The numbers are in. Officials with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced that fiscal year 2015 represented the agency’s highest ever civil penalty collection rate in its 50-year history. It’s a result of a stepped up enforcement of railroad safety regulations.
Last year, the FRA reported nearly 6,500 company violations that resulted in civil penalties totaling some $15 million – up 12 percent over fiscal year 2014. Officials expect to collect 75 percent of these penalties. Over the previous six years, the collections ranged from 67 percent to 69 percent. Intensified efforts to enforce penalties will serve to better hold rail companies to higher safety standards.
“Safety must be the number one priority for every railroad, and the Department of Transportation will continue to take aggressive action against railroads who fail to follow safety rules,” US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a media statement. “A strong safety enforcement program is critical to prevent accidents, save lives and move our country forward.”
Of the violations cited, nearly a third involved motive power and equipment mishaps:
- Motive power and equipment, 1869 violations, 29 percent
- Track, 1,689 violations, 26 percent
- Hazmat, 1,327 violations, 20 percent
- Operating practices, 1,184 violations, 18 percent
- Signal and train control, 416 violations, 7 percent
Agency efforts to improve safety throughout the rail industry also will focus on railroad crossing safety, improving the safety of hazmat and crude transport, increasing transparency and working more closely with the National Transportation Safety Board.
“Setting a record for collections is an important milestone, but it is just one element of FRA’s broader effort to achieve a safer rail system,” FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg said. “As we continue to aggressively enforce safety regulations, FRA will also continue to implement new, innovative solutions to increase safety.”
If you or someone you love suffers an injury or loss caused by a safety lapse on the part of a railway company or employee, call 888-519-RAIL and speak with a railroad injury attorney with Jacksonville’s Rail Justice.
