Author: U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)

Date of Publication:  July 23, 1997

Sponsoring Agency:  U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)

Performing Organization:  U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)

Report No: GAO/-RCED-97-142

Abstract:

In 1980, the Congress passed the Staggers Rail Act, which fostered substantial changes in the railroad industry. By 1995, fewer large freight railroads accounted for most of the industry’s revenue and train miles. At the same time, these freight railroads substantially reduced their workforce and track networks. In response, the Congress and railroad labor have raised concerns that these changes in the industry could compromise safety.

The Ranking Democratic Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Ranking Democratic Member of that Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, and Representative Bruce F. Vento asked GAO to describe (1) relationships that existed between operational and safety trends in the railroad industry from 1976 to 1995 and (2) the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) approach to improving safety on the nation’s rail system. GAO was not able to identify any direct relationships between operational and safety trends because of limitations in the data that were available for the 1976 to 1995 period. Therefore, this report provides information on safety trends for the entire railroad industry and describes how FRA has responded to both operational and safety trends to develop a new partnering approach to improving safety on the nation’s rail lines. In addition, chapter 1 provides information on operational trends in the freight industry.
 

No. of Pages:  73