Railways emergency response and safety in California: A closer look at train accidents
Rueichen Tsai
Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis, University of Southern California
CE 582: Transportation System Security and Emergency Management
Course Instructor: Dr. Shahed Rowshan
April 26, 2023
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the railway safety regarding both passenger train accidents and freight train derailments in California. Freight train derailments cause both economic impacts on the national economy and freight train interference delays on passenger trains. Since Federal laws significantly limit state agencies’ ability to regulate railroads, state agencies’ primary role regarding railway safety is following federal laws. Cases of human-caused disasters that happened to urban rail transit in California have been documented, including fire emergencies and hazardous materials released, such as vinyl chloride and radiological materials. California has a robust emergency management and response system to deal with rail accidents. However, effective emergency management and response can only be achieved through seamless collaboration among government agencies and the local community. An effective emergency response can be achieved through daily training and routine emergency drill, thus, mitigating the rail emergency and helping the local community recover from rail accidents faster. This paper concludes with three recommendations for building better passenger railways and freight train transportation systems.
Outline
1. Railway and Station safety & security
2. Emergency management response to hazardous materials rail accidents in California
3. Government agency
4. Freight trains’ impact on rail network
5. An example of railway emergency in California: 2008 Chatsworth train collision
6. Railroad regulatory mechanisms
7. Recommendations
Railroad and Station safety & security
Edwards and Goodrich (2012) point out three types of threats to the railway system. First, homeless people living around/in the stations pose safety concerns for passengers walking by the stations, given that the homeless population consists of people with mental health problems, drug-addicted persons, and people with aggressive behaviors. Besides, unruly youths spraying station walls with graffiti would also make stations look unappealing. Second, violent criminal acts around the stations, such as street shootings, drug dealing, and robbery, also threaten passengers. Third, given that the rail-based system has a fixed route and predictable schedule, rendering itself an easy target by terrorists, the railway system is an easy target for terrorists. They usually target mass transit to compromise the economy and the government’s credibility (p. 188). Besides using rail trains as the end, or target, of an attack, terrorists also use trains as the means of the attack. Targeting crowds and hurting passengers is also one of the terrorists’ goals in some cases. However, some approaches can still be used to enhance the safety and security of rail-based system daily operations. For example, “see something, say something” is the most popular counterterrorism method used by public agencies. Staff members who work at the stations, food vendors, and newspaper sellers are also the extra “eyes and ears” for enhancing station security. Staff members who identify suspicious behaviors through monitoring security footage also play an important role in enhancing station security (Edwards & Goodrich, 2012, p. 195).
Emergency management response to hazardous materials rail accidents in California
While there is no data on the volume of hazmat traveling through California, the data on the crude is available. “California imported 5.7 million barrels of crude by rail in 2014 nearly 130 times the amount that was imported by rail in 2009” (The California Legislature's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor, 2015). There have not been large-scale rail accidents involving hazmat in California in recent years except in the City of Dunsmuir, Siskiyou County, northern California in 1991. There were 19,000 gallons of pesticide spilled into the Sacramento River. Trains carrying hazmat have a significant impact on the environment, however, “92 percent of costs over the last ten years related to hazardous material transit accidents (including both damages and response costs) have been associated with accidents involving trucks” (The California Legislature's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor, 2015)
State agencies have limited ability to regulate railroads. As a result, state agencies follow and enforce laws and regulations established by federal agencies when responding to rail accidents. Entities responding to train accidents involving hazmat in California can be divided into four categories. The first category is railroad staff. There are specific railroad staff responding to rail accidents involving hazmat. Besides, necessary emergency equipment and emergency response materials have been stockpiled across California, such as large quantities of foam to remove flammable liquid fires. In addition, spill response contractors are responsible for responding to rail accident emergencies and cleaning up spilled hazmat (The California Legislature's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor, 2015). The second category is the petrochemical industry mutual aid system. Refineries and chemical companies can substantially respond to a train accident involving crude and hazmat. “Member organizations respond both to major industry incidents (such as a fire at a refinery) and nonindustry accidents involving hazardous materials (such as a rail accident)” (The California Legislature's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor, 2015). The third category is State and Local Governments. In train accidents involving hazmat, first responders usually arrive on scene, evacuate the surrounding areas, then notify the Office of Emergency Services (OES) if they need significant state support. In such cases, once OES is notified, it will notify relevant
state agencies to deal with the accident depending on the severity of the accident. Besides, about 100 communities in California have local hazmat response teams, which can deploy more sophisticated responses to and mitigate accidents. The fourth category is the Federal government. If the train accident is severe, Federal governments such as the U.S Department of Transportation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency may involve.
