is currently reviewing Amtrak’s security package. These evaluations are intended to identify potential security vulnerabilities, and actions that can be taken to minimize those vulnerabilities. Of course, we’re taking other actions, some of which I can’t discuss here; but some I can. We’ve organized round-table discussions with the American Chemistry Council and the Chlorine Institute to discuss on security. One of the action items on the table was our request for information so that we can have a better understanding of how chemicals are used, what makes them unique, who manufactures them, who the consignees are, and how the products are handled when shipped by rail.

You know, in many ways, America’s railroad workers have become our best defense. Each and every day, the thousands of men and women who work along railroad-rights-of-way continue to be our eyes and ears often helping local law enforcement by identifying and reporting suspicious individuals and activities. Before I leave this topic, I would like to publicly commend all of you – along with your colleagues throughout the industry - for your countless hours of hard work and dedication in responding to the events of Sept. 11th. While this is uncharted territory for all of us, together we stood up and took on the challenge. Partnering for the common good.

Safety
I join you here today having spent some time earlier this year before a couple of Congressional Subcommittees where I had the chance to tell the great story about the safety accomplishments of America’s rail industry. And what a story it is. While we’ve suffered some tragedies in the past few months all of us need to step back and look at safety with the big picture in mind. Just consider the fact that:

Pretty impressive if you ask me. -- No doubt, these and other achievements could not have come about without the hard work of you and your colleagues. Know that at the FRA, we’re doing our part to reduce of the number of track caused accidents through the hiring of an additional 12 track inspectors, which will also help us to increase the level of Safety Assurance and Compliance within the industry.

Direction of FRA
Let me give you a sense of what we see as some of the challenges and opportunities facing today’s rail industry. One of our greatest strengths has proved to be our ability to work together in partnership with all stakeholders. If that message sounds familiar, it should. When I was appointed, I was very much aware of the initiatives that FRA had championed during the previous Administration, particularly the Safety Assurance and Compliance Program (SACP) and the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC). So successful were these programs they that I’ve got no plans to do away with them – they’re here to stay.

From where I stand, it makes no sense to throw something out just because I didn’t think of it first. That’s not to say that we won’t continue our work with rail labor, rail management and other industry stakeholders to refine the partnership process. One of the hallmarks of any successful organization is a commitment to excellence – constantly striving to make things better for the organization. That is both FRA’s, and equally important, my commitment to you.

Fatigue Awareness and Prevention
Another safety challenge, which is a by-product of our ever-changing environment and society, is fatigue. Now I recognize that fatigue is probably more of an issue for engineers and conductors but that said, fatigue is real and we can’t exclude anyone from the process. In the last few years, our knowledge about the causes and effects of railroad worker fatigue has grown tremendously. Working together, rail labor, rail management, the NTSB and FRA have helped make the North American Rail Alertness Partnership (NARAP) a model cooperative for dealing with this far-reaching safety issue.

While I’m impressed by the many industry-wide fatigue initiatives such as controlled napping, I’m all too aware that the industry does not have a comprehensive fatigue management program that effectively addresses the many fatigue related issues facing our Nation’s railroaders. I continue to strongly encourage the industry to seize the opportunity to work together in partnership to implement comprehensive fatigue management programs that are based upon the latest scientific research. The industry can ill-afford to let this opportunity slip away - and let’s face it……….it’s no fun having your own destiny shaped for you which no doubt will happen if Congress gets involved.

Safety Enforcement
Allow me to say a few words about our philosophy of rail safety enforcement Let me assure you that we intend to provide an equal playing field for all railroads, and treat all railroads fairly and similarly. We’re attempting to focus our safety enforcement efforts on those things that matter most in preventing the frequency and severity of train accidents. We’ll work with carriers of all sizes to share our analyses of safety trends, and identify areas that need to be improved. After achieving consensus on the diagnosis of the problems, we will work together to set out safety results to be achieved in a given span of time and metrics to measure whether those results are accomplished.
While we offer our expertise, we intend to allow carriers some discretion in exactly how to achieve those results. But in return for that freedom, carriers must be responsible for producing meaningful safety results in a timely fashion. I refuse to be a partner in the traditional regulatory dance: Step 1: we tell a carrier they’ve got a problem, Step 2: they tell us they’ll fix it, Step 3: we come back later to find the same problem only to go to step 4 where we start the dance all over again. Here are the new dance steps: If we’ve identified serious rail safety problems, and if a railroad has agreed that the problem needs to be fixed and pledges to do so, then we expect a significant, good faith effort to achieve those results. Cavalier disregard for this process will result in significant consequences. Many carriers have told me they want performance-based regulation. If the FRA in fact offers that, then performance must follow. Enough said.

