Freight railroads in Wis. move ahead on safety
Railroads play a crucial role in the Badger State, with the thousands of employees who call Wisconsin home operating on approximately 3,400 miles of track.
The Wisconsin rail system connects the state’s farmers, manufacturers and resource producers to markets in other states and around the world. In a typical year, 175 million tons of freight is carried in the state.
Moving this freight safely is the industry’s highest priority, and based on the three most common safety measures used by the Federal Railroad Administration — train accident, employee injury, and grade-crossing collision rates — recent years have been the safest in railroad history.
The railroads are not resting on their record. They are constantly investing in infrastructure, technology, and training to make their already-safe operations even safer. In recent years, railroads have spent more than $26 billion annually — their own funds, not taxpayer funds — on upgrades and maintenance of their infrastructure and equipment, enhancing their ability to operate safely and reliably.
A major initiative is the implementation of positive train control (PTC), a technology that will automatically stop a train before certain types of accidents caused by human error occur. Other innovative technologies include drones for inspecting bridges and improved ultrasonic inspection systems that identify track defects so they can be repaired before accidents occur.
Another important aspect of the industry’s safety program is to ensure railroad and state and local emergency responders are prepared for hazardous materials accidents.
Railroads have an outstanding record of transporting crude oil and other hazardous materials safely — more than 99.999 percent of hazardous materials shipments reach their destination without incident. Nevertheless, the railroads recognize the importance of being able to respond to accidents when they do occur.
Railroads train tens of thousands of first responders annually to ensure they are prepared to react quickly and effectively in the event of an accident. Some of this training takes place at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in Pueblo, Colo., operated by the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. In 2015 alone, nearly 2,000 first responders learned how to handle derailments first hand at SERTC, and more than 800 others received online training.
Should a railroad accident involving hazardous materials occur, it is vital that state and local responders have access to information on the materials in the train. One source of information is a new program developed by the railroad industry, the AskRail app. This app provides another way emergency responders can identify those cars in a train carrying hazardous materials and obtain relevant emergency response information. Firefighters around the country have spoken highly about the app.
It is vitally important for Wisconsin and the nation that the country’s nearly 140,000-mile freight rail network operate safely and efficiently. With the help of advanced technologies; cooperative efforts with employees, customers, and the communities they serve; and sensible public policies, railroads will continue to serve the public interest.
Michael J. Rush is senior vice president of safety and operations at the Association of American Railroads.