Rail line drill in California
Local governments around California have conducted railroad emergency drills. People from LAFD, LASD, LACoFD, Compton and Vernon fire departments, Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railroad, and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) gathered in the Alameda Corridor for rail emergency drill. The full-scale exercise lasted an hour and a half, simulating the emergency scenario of smoking coming from a cargo container (Los Angeles County Fire Department, 2009)
Government agency
Railway agencies in the United States play a significant role in regulating freight companies and maintaining railroads regarding railway safety matters for passenger and freight trains carrying hazardous materials. Government agencies who are responsible for railway safety, ranging from the Federal level to the state level governments However, this section focuses on the government agencies whose primary role is relevant to railroad safety.
Federal Government Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
The Federal Railroad Administration was established by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. FRA aims to “enable the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods for a strong America, now and in the future” (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2019) The main missions of FRA can be categorized into four scopes, including 1) railroad safety, 2) rail network development, 3) research, development & technology, and 4) grants & loans. Railroad safety covers five disciplines: hazardous materials, motive power and equipment, operating practices, signal and train control, and track. The focus on rail network development, including maintaining rail services and infrastructure by working with other agencies and stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to accommodate the ever-growing freight and travel demand. As for research, development & technology, FRA focuses on working and partnering with the Association of American Railroads researchers to identify the opportunities and limitations regarding improving railway safety by reducing the likelihood of train accidents. Last but not least, FRA has provided a list of grant programs. FRA also provides training and technical assistance to grantees (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2019)
Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Railroad Safety (FRA ORS)
FRA ORS is responsible for regulating railroad safety for the railroad industry in the United States. Nearly 400 Federal safety inspectors focus on compliance and enforcement in the following disciplines: grade crossings, hazardous materials, motive power and equipment, operating practices, signal and train control, and track (Federal Railroad Administration, 2023b). It should be noted that the Railroad Information Sharing Environment (RISE) was established in 2021. RISE is a voluntary, data-driven safety, non-regulatory and punitive, public-private partnership that includes FRA and railroad stakeholders to advance railroad safety (Federal Railroad Administration, 2023a). Railroad stakeholders voluntarily share data through a “trusted third party a data steward that anonymizes, protects, aggregates, and
analyzes the data,” by doing so, stakeholders collaborate and determine how to use the findings to improve railroad safety. Improving railroad safety by stakeholders alone is difficult through individual effort, RISE is the solution to this problem. RISE is governed by stakeholders who form the Executive Board. Besides, the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT Lab) was contracted to serve as the third-party data steward to manage and store data for RISE (Federal Railroad Administration, 2023a).
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC)
RSAC was established by FRA in 1996. The RSAC “provides a forum for collaborative rulemaking and program development and includes representatives from all of the agency’s major stakeholder groups, including railroads, labor organizations, suppliers and manufacturers, and other interested parties” (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2023b). The RSAC usually takes tasks from FRA, but the RSAC has the liberty to accept or reject the assigned tasks from FRA. RSAC would establish a working group consisting of experts to develop consensus recommendations for the FRA Administrator.
