FTA proposes directive to end stop signal overruns

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published a proposed General Directive aimed at reducing the frequency of stop signal overruns in the rail transit industry.

FTA issued the public notice on Jan. 17 and comments can be submitted through March 20, 2017.

“Ensuring trains only operate where they have permission is a fundamental way to protect the safety of rail transit passengers, operators and other workers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “While rail transit is the safest mode of surface transportation, focus on improving stop signal safety should be a top priority for everyone who is responsible for the safety of transit operations.”

The proposal would require rail transit agencies and State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOA) to work together to understand the significant risks of death, injury and property damage associated with stop signal overruns, establish mitigations to reduce the risks and monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the mitigations. The proposal also would, for the first time, establish a definition for stop signal overruns in the rail transit industry as “a revenue or non-revenue rail transit vehicle passing any signal displaying a visual aspect that indicates to an operator that a train does not have authority to proceed.”

The FTA recognizes that there is a lack of standard practice, definitions, and requirements to protect against unauthorized passing of stop signals. The establishment of a common definition would be a significant safety advancement that would support the development of an industry-wide database on the issue.

FTA has been on a fact-finding mission to address this issue. In April 2016, FTA reached out to transit agencies to collect information on the frequency of stop signal overruns in rail transit and the actions being taken to address these occurrences. Stop signal overruns was a also a focal point that FTA addressed with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority as part of its safety oversight of the transit agency.

“Trains running stop signals creates a risk of death, personal injury or damage to property or equipment,” said FTA Acting Administrator Carolyn Flowers. “We need to work hard, with our transit agency partners, to find out how pervasive a problem this is, and to do everything in our power to make sure that no operator is moving a train without express permission from their agency.”

The proposed General Directive would require a rail transit agency to conduct a systematic safety risk evaluation of the potential for stop signal overruns on its system, evaluate its operational activities to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of existing mitigations and develop a corrective action plan, as necessary. In addition, the proposed General Directive would require SSOAs to participate in, review and approve the safety risk evaluations conducted by rail transit agencies they oversee and monitor and report the status of corrective action plans to the FTA.

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