Title: FRA's Current Safety Regulations and Rulemaking Proceedings | US Department of Transportation
Headings: FRA's Current Safety Regulations and Rulemaking Proceedings
FRA's Current Safety Regulations and Rulemaking Proceedings
before the
FRA’s Railroad Safety Program
The National Rail Safety Action Plan
Reducing Train Accidents Caused by Human Factors
Improving Track Safety
Improving Hazardous Materials Safety and Emergency Response Capability
Strengthening FRA’s Safety Compliance Program
Passenger Rail Safety Initiatives
Collision Hazard Analysis
Report to Congress on Push-Pull Operations of Rail Passenger Trains
Passenger Safety Rulemakings
Passenger Safety Research and Development
Conclusion
APPENDIX
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Content: FRA's Current Safety Regulations and Rulemaking Proceedings | US Department of Transportation
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FRA's Current Safety Regulations and Rulemaking Proceedings
Written Statement of
Joseph H. Boardman,
Administrator,
Federal Railroad Administration,
U.S. Department of Transportation,
before the
Subcommittee on Railroads,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
U.S. House of Representatives
June 27, 2006
Chairman LaTourette, Ranking Member Brown, and other members of the Subcommittee, I am very pleased to be here today to testify, on behalf of the Secretary of Transportation, about the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) current safety regulations and rulemaking proceedings. My testimony will begin with an overview of how FRA is working daily to reduce both the number and the severity of railroad accidents. My testimony will then highlight the plan announced by the Secretary and FRA in May 2005, the National Rail Safety Action Plan, and FRA’s real and substantial progress in bringing it to fruition, with special emphasis on safety rulemakings called for by the plan. Finally, I will touch on FRA’s additional, new, passenger-safety rulemakings and other initiatives. FRA’s Railroad Safety Program
FRA is the agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) charged with carrying out the Federal railroad safety laws. These laws provide FRA, as the Secretary’s delegate, with very broad authority over “every area of railroad safety.” 49 U.S.C. 20103 (a). In exercising that authority, the agency has issued a wide range of safety regulations, which cover such topics as track, passenger equipment, locomotives, freight cars, power brakes, locomotive event recorders, signal and train control systems, maintenance of active warning devices at highway-rail grade crossings, accident reporting, alcohol and drug testing, protection of roadway workers, operating rules and practices, locomotive engineer certification, positive train control, and use of train horns at grade crossings. FRA currently has active rulemaking projects on a number of important safety topics, many of which will be described later in this testimony. In addition, FRA enforces in the rail mode of transportation the Hazardous Materials Regulations, which are promulgated by DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).