State Governments
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)
Cal OES’s primary role is supporting local governments and the community’s emergency planning, training, and preparedness. It should be noted that Cal OES is California’s over coordinator to secure federal resources through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Cal OES protects Californians’ lives and property, including responding, coordinating, and directing government resources and mutual aid to support local communities across the state (California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, 2023)
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
CPUC “regulates privately owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation companies, in addition to authorizing video franchises” (State of California, 2021a). As for the personnel appointment of the CPUC, the five commissioners are appointed by the Governor, “who must be confirmed by the Senate, for six-year staggered terms. The Governor appoints one of the five to serve as Commission President” (State of California, 2021b)
Branches of CPUC
There are three branches under CPUC, including Railroad Operations and Safety Branch (ROSB), Rail Transit Safety Branch (RTSB), and Rail Crossings and Engineering Branch (RCEB). The Railroad Operations and Safety Branch (ROSB) “is responsible for ensuring that California communities and railroad employees are protected from unsafe practices on freight and passenger railroads by enforcing state and federal rail safety rules,
Figure 1. RISE governance structure diagram Source: FRAregulations, and inspection efforts” (State of California, 2021c). CPUC’s five priorities include Oil by Rail Safety (monitor crude oil projects), Railroad Bridge Evaluation Program, Positive Train Control (PTC), California High-Speed Rail (HSR), and Promoting Public Rail Safety through Operation Lifesaver. RTSB is responsible for safety oversight of tracks, structures, operations, transit vehicles, and signals. RCEB is responsible for performing accident investigations and safety inspections, handling new crossing applications regarding modifying existing crossings, and reviewing applications for Quiet Zones (California Public Utilities Commission, 2019).
Freight trains’ impact on rail network
Train derailment
Train derailments cause not only economic loss but also pose a significant impact on passenger rail schedules. Derailments cause damage to railroad infrastructure, and rolling stock, disrupt service, casualties, and pose a potential environmental impact to the surrounding area if the trains carry hazmat. Some of the causes of train derailment include broken rail, track geometry defects, bearing failure, and broken wheels Liu, Saat, and Barkan (2012) point out that track and human factors such as train handling, improper use of switches, and braking operations are the major causes of a train derailment at derailment speeds below 10 miles per hour. Equipment causes such as bearing failure and axle defects are the major causes at derailment speeds above 25 miles per hour (p. 153) There were 389 train derailments that happened in California between 2017 and 2021. That would be average 78 derailments each year. The total economic loss of equipment damage caused by train derailments in California between 2017-2021 was $33,411,580, and the track damage was $37,367,989. However, there were no fatalities caused by those derailments. An average of 1,227 train derailments accidents happened per year between 2017-2022 in the United States, however, they rarely led to fatalities.
The death rate per 100 million passenger miles is 0.03 for railroad passenger trains, 0.002 for scheduled airlines passenger, 0.02 for buses, and 0.56 for passenger vehicles in 2020. “Passenger vehicle death rate per 100,000,000 passenger miles was over ten times higher than for buses, 17 times higher than for passenger trains, and 1,623 times higher than for scheduled airlines” over the last 10 years (National Safety Council, 2022)
Table 1. Train Fatalities, Injuries, and Accidents by Type of Accident in the United States
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Figure 2. Passenger death rate, United States, 2007-2020
Source: National Safety Council
Many reasons, such as traffic signals, equipment, human factors, and miscellaneous, contribute to derailments. Train derailments are correlated with the train's length and speed, “the longer the train, or the higher the speed, the more cars derailed on the average” (Edwards & Goodrich, 2012, p. 223). In addition, Liu, Barkan, and Saat (2011) point out that trackrelated causes and equipment-related cause the majority of derailments. Furthermore, for lower track classes, track-related derailments happen more frequently than equipment-related derailments. The situation is reversed for higher track classes (Liu et al., 2011). FRA has developed a system defining track classification ranging from 1 to 9. The classification specifies construction details for each class of track, track geometry (including track gauge, track alignment, curves, the elevation of curved track, and track surface), and limits the maximum operating train speed for both passenger and freight trains (U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2019) It should be noted that “most of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor is Class 7 track (used on the Amtrak Acela Train)” (JG Mechanical Engineering Services, 2023). Besides, the higher the track class, the more stringent requirement.
