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    1. Safety & Security

    FRA’s sense of urgency regarding system safety program rule questioned in NTSB final report of Amtrak derailment

    June 26, 2019
    NTSB calls on individual railroads to take their own action concerning system safety citing continued delays that have held back issuance of a final rule by FRA.
    Washington State Police
    An aerial view of the derailment site in 2017.
    An aerial view of the derailment site in 2017.

    The final report on the Dec. 18, 2017 train derailment in DuPont, Wash., has been published by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The probable cause of the fatal accident involving an Amtrak train, which was traveling overspeed, was determined to be poor training and inadequate planning to mitigate a potentially hazardous curve.  

    The report details the NTSB’s investigation of the accident and its safety recommendations made based upon the results of that investigation. Following the May 21, 2019, board meeting during which the probable cause was determined, the NTSB issued 26 new safety recommendations and reiterated three existing safety recommendations.

    Among the reiterated safety recommendations is recommendation R-17-17, issued to the Federal Railroad Administration, seeking the enactment of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 270, “System Safety Program,” without further delay. The recommendation was reiterated because while the FRA published the final rule Aug. 12, 2016, the implementation of the rule was stayed six times, with implementation deferred to Sept. 4, 2019.

    Yet despite evidence in the report further demonstrating the need for the timely implementation of this safety recommendation, the FRA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking June 12, 2019, seeking to further delay regulations requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement a system safety program to improve the safety of their operations.

    “The Federal Railroad Administration’s notice of proposed rulemaking once again delays the implementation of regulations that will make passenger rail operations safer,” said National Transportation Safety Board Member Jennifer Homendy.

    “The absence of a sense of urgency to implement this safety recommendation and the willingness to continue to jeopardize the safety of train crews and their passengers is unacceptable. The railroads should not wait one more day on the FRA to implement a final rule. It is the responsibility of each railroad to take swift action to ensure system safety,” said Homendy.