U.S. Railroad Safety Statistics and Trends

Robert E. Fronczak, P.E.

Assistant VP- Environment & Hazmat

Association of American Railroads

Transportation External Coordination Working Group Meeting

September 21, 2005

Railroad Safety: Topics

Safety Statistics & Trends

Train Safety (Train Accidents)

Employee Safety

Hazardous Materials Safety

U.S. Railroad Safety Statistics:Main Themes

Railroads have dramatically improved safety over the last two and a half decades.

Railroads compare favorably with other industries & transportation modes.

The most troubling railroad safety problems arise from factors largely outside railroad control.

Railroads have implemented numerous and effective technological improvements and company-wide safety programs.

U.S. Railroad Safety Statistics

Total Fatalities and Total Injuries

Employee On-Duty Fatalities (19), Injuries, & Associated Rates

Grade Crossing Collisions & Rates

Grade Crossing Fatalities & Rates

Hazmat Accidents/Incidents & Rates

Sources of Data: FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2003/r01.htm (preliminary 2003 data)FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report, 2003, Tables 1-1, 1-2.FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1975-1996, Tables 1, 51.

In 2003, U.S. railroads achieved their safest year to date for the following measures:

U.S. Railroad Safety Statistics

Total Non-Fatal Injuries

Employee On-Duty Injuries & Injury Rates

Grade Crossing Collision Rates

Trespasser Fatalities and Injuries per Million Train Miles

Sources of Data: FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2004/r01.htm (preliminary 2004 data)FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report, 2003, Tables 1-1, 1-2.FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1975-1996, Tables 1, 51.

In 2004, U.S. railroads achieved their safest year ever for the following measures:

Train Accidents Per Million Train-Miles Have Dropped 64% Since 1980 And 13% Since 1990

Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report 2003, Tables 1-1, 1-2.FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Tables 19, 36.FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2004/r01.htm (preliminary 2004 data)

Note: Excludes grade crossing accidents.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004p

11.43

4.13

4.73

Mainline Train Collisions Per Million Train-Miles On Class I Freight Railroads Have Dropped 83% Since 1980 And 44% Since 1990

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004pSources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report 2003, Tables 1-1, 5-6; Accident/Incident Bulletin,

1980-1996, Tables 19, 36. AAR Analysis of FRA train accident database through 2004.FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2004/r01.htm (preliminary 2004 data)

Note: Excludes grade crossing accidents. Includes passenger train collisions on Class I freight railroads.

0.52

0.33

0.08

All Collisions: All RRs

Mainline & Sidings:Class I Freight RRs

0.49

0.15

Derailments Per Million Train-Miles Have Dropped 67%Since 1980 And 15% Since 1990

0

2

4

6

8

10

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004p

Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report 2003, Tables 1-1, 5-6.FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Tables 19, 36.

FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2004/r01.htm & r02.htm (preliminary 2004 data) Note: Excludes grade crossing accidents.

3.52

8.98

2.98

Equipment-Caused Accidents Per Million Train-Miles Have Dropped 74% Since 1980 And 25% Since 1990

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004pSources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report 2003, Tables 1-1, 5-6.

FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Tables 19, 36.FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2004/r01.htm & r02.htm (preliminary 2004 data)

Note: Excludes grade crossing accidents.

0.70

0.52

2.03

Track-Caused Accidents Per Million Train-Miles Have Dropped 74% Since 1980 And 20% Since 1990

0

1

2

3

4

5

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004p

Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report 2003, Tables 1-1, 5-6.FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Tables 19, 36. FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2004/r01.htm & r02.htm (preliminary 2004 data) Note: Excludes grade crossing accidents.

1.60

1.28

4.84

Human Factors-Caused Accidents Per Million Train-Miles Have Dropped 48% Since 1980 and 7% Since 1990

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004p

Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report 2003, Tables 1-1, 5-6.FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Tables 19, 36. FRA website: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Prelim/2004/r01.htm & r02.htm (preliminary 2004 data) Note: Excludes grade crossing accidents.

