Federal Railroad Administration l Railroad Safety Advisory Committee

Federal Railroad Administration l Railroad Safety Advisory Committee l Track Safety Standards l (Rail Integrity & Concrete Ties Task Forces) l Working Group Report l June 11, 2008

Track Safety Standards Working Group Background • February 22, 2006 – With the RSAC approval of Task 0602, the Track Safety Standards Working Group was established to review and revise the CWR related provisions of the Track Safety Standards • February 22, 2007 - RSAC approved Task 07 -01, and Working Group was tasked to; • Review controls applied to reuse of “plug rail” • Review the issue of cracks emanating from bond wire attachments • Consider improvements in the Track Safety Standards related to fastening of rail to concrete ties • Ensure a common understanding within the regulated community concerning requirements for internal rail flaw inspections

New Brighton Derailment • On October 20, 2006, 23 cars derail in New Brighton, PA resulting in hazardous materials to release, catch fire, and burn for 48 hours • Seven blocks were evacuated • NTSB determined that the derailment resulted from the presence of numerous detail fracture type defects that resulted in catastrophic failure of the rail section

NTSB Recommendations to FRA • Review all internal rail defect detection procedures to eliminate exceptions to the requirement for an uninterrupted continuous search for rail defects • Require RR’s to develop rail inspection and maintenance programs that will identify and remove internal defects before they reach critical size and result in catastrophic rail failure • Require RR’s to use methods that accurately measure head wear to ensure deformation of the rail head does not affect accuracy of test

Track Safety Standards Working Group Rail Integrity Task Force • Problem Statement and Task Force Objectives • Study “Loss of Bottom” condition for frequency of occurrence, affect on production, and consequences of invalid test • Make recommendations that define an invalid test • Define test car operators role in determining invalid test areas (too much latitude? ) • FRA Rail Integrity personnel to perform random audits on flaw detection process and operator performance (offers made to fill five regional positions, position re-posted) Initiate study on affects of head wear on flaw detection systems

Track Safety Standards Working Group Concrete Tie Task Force • Problem Statement and Task Force Objectives • Respond to NTSB report calling for concrete crosstie standards in lower track classes • Develop lower speed standards (LSS) track class 2 - 5 concrete crosstie definition / requirements • Understand the science of concrete crosstie failure • Review VOLPE research modeling and analysis

Track Safety Standards Working Group Concrete Tie Task Force • Develop concrete crosstie definition and application (what constitutes a defective crosstie? ) • Develop mission statement and framework • Performance-based system approach (crosstie and fastener) • Develop both Manual and Automated inspection procedures / applications (safety versus maintenance) Railroad and Labor introduced draft concrete crosstie language •

Track Safety Standards Working Group l 3 Meetings held by each Task Force – November 26 -29 - Washington D. C. – February 12 -14 - Washington D. C. – April 15 -17 – Omaha, NE Next meetings planned for July 8 -10 – Silver Spring, MD • Track Standards WG has not met since 01/08 •

Track Safety Standards Working Group • CWR – • FRA is preparing NPRM based on recommendations adopted at the February 20, 2008 meeting of the full Committee

Track Safety Standards Working Group Questions and Discussion