Economy

Federal Officials Order New Safety Measures to Help Protect Railroad Workers Near Tracks

Federal Railroad Administration to expand alcohol- and drug-testing regulations to include track-maintenance workers

By Ted Mann
ted.mann@wsj.com
@TMannWSJ

Updated May 27, 2016 3:21 p.m. ET

Federal railroad officials on Friday ordered new safety measures and expanded drug testing for work crews, following a spate of train accidents, such as one that killed two track workers nearly eight weeks ago.

The Federal Railroad Administration ordered additional protective measures for work crews on or near active railroad tracks, including requiring safeguards such as the use of equipment that can serve as a second line of defense to prevent collisions between workers and trains.

The agency also expanded its existing drug- and alcohol-testing program,—already in place for engineers and dispatchers—to include track maintenance workers such as those killed in an April 3 crash in Chester, Pa., when a train killed a worker and a supervisor when it struck them and a backhoe they were using on an adjacent track.

Some of Friday’s rule changes were first proposed years ago. The rules incorporate some updates mandated by Congress in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

Control of Alcohol and Drug Use: Coverage of Maintenance of Way (MOW)
27
May
2016

AUTHOR: Federal Railroad Administration

DOCKET NUMBER: Docket No. FRA-2009-0039, Notice No. 3

ABSTRACT: In response to Congress’ mandate in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA), FRA is expanding the scope of its drug and alcohol regulation to cover MOW employees. This rule also codifies guidance from FRA compliance manuals, responds to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations, and adopts substantive amendments based upon FRA’s regulatory review of 30 years of implementation of this part. The final rule contains two significant differences from FRA’s July 28, 2014 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (79 FR 48380). First, it adopts part 214’s definition of “roadway worker” to define “MOW employee” under this part. Second, because FRA has withdrawn its proposed peer support requirements, subpart K contains a revised version of the troubled employee identification requirements previously in subpart E.