Two rail issues make NTSB’s Most Wanted list for 2016

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
image description

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its 2016 Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements on January 13 at the 95th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board.

 

Two rail specific issues from the 2015 Most Wanted List, Positive Train Control (PTC) and rail tank care safety issues, have been combined into one item on the 2016 list: Promote The Completion of Rail Safety Initiatives.

New to the list in 2016 is “Improve Rail Transit Safety Oversight,” which joins other issues making their debut on the list including “Strengthen Occupant Protection,” “Reduce Fatigue-Related Accidents,” “Expand Use of Recorders to Enhance Transportation Safety” and “Promote Availability of Collision Avoidance Technologies in Highway Vehicles.”

Regarding PTC and strong tank car safety rules, NTSB said “these measures save lives – but only where implemented. They should be implemented broadly and with minimal delays.”

NTSB notes that congressional action to extend the PTC implementation deadline to 2018 should allow many more railroads to comply, but NTSB encourages implementation as soon as possible and recommends not allowing new extensions from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).

NTSB also encourages introducing safer tank cars to the industry as soon as possible.

“Bottom line: We have laws and regulations to implement PTC and improve tank car design, but we must avoid delays. Safety delayed is safety denied, and any given day without these lifesaving advances might be the day of the next Philadelphia or Lac-Megantic,” The NTSB said.

The new entrant on the list, “Improve Rail Transit Safety Oversight,” was added because “We have seen too many fatalities and injuries on rail mass transit,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart.

NTSB referenced the January 2015 Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) smoke incident where 92 people were injured and one passenger died. NTSB recommended the Federal Railroad Administration take over safety oversight of WMATA rail operations. However, USDOT is pursuing that oversight under the Federal Transit Administration, a decision NTSB said it will monitor as it aims to champion consistent oversight for all rail transit agencies.

“Rail transit must be subject to competent oversight bodies that have standards and rules, and the power to enforce these rules. Although each system has unique equipment, operating environments and challenges, all need strong safety oversight to continue safe operations,” wrote NTSB, “Rail transit riders deserve strong safety oversight whether in Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Atlanta or in any of the dozens of other American cities with rail transit systems.”

Tags: