FRA launches 60-day assessment of Norfolk Southern safety

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration announced this evening (Tuesday, March 7) that it would conduct a 60-day supplemental safety assessment of Norfolk Southern Railway, joining the National Transportation Safety Board, which has announced its own investigation of NS safety practices.

“After a series of derailments and the death of one of its workers, we are initiating this further supplemental safety review of Norfolk Southern, while also calling on Norfolk Southern to act urgently to improve its focus on safety so the company can begin earning back the trust of the public and its employees,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release. “This comes as USDOT continues its own urgent actions to further improve freight rail safety and accountability.”

The FRA said its safety team will review findings and recommendations of a 2022 system audit and the railroad’s responses. The agency said it will also assess:

— Track, signal, and rolling stock maintenance, inspection, and repair practices;

— Protection for employees working on rail infrastructure, locomotives, and rail cars;

— Communication between transportation departments and mechanical and engineering staff;

— Operation control center procedures and dispatcher training;

— Compliance with federal Hours of Service regulations;

— Evaluating results of operational testing of employees’ execution and comprehension of all applicable operating rules and federal regulations;

— Training and qualification programs available to all railroad employees, including engineer and conductor training and certification;

— Maintenance, inspection, and calibration policies and procedures for wayside defect detectors;

— Procedures related to all wayside defect detector alerts;

— Measures implemented to prevent employee fatigue, including the development and implementation of fatigue management programs required as part of FRA’s Risk Reduction Program rule;

— Current status of the hazard and risk analysis required by the Risk Reduction Program rule.

Information gathered through the assessment will be used to determine specific areas for FRA oversight and enforcement and help “identify risks beyond the reach of current federal regulations,” the FRA said. It will also use the information to push NS to develop measures to address risks and identify enforcement actions.

The FRA said it will issue a public report on its findings.

The FRA announcement came hours after the NTSB announced its own special investigation into NS safety practices and culture, its first such look at a railroad since a 2014 probe of the commuter operator Metro-North Railroad [see “NTSB launches special investigation …,” Trains News Wire, March 7, 2023].