FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 25, 1998
Contact: David A. Bolger
Telephone: 202-632-3124
FRA 5-98
Progress Noted on UP Safety
Assurance Measures
FRA RELEASES SAFETY REPORT ON
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD AUDIT
Continuing its comprehensive review of safety on the Union Pacific Railroad, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today released a final report indicating that the railroad company is making progress in remedying safety deficiencies discovered during safety audits conducted last fall, and that continued effort and commitment is needed.
The nation’s top railroad agency initiated two rail safety audits in 1997 after several major UP collisions resulted in the deaths of seven UP employees.
"Safety is President Clinton’s highest transportation priority," said FRA Administrator Jolene M. Molitoris. "Union Pacific has made a strong commitment to safety since the tragic incidents last summer, and getting there will be a marathon, not a sprint. The FRA is working closely with the Union Pacific Railroad to achieve an acceptable level of safety. Through the Safety Assurance and Compliance Program and participation of railroad labor representatives and senior management from the Union Pacific, this railroad will improve its safety performance."
Molitoris said that tragedies on the Union Pacific Railroad in 1997 made it overwhelmingly clear that the railroad company faced operational deficiencies that reduced safety. She said that today’s report shows areas where immediate correction was necessary and details the progress that Union Pacific Railroad, in partnership with experts from the railroad labor organizations and the FRA, made to improve safety and prevent similar accidents from happening again.
The FRA Report, which includes the results of two safety audits between Aug. 23 and Nov. 7, 1997, identifies six operational problems on the UP:
•A corporate culture in the merged UP and Southern Pacific railroad companies had varying attitudes toward safety and a primary focus on improving operational efficiency instead of safety.
•Staffing for train and engine service crews at various locations on the UP system was inadequate and was exacerbated by an insufficient crew management system.
•Unsafe practices by supervisors and dispatchers at the UP Harriman Train Dispatching Center were directly attributable to lack of training and extreme work overload.
•UP employees continued complaining about harassment and intimidation by railroad managers when train movements were delayed because of the need to comply with safety regulations.
•UP’s drug and alcohol program was not implemented correctly.
Improper maintenance and inspection of the UP locomotive fleet resulted in a rate of defects that was too high.
Citing critical safety deficiencies throughout the UP’s 36,000-mile system during the safety sweeps last fall, the FRA’s final report notes that the FRA worked with UP senior management and labor to correct the safety flaws identified in the report and establish safety assurance programs on the railroad. Since concluding the audits, key programs and initiatives by the UP and labor organizations have been implemented to establish system-wide solutions to chronic safety concerns such as fatigue, training, dispatching, and staffing levels, according to the report.
Following the initial team audit by more than 85 federal and state safety inspectors in September 1997, the FRA convened a meeting with senior UP management and its rail labor organizations to establish a Safety Assurance and Compliance Program (SACP) on the Union Pacific. The FRA obtained a signed commitment from the UP and its labor organizations to address the safety problems discovered in the initial and subsequent team audits.
Union Pacific, its labor organizations and the FRA have initiated the following steps to address major safety concerns across the UP system:
Culture. The UP has committed to re-emphasizing "safety first" throughout its entire corporate culture, including a new employee empowerment policy and a revised disciplinary policy which stresses education as well as discipline.
Staffing. The UP has implemented an aggressive hiring plan for employees and supervisors. The SACP process includes a program which incorporates labor input into assessment of necessary hiring projections.
Fatigue. The UP has agreed to provide train crews with the right to guaranteed time off after working a pre-determined number of days. The railroad has also initiated a leading comprehensive fatigue mitigation program.
Dispatching. Major dispatcher initiatives include specific hiring commitments, a revamped dispatcher training program and an on-going supervisory review of dispatcher workloads.
Training. The UP will double its training commitment to include annual safety training rather than once very two years.
A detailed Union Pacific safety action plan accompanies the report and contains milestones and time lines for completing projects.
The UP is the nation’s largest railroad covering 36,000 miles of track in the western two-thirds of the United States and employing 53,000 people.
For more information on the Federal Railroad Administration or to obtain a copy of the FRA Final Report on the Union Pacific railroad, access the FRA Web site at: http://www.fra.dot.gov or call the FRA Office of Public Affairs at (202) 632-3124.
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