Railroad

Rail transportation is generally perceived as a safe mode of transportation. There are several hundred fatalities and many thousand injuries per year associated with rail transportation in general, other than with passengers. The damages from these incidents add up.  

 

Major Causes
Thousands of slips, trips, missteps and fall accidents and train collisions occur each year at railroad stations, terminals, and grade crossings resulting in serious injuries causing a significant drain of financial resources.

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Services FEI provides
Case preparation
Scientific safety reports, document analysis, summary of depositions, physics analysis, human factors analysis, biomechanics, injury analysis, accident scene photograph and incident simulation.

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Railroad-highway grade crossing and right-of-way safety
Traffic control and the MUTCD, planning and designing crossing gates, warning signs, signals, horn management, gate timing, line-of-sight, perception-reaction time, visual detection of an approaching train (looming), train speed, crossing cost, track intrusion; hazard identification, informal crossings, uncontrolled crossings, trespassing and fencing.

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Slips, trips, and falls in the railroad environment
Platform and railcar safety, falling between the platform and railcar, falling to the track bed, stop sight distance, perception-reaction time, emergency and service braking, railcar special characteristics, door capture, dragging along platform, crowd and access management, queuing; and falling in terminal corridors, walkways, stairways, escalators, elevators and movable walkways.

 

Rail safety and incident analysis
Train incidents (collisions, derailment), sudden railcar jerking, positive train control, track maintenance, economics of safety options, incident assessments and railway traffic growth, cost of hazards and collisions, assessment of safety procedures, training for railroad personnel, and safety audits of terminals, repair shops, freight operations, yards, switching and interlocking, signaling and train control.

 

Passenger and railroad worker safety
Federal Employers Labor Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Code of Federal Regulations, State and local laws; workplace safety and security, injuries to train crew, on-track maintainers, roadway workers, railroad maintenance shops, yards, moving railcars, locomotives, MOW equipment, falling hazards (stairs, platform gaps, dangerous pathways), and protection from violence and crimes.

 

Railroad operating rules, regulations and industry standards
Railroad industry rules and national standards of care: Operating Rules (GCOR, NORAC), timetables and special instructions, safety rules (air brake, train handling and hazmat), American Public Transit Association (APTA), American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association (AREMA), USDOT System Management System (SMS) and System Safety Programs.