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
Generally speaking, the estimation of train derailment rate is defined as the number of derailments normalized by traffic exposure metrics such as train-miles, gross ton-miles or carmiles (Liu, Saat, & Barkan, 2017) Liu et al. (2017) also point out that there is a strong statistical correlation between derailment rate and FRA track class in the derailment research domain (p. 1) Liu et al. (2011) point out that “upgrading track quality has been identified as
one possible strategy for preventing derailment.” By doing so, certain track-related derailments can be prevented. Nonetheless, it may also “increase the risk of certain types of equipment failure that are more likely to occur at higher speeds” (p. 178). Liu et al. (2017) further indicate that methods of operation and annual traffic density are two factors that strongly and significantly affect train derailments rate (p. 7). Besides, train derailment risk analysis consists of estimating the derailment rate and the severity of derailment. Track class is used a proxy for track quality, speed is used as a proxy to estimate the average number of derailed cars in an accident.
Freight train
Railway in the United States is one of the critical infrastructures, which “consists of hundreds of railroads, more than 143,000 route-miles of the track, more than 1.3 million freight cars, and roughly 20,000 locomotives” (Rowshan, 2023). Besides, railways in the United States can be categorized as passenger rail and freight rail. Railway transport serves as the safest means of transportation for moving people and freight and plays an important role in the national supply chain and economic development. The majority of the railroads in the United States is privately owned. Passenger trains such as Amtrak use “host” railroads to move passengers. Those host railroads are essentially freight railroads. “Amtrak owns only 3% of the 21,400 route miles traveled by Amtrak trains, primarily on the Northeast Corridor. The rest are mostly owned by freight railroads” (Amtrak, 2021). In addition, the Transportation Statistics Annual Report points out that Amtrak is the “primary operator of intercity passenger rail service in the United States. Amtrak operated 20,787 route-miles in 2020 and more than 500 stations that served 46 states” (United States Department of Transportation, 2022). As a result, railroad shutdowns caused by train derailments or other accidents could impact passenger trains and the freight industry. For instance, Amtrak has created a webpage to provide detailed information about how freight trains affect railway passengers regarding freight train interference delays. The Amtrak Host Railroad Report points out that “Federal law requires Amtrak to receive preference over freight, but too often that law is ignored by some freight railroads.” (Amtrak, 2021). Amtrak passenger train delays are avoidable, but freight companies do not care about it. Freight trains caused nearly 900,000 minutes of delay
Figure 3 Relationship between track class, derailment rate, and severity for all accident causes. Source: Liu et al. (2011)for Amtrak passengers in 2021. The reasons causing train delays include freight companies prioritizing railroads for their freight trains over Amtrak passenger trains. As a result, Amtrak passenger trains need to wait in a siding to let freight trains go first, or freight companies would force Amtrak passenger trains to move at a much slower speed to follow their freight trains.
An example of railways emergency management and response in California: 2008 Chatsworth train collision
This section aims to provide an example of how California government agencies respond to railway emergencies through the example of the Chatsworth train collision in 2008. The reason for choosing this event because of its severity. The train collision is categorized as Mass Casualty Incident, described as “an event that overwhelms the local healthcare system, where the number of casualties vastly exceeds the local resources and capabilities in a short period of time” (DeNolf & Kahwaji, 2022). In this section, I first extract the most important information about the incident from the Chatsworth Train Derailment –Los Angeles County Operation Area After Action Report (Fujioka, 2009), including the brief summary of the event, involved agencies, the emergency response by each agency, command, and control system used for this event, findings and recommendations provided by the report, and concluded by my recommendations.
The Incident
The Chatsworth train collision has been reported as the worst mass casualty incident in the past five decades in California. This train collision happened on September 12, 2008, at 4:23 pm. The location was east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, which is about a quarter mile south of the 118 Freeway. A westbound Metrolink commuter train, with 222 passengers, after traveling 1.25 miles departed the Chatsworth Station and encountered a head-on collision with an eastbound Union Pacific freight train which was travelling at 40 mph on the same track as the Metrolink commuter. There were 25 deaths and 135 injured caused by the collision
Involved Agencies
1) Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD), 2) Los Angeles City Police Department (LAPD), 3) Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), 4) Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LAC), 5) Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), 6) Los Angeles Sheriff Department (LASD).
