Freight Rail Policy Division: Advancing Efficiency and Safety

1. Freight Rail Policy Division Advancing Efficiency and Safety

2. ADMINISTRATOR Office of Railroad Policy & Development Office of Railroad Safety Office of Chief Counsel Office of Administration Office of theChief Financial Officer Office of Program Delivery Office of Policyand Planning Office of Research, Development & Technology National RailPlanning Division Passenger RailPolicy Division Freight RailPolicy Division

3. Freight Rail Policy Program Areas Analyze industry conditions and trends Labor negotiation issues and strike impact analysis Multimodal analysis Comment on STB hearings and decisions Develop models and tools Evaluate and monitor federal grants Provide technical assistance and guidance materials Monitor and assess shared-use rail interactions Participate in interagency/industry working groups

4. Industry Working Groups

5. FAMES – Overview • Focuses on identifying risks, trends, and factors affecting roadway worker safety • Findings and recommendations used for education and prevention • Relies on FRA, railroads, and labor organizations sharing recommendations online and with handouts and presentations Tri-fold Brochure Handouts

6. FAMES – Recommendations • Intro Document to Industry • Safety Briefing • Fourth Quarter Fatalities • Roadway Workers In Charge • Roadway Maintenance Machines Present • Watchmen/Lookouts • Time of Day • Adjacent Track • Good Faith Challenge • Safety at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings • Safety on Railroad Bridges

7. SOFA – Overview • Reviews employee fatalities and develops recommendations to reducing fatalities in switching operations • Conducts consensus-based analysis of railroad switching fatalities and collectively classifies root cause and contributing factors • Publishes findings and recommendations with goal of educating railroad employees to eliminate switching fatalities • Analyzes “severe injuries” (in some cases a severe injury is not a fatality based solely on circumstance)

8. RSAC – Overview • Formally chartered and structured Federal Advisory Committee established in March 1996 to provide advice and consensus-based recommendations to FRA on railroad safety matters • Provides a forum for collaborative rulemaking and program development to improve our Nation’s rail safety. • Proven to be vital to and effective in improving railroad safety

9. RSAC – Overview (cont.) • RSAC working groups and task forces of subject matter experts meet several times each year to: • Review technical specifications • Suggest safety improvements • Draft consensus regulatory language • Full Committee meets 2-3 times per year • Receives progress updates from working groups • Votes on proposed regulatory language • Considers new tasks and makes recommendations to FRA

10. PTC Implementation • December 31, 2018 – Deadline for PTC system implementation, unless a railroad obtains an extension to a date no later than December 31, 2020. • 41 Railroads are currently implementing PTC: • 7 Class I Freight Railroads • 30 Passenger/Commuter Railroads (including Amtrak) • 4 Short Line and Terminal Railroads • Since FY 2008 – DOT has provided over $2.2 billion to support PTC implementation • $925 million in grant funding • $1,349 million in RRIF and TIFIA loans 8

12. State Participation: Illustration of Rail Safety Inspectors Per State

13. Questions?

14. RAIL–Moving America Forward www.fra.dot.gov 66