1.80

1.67

3.24

Brake Equipment-Related Train Accident Rates Have Dropped 84% Since 1980 And 48% Since 1990

Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report, 1997-2003, Table 1-1, 5-7.FRA Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Table 19, 36.

AAR Analysis of FRA Train Accident Database through 2004.Note: Includes accidents due to locomotive brake defects.

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0.26

0.08 0.04

Accidents per Million Train-Miles

Wheel Equipment-Related Train Accident Rates Have Dropped 75% Since 1980 And 24% Since 1990

Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report, 1997-2003, Table 1-1, 5-7.FRA Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Table 19, 36.

AAR Analysis of FRA Train Accident Database through 2004.Note: Includes accidents due to locomotive wheel defects.

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0.411

0.1350.103

Accidents per Million Train-Miles

Axle And Bearings-Related Train Accident Rates Have Dropped 65% Since 1980 And 26% Since 1990

Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report, 1997-2003, Table 1-1, 5-7.FRA Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Table 19, 36.

AAR Analysis of FRA Train Accident Database through 2004.Note: Includes accidents due to locomotive axle or bearing defects.

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0.287

0.138

0.101

Accidents per Million Train-Miles

Truck Component-Related Train Accident Rates Have Dropped 79% Since 1980 And 40% Since 1990

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005Sources: FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report, 1997-2003, Table 1-1, 5-7.

FRA Accident/Incident Bulletin, 1980-1996, Table 19, 36.AAR Analysis of FRA Train Accident Database through 2004.

Note: Includes accidents due to locomotive truck component defects.

0.450

0.153

0.092

Accidents per Million Train-Miles

Railroads Have Lower Employee Injury Rates Than Do Other Major Industry Groups

0

1

2

3

4

5

RAILROADS

Hotels

Food

Store

sAgri

cultu

reCon

struc

tion

Man

ufactu

ring

Depart

ment S

tores

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics,

Lost Workday Injuries & Illnesses per 100 Full Time Employees, 2001

http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/ostb1129.pdf(before the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) changedits recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002)

Railroads Have Lower Employee Injury Rates ThanDo Other Transportation Modes

0

2

4

6

8

10

RAILROADS

Wate

r Tran

spTruc

king

Transit

& G

round

Airline

s

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics,

Lost Workday Injuries & Illnesses per 100 Full Time Employees, 2001

http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/ostb1129.pdf(before the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) changedits recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002)

U.S. Railroads Have Had Lower Employee Injury Rates Than Have Most Major European Railroads

Sources: UIC, Statistics on Accidents at Work, 1993-2001. FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, Tables 43, 45, 46.FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Reports, 1997-2001, Tables 4-1, 1-1. UIC discontinued these stats after 2001.Notes: Excludes occupational illnesses. Excludes injuries with no days away from work. Includes fatal injuries.Data for Sweden & Norway (1993-96) and for U.S. (all years) is per 200,000 hours actually worked, hence higher.

0

2

4

6

8

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

Lost Workday Injuries per 100 Employees

Germany

Spain

BelgiumItaly

AustriaFrance

U.S.BRNorway

Sweden Britain

The Safest U.S. RRs Have Had Lower Employee Injury Rates Than Have The Safest European RRs

Sources: UIC, Statistics on Accidents at Work, 1993-2001. FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, Tables 43, 45, 46.FRA, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Reports, 1997-2001, Tables 4-1, 1-1. UIC discontinued these stats after 2001.Notes: Excludes occupational illnesses. Excludes injuries with no days away from work. Includes fatal injuries.Data for Sweden & Norway (1993-96) and for U.S. (all years) is per 200,000 hours actually worked, hence higher.

