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Roadway Worker Authority Limits— Importance of Clear Communication, Compliance with Applicable Rules and Procedures, and Ensuring that Appropriate Safety Redundancies Are in Place in the Event of Miscommunication or Error; Correction

On November 25, 2014, FRA published a document in the Federal Register to reemphasize the importance of clear communication and compliance with applicable rules and procedures regarding roadway worker authority limits on controlled track, and to ensure that appropriate safety redundancies are in...

Movement of Roadway Maintenance Machines Over Highway-Rail Grade Crossings

FRA recently completed its investigation into a fatal accident that occurred when an on-track roadway maintenance machine traveling on main track collided with a motor vehicle at a highway-rail grade crossing. FRA is issuing this Safety Advisory 2016–01 to heighten rules compliance and situational...

FRA Hits Highest-Ever Penalty Rate

WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced that its enforcement of federal rail safety rules has led to the highest-ever civil penalty collection rate in the agency’s 50-year history, surpassing last year’s record-breaking rate.

For Fiscal...

Fiscal Year 2016 Enforcement Report

In 2016, for a second year in a row, as part of a continued effort to increase consequences of violations which negatively impact safety, FRA took significant steps to increase penalty amounts paid by railroads.

HQ-2014-1049 (Finalized)

On October 30, 2014, at 6:49 p.m., an eastbound CSX Transportation (CSX) freight train traveling on single main track, in train control system territory collided with an automobile at a highway-rail grade crossing. The accident occurred in Vandalia, Illinois, at Milepost (MP) Q172.3, on CSX’s St....

HQ-2015-1100 (Finalized)

On December 22, 2015, at 5:45 p.m., CST, an Amtrak (ATK) passenger train (two engines and seven cars) traveling timetable east (geographic east) collided with a northbound automobile that stopped on a public crossing, resulting in the death of five occupants of the automobile. The train crew did...

HQ-2015-1094 (Finalized)

On November 7, 2015, at 8:45 a.m., CST, eastbound BNSF Railway (BNSF) Mixed-Freight Train H-NTWKCK-9-06 derailed 25 cars while operating on BNSF’s Chicago Division, St. Croix Subdivision, on Main Track 1. The train consisted of 58 loaded cars, 54 empty cars, and weighed 9,726 tons. The train was 8,...

HQ-2015-1063 (Finalized)

On July 4, 2015, at 10:15 p.m., CST, a westbound Amtrak passenger train, AMT 01-03, in Harwood, Texas, in Gonzales County, collided with a northbound pick-up truck at the highway-rail grade crossing (at Milepost 144.31) on FM 794 (U.S. DOT Crossing Number 742684Y). AMT 01-03, with two locomotives...