Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) safety inspection program, focusing on the usefulness of the FRA computerized staffing model in developing staffing standards to determine the number of inspectors needed to satisfy the FRA safety mission.

GAO found that: (1) FRA did not know how many inspectors it needed to adequately cover the railroad industry because it lacked fully developed inspector staffing standards; (2) the FRA staffing model's estimate of staffing needs was highly dependent on historical data and budgetary factors, instead of on the staff needed to satisfy its safety mission; (3) previous budget constraints limited the size of the FRA work force, and funding shortfalls prevented FRA from hiring enough staff to meet its authorized level; and (4) without incorporating inspection coverage standards or an inspection strategy to target high-risk railroads into its staffing model, FRA will not have adequate staffing standards to determine the number of inspectors needed to satisfy its safety mission.