Positively Moving the Safety Needle: Railway Age CEO Perspectives on Safety

Chuck Baker

The railroad industry is safe and getting safer every day. Short line freight railroads and their employees are woven into the fabric of their communities, so safety is not only the right thing to do for the business, but also it is incredibly personal. 

The recently published 2023 reports from the Federal Railroad Administration shows that derailment rates per million train miles have dropped for the industry by 30% since 2000, and on-duty fatalities have reached an all-time low in 2023. Per carload, the hazardous materials accident rate is at its lowest ever and down 75% since 2000. Overall, the last decade has been the safest ever for railroading.

For short lines specifically, another measurement of progress is our Jake Safety Award program. Based on FRA data, Jake Awards are awarded to ASLRRA-member railroads who achieve an accident/incident rate better than the industry average. This is one way of celebrating safety achievements. Further, “Jake with Distinction” awards recognize railroads with zero reportable incidents during the year—there were a record 350 such short lines in 2023!

Although this progress is notable, short lines will not rest until the total number of annual accidents is zero. 

Three initiatives have been critical for short lines in driving this success. The first is addressing the #1 cause of derailments and incidents on short lines: worn out rail. As an industry, when most short lines were spun off from former owners, we became custodians of lines that were saddled with decades of deferred maintenance and thousands of bridges nearing the end of their useful life. Many short lines had rail incompatible with the nation’s standard 286,000-pound GRL railcars.

Short lines invest a huge portion of their own revenue into their infrastructure but need even more help beyond that. Decades of consistent education of our Congressional leaders has brought significant additional public infrastructure investment programs to short lines, such as the 45G Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit. This program alone has driven more than $2.5 billion in upgrades to short line rail infrastructure. The IIJA then included new funds deployed towards short line rail upgrades—most important, the CRISI Grant program, for which short lines are directly eligible. 

Fiscal Year 2022’s budget brought the first full year of IIJA’s implementation—and, with it, new and significant investments in short line freight rail projects. The FRA selected 47 projects that were advanced by short line railroads or short line partners. Of these, 13 projects included grade crossing safety and trespassing mitigation elements. Fourteen projects invested $300 million to upgrade track to move industry-standard railcars weighing up to 286,000-pounds. Twenty projects upgraded or repaired bridges. In all, short line projects in 48 states have received awards via CRISI.

The short line industry is preparing to compete vigorously for the FY 23/24 CRISI NOFO expected to be released any day now.

A second initiative that ASLRRA has strongly supported is the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI). Safety goes beyond compliance; safe behaviors need to happen when nobody is watching. SLSI has supported the development of exceptional safety culture on short lines across the country through Safety Culture Assessments, other programs, such as Hazardous Materials training for railroad employees and first responders, and leadership training. Research has shown that railroads who have returned for a review of their safety culture through a second, follow-up Assessment have shown progress across all elements of safety culture on their railroads. The SLSI is a critical resource for short lines, and ASLRRA is excited about the future of this organization and its impact on short line safety culture. 

While short lines are focusing on closing and eliminating gaps in our infrastructure and bolstering safety culture, we also need to be paying close attention to personnel and the training available. To that end, ASLRRA has collaborated with Iowa Northern Railway, and with the support of a CRISI grant, has developed the Short Line Training Center. This comprehensive training program for short line railroads combines an online Learning Management System (LMS) and Locomotive Simulators to deliver essential regulatory, compliance and safety courses and materials to railroad employees. This program can level the playing field for the smallest of railroads where it may be difficult to free up employees for a day-long in-person training session. More than 300 employees from 22 railroads have already benefitted from training resources available through the Short Line Training Center.

Every day, on individual short lines across America, small business railroads are investing in upgrades, technology and operational practices that are positively moving the needle on safety. The data from the FRA is showing the progress, and that is exciting.