0

1

2

3

4

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

Lost Workday Injuries per 100 Employees

NS

BR

Norway Sweden

CSXIC

BNSF

UP

Hazmat Incident Release Rates Have Declined 71% Since 1980 And 56% Since 1990

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003

Sources: USDOT, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Hazardous Materials Incidentsby Year & Mode. http://hazmat.dot.gov/files/hazmat/10year/10yearfrm.htm for 1995-2004.Includes releases in train accidents as well as non-accident releases. ICC/STB Waybill Sample.1995-2003. Carloadings adjusted to counter known hazmat carloadings underreporting.

Incidents per Thousand Carloads

1.52

0.99

0.4499.96% Incident Free

Hazmat Accident Rates Have Declined 90% Since 1980 And 49% Since 1990

0.00

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

0.12

0.14

0.16

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003

Sources: FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, Table 26. FRA, RR Safety Statistics Annual Reports, 1997-2003, Tables 6-1. ICC/STB Waybill Sample. 1995-2003. Carloadings adjusted to counter known hazmat underreporting.Note: An accident may involve releases from more than one car.

Train Accidents with a Release per Thousand Carloads

0.143

0.027 0.014

99.998% of Carloads are Accident Release Free

Accidents With A Hazmat Release Have Declined 76%Since 1980 And 17% Since 1990

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004p

Sources: FRA, Accident/Incident Bulletin, Table 26. FRA, RR Safety Statistics Annual Reports,1997-2003, Tables 6-1. Note: An accident may involve releases from more than one car.AAR Analysis of FRA Train Accident Database for 2004.

Train Accidents with a Hazmat Release

119

35 29

About 1% Of Train Accidents Result In A Release Of Hazardous Materials

No Hazmat Cars Present2,558 76.0%

Hazmat Released 29 0.9%

Hazmat Cars inConsist 449 13.3%

Hazmat CarsDerailed orDamaged 331

9.8%

Source: AAR Analysis of Year 2004 FRA Train Accident Database.Note: Includes grade crossing train accidents meeting dollar threshold.

Rail Freight Transport Incurs About 14% Of The Fatalities That Trucks Do Per Trillion Ton-Miles

Sources: FRA, RR Safety Statistics Annual Report 2002, Table 1-4. Rail Ton-Miles in 2002 fromRR Facts, 2003 Ed., p. 32, Eno Foundation. USDOT, FMCSA, Large Truck Crash Facts, 2002, Table 13,http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/CarrierResearchResults/HTML/2002Crashfacts/02Table13.htm Tractor-trailer net ton-miles in 2002 estimated at 1.14 trillion from 2002 USDOC,Vehicle Inventory& Use Survey (VIUS).

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Rail Freight Tractor-Trailers

FatalitiesFatality Rate731

467

3,794 3,328

Rail Freight Transport Incurs About 8% Of The Injuries That Trucks Do Per Trillion Ton-Miles

Sources: FRA, RR Safety Statistics Annual Report 2002, Table 1-4. Rail Ton-Miles in 2002 fromRR Facts, 2003 Ed., p. 32, Eno Foundation. USDOT, FMCSA, Large Truck Crash Facts, 2002, Table 15,http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/CarrierResearchResults/HTML/2002Crashfacts/02Table15.htm Tractor-trailer net ton-miles in 2002 estimated at 1.14 trillion from 2002 USDOC Vehicle Inventory& Use Survey (VIUS).

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

Rail Freight Tractor-Trailers

InjuriesInjury Rate

7,647 4,889

72,000 63,000

Railroads Incurred 9 Fatalities In The Last 10 Years DueTo Hazmat While Trucks Incurred 107

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Rail Truck

Source: USDOT, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Hazardous Materials Incidentsby Year & Mode, from http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/inc/data/10yearfrm.htm for 1995 through 2004,as of 5/9/2005.

