[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9014-9015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4939]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration


Notice of Safety Bulletin

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of safety bulletin.

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SUMMARY: The FRA is issuing Safety Bulletin 97-2 addressing a 
recommended safety practice to stop trains on heavy descending grades 
of 2 percent or greater by initiating an emergency application of the 
train's air brakes whenever the train speed exceeds the maximum 
authorized speed by five miles per hour or more.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Taylor, Staff Director, Operating 
Practices Division, Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance, FRA, 400 
Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 (telephone 202-632-3346).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Preliminary investigatory findings following the January 12, 1997, 
derailment of a run-away Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) freight 
train on a 2.2 percent descending grade at Hayden, California, indicate 
that when the train reached a speed of 11 miles per hour above its 
maximum authorized speed, the engineer initiated an emergency 
application of the train's air brakes. Following the emergency brake 
application, the train continued to accelerate out of control and 
derailed at the entrance switch to a controlled siding.
    FRA has studied this accident and compared it with another run-away 
freight train derailment that occurred on the Cajon Subdivision of the 
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) four miles west of Summit, 
California, on February 1, 1996. Following that derailment, the BNSF 
implemented a ``five mile per hour rule.'' The railroad's rule requires 
that if a freight train exceeds the maximum authorized speed by five 
miles per hour while descending the grade on the Cajon Pass between 
Summit and Baseline, the train must be stopped by using an emergency 
application of the train's air brake system. The UP initiated a similar 
rule at 24 locations on their system following the January 12, 1997, 
Hayden, California, derailment.
    While FRA does not approve of train operations at any speed above 
the maximum allowable speed established by Federal regulations or by 
railroad rule, FRA does support the initiatives taken by both the BNSF 
and UP to address the situation described here. FRA continues to 
believe that properly maintained equipment and proper instruction on 
train handling techniques, that adequately cover normal and emergency 
operating procedures on heavy grades, would prevent nearly all 
situations in which a train would be exceeding the allowable speed. 
However, if a simple, easy to implement practice could help prevent 
run-away trains, whatever the cause of the excessive train speed, that 
practice should be encouraged.
    The suggested practice provides an additional measure of safety 
since it reduces the uncertainty inherent in ``judgement calls'' as to 
when to initiate emergency action when descending a heavy grade. The 
recommendation, based on UP's and BNSF's ``five mile per hour rule'' 
reduces the possibility that train speed will increase to a point where 
escalating energy levels prohibit stopping the train's momentum even 
with the retarding force generated by an emergency train brake 
application.

Recommendation

    In recognition of the difficulty or impossibility of stopping a 
train on a heavy grade once a critical train speed is attained, FRA 
strongly recommends that railroads take the following safety 
precautions:
    1. On descending grades of 2 percent or more, a train must be 
stopped, using an emergency application of the train's air brakes, if 
the train's speed reaches 5 miles per hour more than the train's 
maximum authorized speed.
    2. After the train has stopped:
    a. a sufficient number of hand brakes must be applied to secure the 
train;
    b. once secured, the train must be inspected and no further train 
movement will be made until authorized by a designated railroad 
employee.
    3. The railroad must conduct an immediate investigation into the 
cause of the incident and initiate appropriate corrective action.
    4. Event recorder data must be routinely inspected to ensure full 
understanding and compliance with this rule.


[[Page 9015]]


    Issued in Washington, D.C. on February 24, 1997.
Bruce M. Fine,
Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 97-4939 Filed 2-26-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P