7 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 5/23/24

 

FRA issues reports on long-train safety, performance

 

The Federal Railroad Administration yesterday finalized three reports on the safety and performance of long trains.

 

The FRA recently sent the reports to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to inform an ongoing NAS study mandated by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to look at the impact of trains longer than 7,500 feet.

 

 

Continue here. 

[CNJRoss]

Trains News Wire

 

Rail safety experts question conclusions of long-train derailment study

 

By Bill Stephens | May 31, 2024

 

The study focused on the number of cars rather than overall length of trains

 

Railroad safety experts are questioning the conclusions of a study released this week that found that a 200-car train is 24% more likely to derail than a 50-car train.

 

SNIP

 

Gary Wolf, a prominent derailment investigator, says the study lacks credibility because it does not factor out derailments that have nothing to do with train length, such as certain types of mechanical or track problems.

 

Conversely, Wolf says the study doesn’t delve into derailment risk from causes that can stem from train length, including air brake issues, poor train handling, slack action, and broken knuckles.

 

A definitive study, he says, would involve sorting through accident reports, finding causes related to train length, and then comparing 100-car trains to 200-car trains, for example. The derailment of a long train, he says, may have nothing to do with train length.

 

 

Continue here.  

[CNJRoss]

BLET Weekly News Recap, 6/14/24 (Excerpt)

RAILROAD SAFETY:
Study finds that derailment risk increases as trains get longer

 

 

A recent academic study by researchers from Brigham Young University, Georgetown University, and Virginia Tech found that the risk of derailment increases with train length. The study, which analyzed FRA data from 2013-2022, found that a 200-car freight train is 24% more likely to derail than a 50-car train.

 

FRA Administrator Amit Bose discussed the safety and performance of long trains with BLET members during his presentation last week at the union’s Western Regional Meeting in Kansas City. The BLET has been advocating for action to address the dangers of excessive train length since the inception of Precision Scheduled Railroading. BLET National President Eddie Hall exposed the dangers of long trains in a 2023 interview with Washington Post.

 

Bose said that recent FRA studies found that air brake systems performed largely as expected when testing was performed in a controlled environment. However, the FRA identified some negative impacts on performance and recommended additional research to provide a better understanding of how long trains impact the durability of rolling stock mechanical components.

 

“As the length of freight trains increases, the need and demand for accurate, actionable data on long trains — some of which can stretch up to three miles — has never been greater,” Bose said. “FRA is leading the push for more transparency and data in this area.”

Photo courtesy of Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659

[CNJRoss]

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine news release

 

Congress Should Empower Regulatory Agencies to Address Challenges Presented by Long Trains, Says New Report

 

September 17, 2024

 

WASHINGTON ― The heightened safety challenges and operational demands of long freight trains require a combination of actions from major freight railroad companies, the Federal Railroad Administration, and Congress, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In addition to evaluating issues around safety, operations, and crew training for long trains, the report also examines their potential to block highway-rail grade crossings and to interfere with Amtrak’s intercity passenger trains.  

 

  Complications of Long Manifest Trains

 

Driven by cost and efficiency considerations, freight railroads have been operating increasingly longer manifest trains over the past two decades. Manifest trains haul freight in many different types of railcars with different weights and sizes. The number and mix of cars can add to the extreme forces that moving trains experience, which can stress equipment and create handling challenges for train crews, increasing the potential for derailments if not closely managed, the report says.

 

There is no threshold at which a manifest train becomes a “long train” and subject to greater safety concerns, says the report. Rather, as the length of the train increases, it becomes more important to manage in-train forces by placing additional locomotives in the train and assembling trains correctly. Also, since manifest trains carry a mix of cargo, railcars of different types are picked up and dropped off en route, so a train’s handling demands can change over the course of a single trip.

 

“Freight railroads have provided such a dependable way to move goods and materials across the U.S. for so long that it’s easy to overlook them, but railroad operations have changed a great deal over the past few decades, as have the technologies used and our understanding of the best safety management practices,” said Debra Miller, chair of the Kansas Turnpike Authority, and chair of the committee that wrote the report. “So, the time is right for Congress, regulatory bodies, and the industry itself to take a closer look at railroad practices and regulations to ensure the safest operations going forward.”

 

  Risk Reduction

 

Currently, the Federal Railroad Administration does not require railroad companies to target all major operational changes in their safety management systems. Instead, the agency requires only that railroads have “streamlined” risk reduction programs, which the report says raises questions about whether railroads are being sufficiently proactive and systematic in controlling the risks from longer trains, such as by using safe train-makeup practices and ensuring that crews are appropriately trained.