Railroads Now Have Less Than 6% Of The Hazmat Incidents That Trucks Have, Despite Roughly Equal Hazmat Ton-Mileage

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

TruckRailroad

Sources: USDOT, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Hazardous Materials IncidentsBy Year & Mode, from http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/inc/data/10yearfrm.htm for 1995 through 2004.USDOC, 2002 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS), Table 1a, for truck ton-mi. FHWA Highway Statistics.ICC/STB Waybill Sample for rail ton-miles. In 2003, trucks hauled an estimated 110 billion ton-miles of hazmat,while railroads also hauled an estimated 110 billion ton-miles of hazmat.

Railroads Now Have 21% Of The Serious Hazmat Incidents That Trucks Have, Despite Roughly Equal Hazmat Ton-Mileage

Sources: USDOT, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Hazardous Materials Incidentsby Year & Mode, from http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/inc/data/10yearfrm.htm. PHMSA’s new definition,applied to1994 through 2003, defines serious incidents as those involving a fatality or serious injury due toa hazmat release or evacuation of 25 or more people as the result of a hazmat release or fire.In 2003, trucks hauled an estimated 110 billion ton-miles of hazmat, while railroads also hauledan estimated 110 billion ton-miles of hazmat.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

TruckRailroad

(New definitionof “Serious”)

Technological Improvements to Railroad Safety:Track & Equipment

Improved TrackRail steelsWelded railFastenersDetection of flaws, weak spots

Improved EquipmentHeat treated curved plate wheelsHot box detectors, roller bearings, acoustic detection systemsAir brake control valves & air brake tests

Technological Improvements to Railroad Safety:Tank Cars and SNF

Head shields and shelf couplers

Thermal insulation

Bottom outlet protection

Enhanced safety requirements of hazmat tank cars >263,000 lbs or carrying environmentally sensitive chemicals

Enhanced standard for cars carrying spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste.

Railroad Industry Safety Programs:Hazardous Materials

OT-55

AAR North American Non-Accident Release (NAR) Program

Transportation & Community Awareness & Emergency Response (TRANSCAER)

ACC Responsible Care

Operation Respond

TTCI's Emergency Response Training Center

TTCI's BOE Hazmat Inspections

TTCI's BOE Hazmat Safety Information

Railroad Industry Safety Programs:Operations, Training, Crossings

Individual Railroad Employee Safety Programs

Crew Resource Management (CRM)

Remote Control Operations

Full-motion Computerized Train Simulators

Interactive Video Individual Training

Operation Lifesaver

Grade Crossing Upgrade (Section 130) Program

Since 1980, U.S. Class I Railroads Have Spent $323 Billion On Track And Equipment

Sources: AAR, Analysis of Class I Railroads, 1980 - 2003, based on R-1 Reports submitted by each Class Irailroad to the ICC/STB. Equipment: Lines 382+158-151-154-157. Track: Lines 378+149-147.Current year dollars.

Capital Expenditures and Maintenance Expenses, Excluding Depreciation, in Billions of Dollars

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003

Track & Structures

Equipment

Since 1991, U.S. Class I Railroads Have Accelerated Capital Spending On New Rail

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

Billions of Current Dollars

Capital Expenditures on Rail

Operating Expenses for Rail & Other Track Material

Source: R-1 Reports submitted by each Class I railroad to the ICC/STB, 1987-2003.Schedule 330, line 8, column e; Schedule 410, lines 1, 14, and 15, column h.

In The Last 10 Years, U.S. Class I RailroadsHave Laid 5.7 Million Tons Of New Rail

0.00

0.25

0.50

0.75

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

Million Tons of New Rail Laid

Note: Includes new rail laid in replacement and in addition, excludes relay rail.Sources: AAR, Analysis of Class I Railroads, 1980 – 2003, Lines 366+369+371, based on R-1 Reports submitted by each Class I railroad to the ICC/STB.

TTCI Strategic Research

2005

Core program $9.5 Million

Accelerated Projects $2.99 Million

Total Research $12.49 Million

Key Projects

Rail Flaw Inspection

Cracked Wheel Detection

HAL Axle Design

FAST/HAL Operations

HAL Effects on IJs

Car Inspection

Cracked Axle Detection