The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said a new federal rule requiring the installation of inward- and outward-facing image recording devices on all passenger trains should have included freight trains as well.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy’s comments followed a Thursday announcement from the Federal Railroad Administration that the new rule is required by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. FRA also said the rule is in response to an NTSB recommendation aimed at enhancing safety in the passenger rail industry.
“While this is undoubtedly a step forward for passenger rail safety, FRA’s rule falls short of our recommendations in two ways — the first of which is by failing to require audio recorders for passenger trains,” Homendy said in the statement. “We’re also deeply disappointed the rule excludes freight rail entirely. In fact, FRA’s belief that the cost ‘could outweigh the safety benefits’ is an affront to every community that’s experienced a freight or freight-passenger rail disaster.”
Homendy’s statement also said NTSB has been recommending audio and image recorders in all locomotives for over a decade, based on NTSB’s findings that recorders might have helped the railroads, the workforce, the regulators and NTSB develop or reinforce safety measures.
FRA said Thursday there are currently no plans to pursue a rule requiring that inward- and outward-facing recording devices be put on freight trains. Freight railroads have voluntarily installed these cameras on a widespread basis, according to FRA.
The Association of American Railroads told FreightWaves that “over the last decade, inward facing cameras have become nearly ubiquitous for Class I operations. Outward-facing cameras have been common for more than 20 years. These were voluntary railroad led efforts to help support and advance safety.”
But data from these recorders could “provide valuable information about the events leading up to and during an accident in determining why it occurred,” according to Homendy’s statement.
“Though many in the freight rail industry have opted to install recorders voluntarily, there’s absolutely no standard for the number of hours of data they must preserve after an accident,” Homendy said. “East Palestine is a striking example: instead of having 12 hours’ worth of in-cab video, as we’ve recommended, our investigators only have access to a 20-minute recording — not nearly enough to help us or the FRA identify critical safety improvements needed to prevent similar accidents from reoccurring.” Homendy was referring to the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3. The incident had received heightened attention because it involved the derailment of rail cars carrying hazardous materials.
FRA’s rule for passenger trains requires locomotive video recording devices to be in operation while the controlling locomotive of a passenger train is in motion. Captured data must retain the last 12 hours of recorded footage at least, FRA said.
“While video recorders cannot directly prevent accidents, they help maintain a higher standard of safety,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said in Thursday’s release. “In addition, these devices play a vital role in post-accident investigations, providing valuable evidence that helps us understand the circumstances leading to the accident and take appropriate action to prevent similar accidents in the future.”
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