 

The report says that the FRA should strengthen the requirements so that railroads must identify, analyze, and address the risks that arise from all major operational changes, including from the use of longer manifest trains. Railroads should also be required to regularly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these risk reduction measures and improve them as necessary. Additionally, the FRA should seek resources from Congress to hire and train a team of auditors to critically assess all elements of each railroad’s risk reduction program and verify implementation.

 

  Blocked Highway-Rail Grade Crossings

 

The report analyzes the issue of freight trains blocking roads at rail crossings, but did not reach conclusions about how longer trains are impacting the frequency and duration of blockages. Communities impacted by chronic crossing blockages point to train length as a factor, especially in areas where longer trains can extend beyond railyards to block multiple crossings on a regular basis, impeding access to neighborhoods, schools, and recreational facilities.

 

Congress should authorize and direct the FRA to obtain and publicly share data on blocked crossings, build a network-level understanding of the issue, and then negotiate with railroads to find solutions to the most problematic blockage sites, the report says. Congress should also empower the agency to impose financial penalties of sufficient magnitude to prompt good faith efforts to find solutions to this problem.

 

  Amtrak Train Delays

 

Federal statutes grant Amtrak trains preference over freight trains — meaning that when there are track conflicts, freight trains must allow passenger trains to pass. The committee found that freight railroads do, nonetheless, run trains on routes where the train’s length exceeds the length of available sidings — where trains can briefly pull aside to clear the main track — preventing passing and causing Amtrak trains to be delayed behind slower freight trains.

 

The report recommends that Congress direct the FRA to monitor the performance of freight railroads to ensure Amtrak trains are being given preference. When an Amtrak train experiences delays because of an inability to meet or overtake a freight train, the freight railroad should be subject to financial penalties that are substantial enough to deter the practice and motivate solutions, such as rightsizing trains for the available infrastructure and investing in longer sidings.

 

  Yard and Train Crews

 

In addition to having more demanding handling requirements, longer manifest trains can create challenges in maintaining radio contact over the length of the train, and the trains can take more time for railroad employees to assemble, disassemble, and inspect. For example, if a train stops because of mechanical or other issues, a crew member must walk the length of the train and manually set a sufficient number of handbrakes. It is unclear whether the freight railroads have done enough to prepare their employees for these added challenges, the report states.

 

The FRA should survey the railroad industry for best practices in ensuring appropriate and consistently applied train-makeup procedures, effective crew training protocols, and reliable communications systems for the safe operation of longer trains. Railroads can use this information in developing their risk reduction programs, and FRA auditors can use it for assessing the quality of those programs.

 

The study — undertaken by the Committee on the Impact of Trains Longer than 7,500 Feet — was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

 

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 9/17/24

 

Congress should require regulators to address long freight-train issues, report says

 

There is no threshold at which a manifest train becomes a "long train" and subject to greater safety concerns, the report states.

Photo – Shutterstock/Baxtar

 

Increased safety challenges and operational demands of long freight trains require a combination of actions from major freight railroads, the Federal Railroad Administration and Congress, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

 

In addition to evaluating issues around safety, operations and crew training for long trains, the report examines their potential to block grade crossings and to interfere with Amtrak’s intercity passenger trains. Over the past two decades, freight railroads have been operating increasingly longer manifest trains. The trains haul different types of rail cars of varying weight and sizes. The number and mix of cars can add to the extreme forces that moving trains experience, which can stress equipment and create handling challenges for train crews, increasing the potential for derailments if not closely managed, the report says. 

 

SNIP 

 

Funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the study was conducted by the Committee on the Impact of Trains Longer than 7,500 Feet.

 

The full report can be read here.

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

AAR news release

 

Freight Trains Are Safe at Any Length 

 

Washington, D.C. – September 17, 2024 – Today the Transportation Research Board (TRB) released its study on operating freight trains longer than 7,500 feet. Over the past 80 years, railroads have safely managed trains of this length and beyond. At the same time, the industry’s safety record has dramatically improved, with the latest data showing the Class I mainline accident rate down 42% since 2000.  

 

“Safety is at the center of every decision on the railroad, and train length is no different,” said AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “As operations continue to evolve, railroads are pulling on three key levers – technology, training and infrastructure – to further enhance safety and reliability. Railroads’ goal will always be delivering for our employees, communities and the economy – and to do it safely every day.” 

