FRA to Extend Safety Program

The Federal Railroad Administration is expanding its safety oversight to target the role of human error in railroad accidents, Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater announced Sept. 23.

The effort will bring the agency’s Safety Assurance and Compliance Program to bear on human behavior in railroad operations before accidents occur, the agency said.

"This initiative will help all involved in railroad operations assess the human role in day-to-day railroad practices and how they can be made safer," Slater said.

According to the FRA, the Operating Practices Initiative will address safety conditions or trends that affect the railroad industry as a whole, not specific railroads. The initiative will be instituted incrementally, eventually encompassing all FRA regions, beginning in those areas where the number of reportable human error incidents is greatest.