Emergency Response
LAFD first responders arrived on scene 4 minutes after the 9-1-1 call (8 minutes after the train collision). LAFD personnel did the preliminary site observation for the train collision and damage, Los Angeles Fire Capt. Alan Barrios immediately called for 30 fire engines, five ambulances and “radioed for every heavy search-and-rescue unit in the city” (Lopez, Therolf, & Gold, 2008) A total of 250 firefighters, all 6 of LAFD’s helicopters, 5 LACoFD helicopters, and a LASD’s helicopter were involved in the rescue and recovery efforts (Los Angeles County Fire Department, 2008).
Command and Control
LAFD used the Incident Command System protocol for the Chatsworth train collision and established command and control on-site.
Finding
One of the major findings is confusion about which hospital has the available approved Hospital Emergency Response Team (HEAR) and when the team can be utilized. In addition, the hospital personnel sent to the scene were unsure about what exactly they should do in the first place.
Railroad regulatory mechanisms
The United States government has been dedicated to increasing railroad safety by establishing railroad-related regulations. This section introduces some of the major Railroad Safety Acts in the United States, specifically focusing on the Railway Safety Act of 2023, which introduced in response to the major train derailment that happened in the same year.
Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970
The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 aims “to provide for Federal railroad safety, hazardous materials control and for other purposes” (U.S. Government, 1970). It states that the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe rules and regulations for all areas of railroad safety. The Secretary can issue emergency orders if rail-related facilities and equipment are in an unsafe condition.
Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) Whistleblower Protection Provision
The Federal Railroad Safety Act was amended in 2007 to protect rail workers. Individuals are protected from being retaliated by the rail carriers, contractors, and subcontractors they work for if they report potential safety or safety violations to the government (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). The retaliation includes laying off, demoting, denying benefits, and other punishments. Employees should file the complaint within 180 days after the retaliatory action along with the evidence. If the complaint is the case, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue an order to require the employer to put the employee back to work, pay lost wages, and restore other benefits (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA)
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires Class I railroad carriers to implement a Positive Train Control (PTC) system, which limits the hours that rail employees can work per calendar month to under 276 hours. As a side note, PTC is developed to prevent “train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zones, and movements of trains through switches left in the wrong position” (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2023a). Through PTC, computers, locomotives, and local rail operation centers are linked by Wi-Fi, Global Positioning System (GPS), and cryptographically protected radio transmission (The Association of American Railroads, 2018)
Railway Safety Act of 2023
The Bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 was introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) in March 2023, responding to major train accidents in the United States, specifically to the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023. The bill proposes several practices on railway regulation and regulating trains carrying hazardous materials. Two of the major practices include requiring a minimum of a two-person crew for certain freight trains and raising the maximum fines on rail companies that violate rail safety regulations. The White House further states that the bill increases fines from the current cap of $225,000 to $1 million or 1% of a rail company’s annual operating income, which could be more than $50 million for Norfolk Southern (The White House, 2023)
Critics to Railway Safety Act of 2023
Critics to the tremendous fines for rail safety violations raised by Dr. Gorman that rail carriers are already responsible for the tremendous costs regarding environmental cleanup for hazmat spills and derailment-related costs. The substantial fines for safety violations would only incentivize rail carriers to ship hazmat by trucks (Gorman, 2023). Transporting hazmat by trucks on highways and roads puts drivers, pedestrians, and communities at risk if the trucks carrying hazmat run into car accidents (The Editors, 2023). “Trucks carry about twice as much hazardous materials as trains, but the number of reported incidents, including spills, injuries and evacuation, is far higher” (Michael F. Gorman, 2023) In addition, the shipping cost by rail is far cheaper than trucks Dr. Gorman also points out that goods' increased shipping costs would go to consumers. He further points out that fatalities caused by truckrelated hazmat incidents are 16 times more than rail (Gorman, 2023).
