Rail Equipment - Train Accident Data

Data Scope

Data includes information on Rail-Equipment Train Accidents that meet a dollar threshold. Railroads are required by regulation (49 CFR 225) to report all Rail-Equipment Train Accident to FRA monthly.

Data represent a census of all of the serious Rail-Equipment Train Accidents, most of the minor accidents including derailments, collisions, acts of God, and other events. None of the very minor accidents are recorded.

Data Collection

Methods - All railroads, with the exceptions listed below in Noncoverage Error, must report as required by regulation all Rail-Equipment Train Accidents to the FRA. Reports must be filed in writing on standard FRA Form F6180.54 30 days after the month in which the accident occurred. Railroad who fail to make these reports may be penalized by fines, depending if the failure was willful or not. Even if not reported by the responsible railroad, the FRA sometimes learns about accidents involving injuries or death through coworkers, union representatives, National Response Center notifications, or legal representatives. The definition of a reportable Rail-Equipment Train Accident is damages to equipment, track, and railroad structures in excess of $6,600 dollars (the dollar amount has been adjusted for inflation, in 1975 the dollar amount was $1,750); that does not include loss of lading, clean up costs, societal costs, loss of main line, personal injury or death. The FRA investigates all serious train accidents, including passenger train accidents where there are passengers on board the train, release of hazardous material or if an employee is killed. The instructions for completing the require forms are in The FRA Guide for Reporting Accidents and Incidents.

Schedule - Data is collected 30 days after the close of the month in which the accident has occurred. Data must be updated for when the costs associated with the accident are 10% higher than initially reported.

This data has been collected from 1975 to the present. The only significant change occurred in 1997. In 1997 the data base was expanded to make it Y2K compliant. The Accident Data bases prior to 1997 were retrofitted to the same size as the new format. Prior to 1997, commuter railroads that had Amtrak or other carriers run the railroad for them, had their accidents aggregated in other railroads injury reports. Beginning in 1997, these railroads had to report their own injuries and accidents separately.

Nonsampling Errors

We attribute nonsampling errors to many sources; they include but are not limited to the following:

• Damages that are not reported to the railroad safety reporting officer.
• Errors made in data collection and entry (e.g. recording or coding the data).

We use quality control and edit procedures to reduce errors made by respondents and coders.

Nonsampling errors should not have a significant impact on most interpretations of the data, but the impact will vary depending on the data used. Serious Rail-Equipment Train Accidents are investigated by the FRA. Cases with more severe societal impact receive more review and are less likely to contain errors than cases involving minor train yard accidents that receive little review.

Nonentry Error - It is known that there are some errors in reporting. There are known errors in reporting minor train accidents, that are very close to the reporting threshold. FRA does inspect railroad records and does cite violations for failure to report.

Duplicate Entry Error - When two railroads or more railroads are involved there will be multiple reports. Each report includes only that railroad’s damage costs. When there is a collision, there must be a report for each train involved. The common number for each report is the "Track Owners" number. That number includes the railroad’s alpha code, year (two characters, month, and unique number of the track owner). This system has prevented duplicate reporting. When there is a Rail Equipment Train Accident Report, that is also a Highway-Rail Crossing Crash, the same track owner number is assigned to the accident and all injuries associated with that event have the same number.

Missing Data Error - Some missing data errors may result from the railroad reporting officer being unaware that the damages exceeded $6.600. In 1997 the railroads were required to develop an Internal Control Plan to insure that the reporting officer was informed of all damages. There has also been a gap in reporting between two companies working together to run a railroad; a Rail-Equipment Train Accident will occur but one carrier will not communicate all the costs that they sustained, this occurs for those accidents very close to the reporting threshold.

Response/Measurement Error - FRA inspectors do Accident/Incident Record keeping audits of all the major railroads. These audits consist of looking at repair records. Railroads are required to have an Internal Control Plan and audit their plan annually.

Coding/Recording Error - Coding errors do occur. Most are detected during data entry. Any incorrect codes are caught during the data entry process and the railroad is asked to correct the incorrect information. However, if the railroad incorrectly codes a cause code (or other coded field) and the code is valid then there is no process to correct it. Sometimes when a narrative is used on the report and the codes do not match the narrative the railroad will be contacted to resolve the discrepancies.

Noncoverage Error - Some railroad systems are excluded from reporting to the FRA Rail-Equipment Train Accidents Data Base: Intercity Rapid Rail (i.e., Washington, D.C. Metro, New York City subway, San Francisco BART, etc.), track existing inside an industrial compound, insular rail (e.g., rail that is not connected to the general system and does not have a public highway rail crossing or go over a navigable waterway).

Verification and Validation

Verification and validation occurs at several levels. The railroad safety reporting officer should be reviewing the reports before submission to the FRA. The railroad’s Internal Control Plan should insure that missing data and corrected data is provided to the railroad safety reporting office. Edit checks within FRA’s data entry system can detect some incorrect or missing data and force review and correction before data entry is completed. Cross field and cross record validation is performed monthly. The information is also on the FRA Internet site allowing users the chance to review the information and comment.