DOT Secretary Mineta Unveils New Rail Safety Plan
ransportation Secretary Norman Mineta unveiled a plan Monday to improve safety on U.S. railroads.
The plan will help prevent train accidents caused by human error, improve the safety of hazardous materials shipments, minimize the dangers of crew fatigue, deploy new technologies to spot track defects and focus inspectors on safety trouble spots, DOT said.
The National Rail Safety Action Plan represents a new approach to improving safety throughout the railroad industry, DOT said.
“The aggressive and comprehensive plan I am unveiling today will bolster safety along America’s rails and help prevent the tragic and costly rail accidents that still plague the nation’s railroad network,” Mineta said during a visit to Columbia, S.C.
Human error is the largest single factor in train wrecks, accounting for 38% of all accidents over the last five years, DOT said.
Preliminary findings from a January accident in Graniteville, S.C., which killed nine people point to human error as the cause, DOT said, when the train’s crew failed properly line a switch back to the mainline track.
Mineta said a new inspection plan would deploy inspectors and resources to safety “hot spots” before accidents occur.
The Federal Railroad Administration is investing in special high-tech rail cars that automatically inspect tracks integrity as they roll along the rails, DOT said.
To more safely transport hazmats, the railroad industry will provide local emergency responders a ranked listing of the top 25 hazardous materials transported through their communities.
Mineta said that by July, FRA will launch a pilot program providing responders with via a secure Web site about hazardous materials involved in train accidents.
