Railroad safety

U.S. General Accounting Office. Railroad safety engineer work shift length and schedule variability. Report No GAO/RCED-92-133, 1992. 

RAIL AND RAILROAD—The terms rail and railroad have the meaning given the term railroad in section 202(e) of the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 (45 U.S.C. 431(e)). 

EXCEPTION—To the extent that compliance with subsection (b)(2)(C) or (b)(7) would significantly alter the historic or antiquated character of a historical or antiquated rail passenger car, or a rail station served exclusively by such cars, or would result in violation of any rule, regulation, standard, or order issued by the Secretary of Transportation under the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, such compliance shall not be required. 

FRA s traditional site-specific safety inspection program has produced substantial gains in railroad safety with real benefits for the American people... These substantial safety improvements occurred even as freight railroad traffic and train density increased to record levels following economic deregulation of the industry as a result of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980. 

While the evidence is mixed, it appears that improvements in the financial health of railroads probably played a critical role in improved railroad safety performance. Tliis conclusion is based on several important aspects of the rail industry ... 

General Accounting Office (1997), Rail Transportation Federal Railroad Administration s New Approach to Railroad Safety, Report GAO/RCED-97-142, Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office. 

Ian Savage (1998), The Economics of Railroad Safety, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers. 

Protects railroad employees from hazardous and unsafe working conditions as well as discrimination and retaliation. The FRSA also ensures that injured railroad workers will receive prompt medical attention. See also Railroad Safety. 

Office of Railroad Safety Federal Railroad Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Mail Stop 25 Washington, DC 20590 www.fra.dot.gov... 

Ford, G. and Matthews, A. (2002), Analysis of Australian Grade Crossing Accident Statistics, Paper Presented at the 7th International Symposium on Rail-Road Highway Grade Crossing Research and Safety, Melboirme Monash University. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2005), Railroad Safety U.S. Department of Transportation. 

One of the earliest examples of a collective concern for safety and risk was the US Railroad Safety Appliance Act of 1893, which argued for the need to combine safety technology and government policy control. The railway was one of the first conditions in which innocent bystanders - meaning train passengers - were... 

Polk, J. F. Statistical analysis of railroad safety performance, 1977-1982. Final report of contract DTFR 53-82-X-0076. Federal Railroad Administration, 1987. 

This chapter provides a sketch of the development of public policy towards railroad safety. There are four key dates in this history 1853, 1893, 1900-1910 and 1970. Readers seeking more details are directed to Robert Shaw s 1978 book A History of Railroad Accidents, Safety Precautions and Operating Practices which provides an encyclopedic review of the period prior to 1950. Another source is Robert Reed s 1968 book Train Wrecks A Pictorial History of Accidents on the Main Line, While primarily a picture book, it does provide a quick, readable and informative introduction to the subject. 

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