As for one of the safety practices proposed in the Bill regarding rail car inspection requirement, “to create minimum time requirements that a qualified mechanical inspector must spend when inspecting a rail car or locomotive” (Library of Congress, 2023). Dr. Gorman and other critics state that this is a pro-rail worker union requirement to protect jobs for rail workers replaced by the ever-growing application of automated rail car inspection systems. As for the mandated 2-person crew for a freight train, this is also a pro-rail worker union requirement. Deploying a 2-person crew for a freight train is pretty much the standard in the freight industry, putting the requirement into law would have less significant impact. Critics further points out that the train derailed in East Palestine had a 3-person crew (The Editors, 2023)
Recommendations
California Railroad Emergency Drill Committee
The first recommendation is to set up a California Railroad Emergency Drill Committee. The committee will initiate five drills annually with different train accident scenarios at randomly chosen locations around California without notifying relevant departments in advance. The locations could be in the small town with a railway run through or in the bustling downtown area with a railway run through. Railroad emergencies could happen anywhere and anytime.
Figure 4. U.S. hazmat incidents by shipping method Source: The ConversationThe idea of random drills is to test the relevant departments’ response time to rail emergencies, and the ability to communicate effectively. With that in mind, the random drills may make relevant departments stay alert. The committee will create different scenarios, including:
1) freight train derailment with hazmat released,
2) passenger train derailment with fatalities and injuries,
3) freight train carrying hazmat and cars are not damaged,
As for setting the scene for different scenarios, the Committee will hire local residents to serve as the injured passengers if needed. This is to say, local departments would only know this is a drill after they pick up the phone call with the drill action code designed by the California Railroad Emergency Drill Committee. The Committee will evaluate the performance of each department based on the following five criteria:
1) response time to an emergency,
2) the ability of interagency communication,
3) ways in which departments deploy first responders and relevant personnel,
4) communication with local hospitals, and
5) the ability to dispatch the necessary equipment to mitigate emergencies and injured passengers.
After the evaluation, the Committee will report back to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services to improve railroad emergency-related activities.
Expand California’s ability to regulate railroad
As mentioned above state agencies have limited ability to regulate railroads. In addition, Rail Passenger Fairness Act was introduced in 2021 to allow Amtrak to “enforce its preference rights over freight transportation in using a rail line, junction, or crossing” ("Rail Passenger Fairness Act," 2021) Nonetheless, “the Federal Railroad Administration “Metrics and Standards” rule sets a new standard: 80% of customers must arrive on time,” the Surface Transportation Board would investigate to determine the causes, and freight companies would have to pay the penalty if they do not give preference right to Amtrak’s passenger trains (Amtrak, 2021). Five of fifteen long-distance route have stop stations in California, which failed to meet the standard that train passengers are the victim of freight train interference. In addition, Amtrak Ridership data shows that California accounts for 19% of Amtrak ridership of all states from 2005 to 2021. This tells us that freight train interferences have been impacted on at least 19% of Amtrak passengers in the past two decades alone in California.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Table 3. Amtrak Ridership (Boarding and Alighting)
As a result, the second recommendation is to expand California’s ability to regulate railroads to charge penalty fees and hold freight trains accountable. This policy recommendation would target on freight trains that do not give preference right to passenger trains in using a rail line, junction, or crossing in California’s geographical boundary. California state agency can impose penalty fees equivalent to 15 percent of the value of cargo that freight trains carry if the freight trains do not give preference right to passenger trains in California. 5 percent of penalty fees will go to funding train derailment risk analysis-related research, California State Rail Assistance Grant Program to improve railway infrastructures. The rest of the 10 percent will go to funding local governments, of which 5 percent will be dedicated to job creation for government to hire railway expertise and staff if needed, and another 5 percent will be used for emergency preparedness funding such as rail emergency interagency drill training, first responders training, emergency response equipment such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), communication equipment, and used to purchase emergency response materials such as chemical neutralizers and absorbents to deal with hazardous materials spill emergency.
Research and Grant program on train derailment risk analysis
Scholars and researchers are the backbones of advancing the rail industry and working towards the goals of national railroad safety. As a result, providing more funding and grant programs to researchers to incentivize more innovative ideas for developing train derailment risk analysis.
Figure 5. Amtrak passenger routes that failed to meet the standard Source: AmtrakReference
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