Economy

Monday, August 01, 2016

FRA issues final rule on identifying passenger railroad safety hazards

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor

The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a final rule on System Safety Programs (SSP).

The rule requires passenger railroads to proactively identify potential safety hazards across their operations and work to reduce and mitigate them. The rule will help prevent safety problems from escalating and resulting in incidents, injuries or deaths.

"Operating a railroad safely requires more than simply not having an incident – it demands looking for problems before they cause an injury or a fatality," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "This new rule is a huge step in the right direction to make passenger rail service even safer."

The SSP rule requires passenger railroads to implement, among other items, a defined and measurable safety culture; identify potential safety hazards in their operations and work to reduce or eliminate those hazards and to document and demonstrate how they will achieve compliance with FRA regulations.

8/1/2016

Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation

FRA unveils final version of new rule governing passenger-rail safety

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) late last week issued a new final rule that requires passenger railroads to identify safety hazards and to work to reduce and mitigate them.

The rule is designed to prevent safety problems from escalating into incidents, injuries or deaths, FRA officials said in a press release.

The System Safety Program (SSP) requires passenger railroads to put into place a defined and measurable safety culture; identify potential safety hazards and reduce or eliminate them; and to document and demonstrate how they will achieve compliance with FRA regulations.

The rule aims to build on current regulations to help the industry move from a reactive to more proactive approach to safety, FRA officials said.