 

All railroads consider several factors including commodity mix, track conditions and terrain when determining train makeup and length on every train across the 140,000-mile rail network, though processes may differ slightly across carriers. Many railroads rely on advanced “train builder” algorithms that analyze various operational factors, guiding car placement and ensuring trains are operating as safely as possible. Improvements to train building best practices have delivered even stronger safety results in recent years and will continue to be an area of intense focus for the industry. 

 

Railroads also strategically deploy locomotives at key points throughout the train using a method known as distributed power. This common practice helps manage in-train forces to reduce operational risk. In distributed power train consists, locomotives are connected by closed communications systems that maintain constant connection to the lead locomotive and its highly qualified engineer.  

 

Training is a priority, equipping engineers with the tools and experience to effectively and safely execute their jobs. This is why railroads offer simulator-based and on-the-job training for locomotive engineers for the most demanding class or type of service that the person will be permitted to perform. This comprehensive training ensures engineers are both adept with in-cab technologies like distributed power and familiar with the specifics of their unique territory. To confirm their readiness for real-world demands, the FRA requires engineers to undergo annual evaluations of their territory as well as conducts unannounced observations while they are at work.   

 

As operations change, so do infrastructure needs. To accommodate longer trains, railroads continue invest over $23 billion annually into infrastructure, including adding and extending sidings. These improvements increase the fluidity of rail traffic and reduce the impact on local communities.   

 

Maintaining network safety is a continual process that requires railroads to regularly review and adapt their operations. To support the TRB’s thorough review of train length issues, railroads provided substantial amounts of data, delivered numerous presentations to the committee and provided constructive feedback on the findings.  

 

Despite the extensive review, the TRB study has several shortcomings. First, it arbitrarily focuses on trains exceeding 7,500 feet, despite acknowledging a lack of consensus on the appropriate definition of a “long” train. The study followed a Congressionally defined threshold without uniform agreement on its appropriateness. Additionally, the report notes the committee was unable to draw conclusions about potential community impacts of emission reductions or from occupied crossings by longer trains. 

 

https://www.aar.org/...-Chart.jpg.webp

 

Ultimately, the TRB study does not demonstrate data supporting any claims that manifest trains exceeding 7,500 feet pose additional operational safety risks.  Any effort to impose a prescriptive train length limit would be both irresponsible and unfounded.  

 

An arbitrary limit on train length would risk disrupting the nation’s supply chain through increased network congestion and undermining environmental priorities. For example, AAR analysis found that restricting train length to 7,500 feet would increase U.S. mainline freight train fuel consumption by 13% or an additional 423 million gallons of fuel annually. This would be the equivalent to the annual emissions from about 930,000 cars. 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 9/18/24

 

AAR: Long freight-train study falls short

 

Railroads have safely managed long freight trains for the past 80 years, while still improving the industry's safety record, the Association of American Railroads said yesterday in response to a new government study on the safety of operating freight trains longer than 7,500 feet.

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation-funded study, which recommended that Congress and federal regulators address the challenges and operational demands of managing long freight trains, was released yesterday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The Committee on the Impact of Trains Longer than 7,500 Feet conducted the study. 

 

SNIP

 

The study has several "shortcomings," according to the AAR.

 

More here. 

[CNJRoss]

UPRR InsideTrack, 9/18/24

 

 

Trains of All Lengths Keep Economies on Track

By Eric Gehringer, Executive Vice President–Operations, Union Pacific Railroad

 

Technology has changed the way we railroad, from how we assemble a train to its length, and, yet trains are still the safest and most cost-efficient freight system in the world.

 

I’m writing to reflect on recent stories and reports about train length – and to share some facts about railroading, stats about length and safety, and the specific actions Union Pacific has taken to work with community partners.

 

SNIP

 

Train Length is About Fluidity

 

On my first day at the railroad, I saw train crews in the yard rely on printed paperwork to do their jobs. Today, that information is at their fingertips on mobile devices. Technology has changed the way we railroad, from how we assemble a train to its length, and, yet trains are still the safest and most cost-efficient freight system in the world.

 

At Union Pacific, we leverage a tool called Train Builder to simulate and replicate the forces trains experience based on the terrain they travel. We use the data to determine how a train will handle while en route, where cars should be placed in the lineup, the number of locomotives needed and the best routes. It’s also a valuable training tool for employees.

 

Armed with this knowledge, Union Pacific trains are built to support the natural ebb and flow of our customers’ needs and keep our 23-state network fluid.  . . . 

 

More here.