Rail Safety Reauthorization Proposal
Secretary Mineta recently transmitted to Congress the Administration's proposal for reauthorization of the railroad safety program. Authorization for the program expired at the end of fiscal year 1998. Our proposed legislation would reauthorize this important safety mission for four years. The bill proposes measures that would significantly advance railroad safety, particularly the prevention of highway-rail grade crossing collisions, which, as we all know, cause about half of all rail-related deaths each year.

Of particular interest to this group, the bill also proposes a measure that would improve the Department's National Crossing Inventory (Inventory), a large computerized database containing vital safety information on the identification, location, physical characteristics, and other salient features of at-grade and grade-separated highway-rail crossings nationwide. Enactment of the Administration's proposed bill would support FRA's efforts to address security threats to railroad operations, reduce collisions at highway-rail crossings, and reduce casualties and damages associated with railroad operations.

AREMA-Specific Issues
Let me spend my remaining few minutes with you discussing a couple of engineering-related issues.

Effects of Heavy Cars on Track and Bridges -
As you all may be aware, we are becoming increasingly concerned over the effect heavier cars seem to be having on track and bridges. The decline in track caused accidents since the 70’s, which I alluded to before, have bottomed out. In fact, over the past few years we’ve begun to see a slight increase. Many of the cause categories showing increased accident rates can be traced back to the effects of heavy wheel loads from today’s 286,000-pound cars.

As some of you may recall, one of the reasons behind the increase in car weights from 263 to 286,000 pounds was an understanding that some of the savings resulting from increased capacity would be reinvested back in the form of track maintenance. Unfortunately, that reinvestment hasn’t always taken place, often making it more difficult and costly for the railroad to play catch-up. Additionally, we are beginning to see some indications that some bridges are on the verge of needing intensive maintenance and renewal.

During the past 50 years we have used a margin of bridge capacity that was designed for our older bridges based on the impact loads of steam power. Unfortunately, today’s cars bump right up to the edge of that margin. And instead of one fatigue cycle per train, the bridges are seeing one hundred or more in every train - one cycle for every loaded car. Yes, there are many options available to bridge owners to rehabilitate some older bridges in order to extend life span and capacity, but nothing can take the place of an effective bridge inspection program. Based on the overall positive safety record of our Nation’s railroad bridges and the reports of our inspectors who have been working with your folks to monitor inspections, we know that the existing non-regulatory Bridge Safety Policy works. However, we do not and will not hesitate to exercise our safety oversight authority whenever we encounter a safety problem involving a railroad bridge.

In fact, 3 of the 22 Emergency Orders issued by FRA in its 30-plus year history and several recent Compliance Agreements were issued to correct problems involving bridge deficiencies. As long as we as an industry are successful in maintaining the safety and integrity of our bridges, be assured we will continue with a non-regulatory based Bridge Safety policy. However, should a major train accident occur that is traced back to the structural failure of a bridge, this could change in an instant. To that end, I strongly urge all of you and your respective railroads to continue with your inspection efforts.

Rail Integrity Task Force
Earlier this year, FRA convened a Rail Integrity Task Force to review current best practices within the industry with respect to rail inspection and replacement procedures. From this review by subject matter experts within the industry and the R&D field, FRA hopes to develop a better understanding of the recent increase in broken rail derailments, develop strategies aimed at reversing this trend, and investigate opportunities for improving the efficiency of rail detector vehicles in today’s operating environment. This task force continues to meet on a regular basis and FRA expects that significant results will be forthcoming from the group’s work.

Roadway worker Protection
Let me now shift to the very serious issue of roadway worker fatalities. The vast majority of roadway worker fatalities have traditionally occurred during the third quarter of each year up to and including 2001. Unfortunately, during the first half of 2002, there were 3 roadway worker fatalities, bringing the total Roadway worker fatalities over a nine-month period to 6, which is to me is very alarming. As a result, we have intensified our Roadway worker Protection compliance efforts. As FRA track and signal & train control inspectors conduct inspections on your railroads, they will no doubt engage your folks in order to increase their awareness of railroad rules in order to be in compliance with the roadway worker protection regulation.

It’s our hope that together we can get through the rest of the year without any more fatalities. While the number of roadway worker fatalities per year remains less than prior to the introduction of the regulation, it’s important that FRA and our partners in the industry continue to focus our efforts on the safety of roadway workers.

Close
Again, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to spend a few minutes with you today. Thank you for all you do in the name of safety. While we’ve come a long way, we still have work ahead of us. But I’m confident that working together in partnership, safety will continue to trend in the right direction. I look forward to seeing ya’ll again in the future.