1. Freight Rail Policy Division
Advancing Efficiency and Safety
Freight Rail Policy Division

2. ADMINISTRATOR Office of Railroad Policy & Development
Office of Railroad Safety
Office of Chief Counsel
Office of Administration
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Office of Program Delivery
Office of Research, Development & Technology
Office of Policy and Planning
National Rail Planning Division
Passenger Rail Policy Division
Freight Rail Policy 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
Improving Safety for All
RSAC
SOFA
FAMES

5. Tri-fold Brochure Handouts
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
Time of Day
Adjacent Track
Safety Briefing
Good Faith Challenge
Fourth Quarter Fatalities
Safety at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings
Roadway Workers In Charge
Safety on Railroad Bridges
Roadway Maintenance Machines Present
Watchmen/Lookouts

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 66