RailroadRailroad SafetySafety StatisticsStatistics In 1869, a single spike connected the Transcontinental U.S.U.S. Railroad.Railroad. ANNUAL REPORT 2000 InIn 2000,2000, RailroadsRailroads connectedconnected peoplepeople faster.faster. JULY 2001 Railroad Safety Statistics-Annual Report 2000 FOREWORD The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has established an ultimate goal of “Zero Tolerance” for railroad-related accidents, injuries and fatalities. In pursuit of that goal, significant progress has been made, particularly over the past six years, in reducing the number of train collisions, derailments, highway-rail grade crossing incidents, and injuries to railroad workers. These results have been achieved because of a collaborative effort involving the FRA, railroad management, rail labor, equipment suppliers, and contractors, as well as other federal and state agencies whose mission involves ensuring railroad safety. Central to the success of this rail safety effort is the ability to understand the nature of rail-related accidents and to analyze trends in railroad safety. The FRA’s Railroad Safety Statistics – Annual Report 2000 is intended as a resource for the FRA’s safety partners. It is also intended as a general reference source for individuals and organizations with an interest in rail safety issues. Statistical data, tables and charts are provided to depict the nature and cause of many rail-related accidents and incidents that occurred in 2000 Furthermore, selected historical data is included to provide a baseline for understanding the railroad industry’s improving safety performance. It is hoped that the information provided in this publication will provide insight into the most significant safety issues facing the rail industry and, in turn, lead to continued rail safety improvements. Only by continuing our understanding about how and why railroad accidents and incidents occur, can we hope to approach our goal of “Zero Tolerance.” This edition of the Railroad Safety Statistics compiles previous safety bulletins prepared by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). These include: the Accident/Incident Bulletin; the Highway-Rail Crossing Accident/Incident And Inventory Bulletin; and the Trespasser Bulletin. The consolidation of accident/incident statistics previously contained in other publications provides the reader with a single source for a comprehensive overview of railroad safety. The completeness and accuracy of the information presented in this bulletin are primarily dependent upon the data collection and reporting processes of the nation’s railroads. The FRA conducts routine audits of these procedures, but does not have sufficient resources to perform comprehensive reviews of each railroad’s reporting procedures. We extensively review and edit the reports we receive and make inquiry when information is incomplete or inconsistent. Railroads are required by law to submit accident/incident reports within thirty days after the month to which they pertain. They are also required to update their report if the original information is incomplete or inaccurate. Railroads have until April 15 of the following year to “close out” their records and submit any updates to complete their file. It is not possible to identify reportable events that were omitted from a railroad’s submission. Likewise, there may be instances where incorrectly reported information passes all reviews and is accepted. Although we attempt to be as vigilant as possible in both the editing and presentation of the accident/incident data reported, errors do occasionally occur. ii Railroad Safety Statistics-Annual Report 2000 Any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the information contained in this publication should be brought to the attention of: Federal Railroad Administration Office of Public Affairs (Stop 5) 1120 Vermont Ave., NW Washington, DC 20590 Phone number (202) 493-6024 This report and additional information about the FRA’s various programs are available on our Web site at http://www.fra.dot.gov. iii Railroad Safety Statistics-Annual Report 2000 iv Railroad Safety Statistics-Annual Report 2000 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Overview of accidents/incidents and rates ......................................................... 1 Chapter 2 Current year summary of 2000 accidents/incidents and rates ............................ 20 Chapter 3 Casualty reporting .............................................................................................. 31 Chapter 4 Employee on duty casualties .............................................................................. 43 Chapter 5 Train accidents ................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 6 Train accidents involving consists transporting hazardous material.................. 81 Chapter 7 Total highway-rail incidents............................................................................... 87 Chapter 8 Highway-rail incidents at public crossings that involve motor vehicles............ 98 Chapter 9 Highway-rail crossing inventory ........................................................................114 Chapter 10 Trespassers, not at highway-rail crossings .........................................................122 Appendix A Abbreviations .....................................................................................................133 Appendix B Accident/incidents reported by Group III railroads, 2000..................................134 v Railroad Safety Statistics-Annual Report 2000 vi Railroad Safety Statistics-Annual Report 2000 CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW OF ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS AND RATES Railroads began reporting accidents to the Federal Government following passage of the Reports Act of 1910. The current definitions describing reportable events were adopted in 1975 and have remained largely unchanged since then. A number of modifications to the record-keeping and reporting requirements were put in place for 1997. These modifications did not redefine what was to be reported but did expand the types of information being collected and the forms used for reporting. The changes made in 1997 were implemented for the purpose of collecting additional information necessary for safety analysis and to support the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) overall goal of hazard elimination and risk reduction on the Nation’s railroads. A railroad is required by Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations at Title 49, Part 225 of the Code of Federal Regulations to use the current FRA Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports (“Guide” or “reporting guide”) when preparing its monthly report. The instructions and interpretations contained in this publication are provided to assist railroads in meeting this obligation “Accident/Incident” is the term used to describe the entire list of reportable events. These include collisions, derailments, and other events involving the operation of on-track equipment and causing reportable damage above an established threshold; impacts between railroad on- track equipment and highway users at crossings; and all other incidents or exposures that cause a fatality or injury to any person, or an occupational illness to a railroad employee. Accidents/incidents are divided into three major groups for reporting purposes. These correspond to the following FRA forms: Train accidents. A safety-related event involving on-track rail equipment (both standing and moving), causing monetary damage to the rail equipment and track above a prescribed amount. Reported on form FRA F 6180.54, RAIL EQUIPMENT ACCIDENT/ INCIDENT REPORT. (The threshold for 1998 was $6,600) Highway-rail grade crossing incidents. Any impact between a rail and highway user (both motor vehicles and other users of the crossing) at a designated crossing site, including walkways, sidewalks, etc., associated with the crossing. Reported on form FRA F 6180.57, HIGHWAY- RAIL GRADE CROSSING ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORT. Other incidents. Any death, injury, or occupational illness of a railroad employee that is not the result of a “train accident” or “highway-rail incident.” Reported on form FRA F 6180.55a, RAILROAD INJURY AND ILLNESS SUMMARY. A single form is usually sufficient to report most events; however, there are situations when multiple report forms are necessary. An example is a highway-rail crossing incident resulting in 1 Railroad Safety Statistics-Annual Report 2000 reportable injuries. An accident of this type would require the completion of both a Form FRA F 6180.57 and a Form FRA F 6180.55a. A Form FRA F 6180.54 must also be prepared if reportable on-track equipment and track damage in this accident exceeds the current monetary threshold for train accidents. Because of overlap in the reporting requirements, some incidents may fall into multiple categories. The incident described above would be counted as a highway-rail incident, but it would also be included in the train accident total. Another example is a motorist hurt in a highway-rail incident after driving around gates at the crossing site. This individual is reported as a “trespasser” on form FRA F 6180.55a, but the event is classified as a highway-rail incident. If there is an overlap in the information found in different chapters, when possible, a separate column or row total is provided, or counts are excluded when they are more appropriate to another chapter. In the example of the trespasser injured in a highway-rail incident, this injury appears in the highway-rail