Federal Railroad Administration: Better Communication of Safety Information Could Improve the Close Call System
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) helps administer a voluntary, confidential reporting system where railroad employees can report close calls and unsafe events (e.g., a train going beyond the authorized maximum speed) that may have been caused by human error.
But as of August 2022, only 23 of the nearly 800 railroads in the U.S. participated in this system.
The system's success stories may be shared, but the information is largely limited to railroad participants. Providing this information to the broader railroad industry could illustrate the benefits of this system and increase participation.
We recommended that FRA do so.
Number of Train and Rail Equipment Accidents Caused by Human Errors
What GAO Found
The Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) is a voluntary and confidential system designed to improve railroad safety by collecting reports from railroad employees describing unsafe situations that have the potential for more serious consequences. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, as of August 2022, 23 of the nearly 800 railroads in the United States participated in C3RS. Participating railroads GAO interviewed cited benefits, including increased safety information and improved safety culture. However, the majority of railroads, comprising approximately 77 percent of the total eligible employee population, do not participate in C3RS. Selected railroads cited having similar internal safety-reporting systems and concerns about the program's confidentiality as reasons for not participating in C3RS. Federal Railroad Administration officials stated that the potential for the C3RS program's growth is significant and noted that the agency has ongoing efforts to increase participation.
The Federal Railroad Administration administers C3RS in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Both agencies have a role in analyzing and communicating C3RS safety information. While the Federal Railroad Administration's and NASA's efforts to analyze C3RS data align with leading practices GAO developed for safety-reporting systems, their efforts to communicate safety trends and success stories to the wider railroad industry do not. For example, while NASA produces quarterly newsletters highlighting broader safety trends seen in C3RS reports, not all are available to the wider railroad industry on either the Federal Railroad Administration's or NASA's websites. Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration and NASA provide opportunities for participating railroads to share success stories, but this information is not shared with the wider railroad industry. (See fig.)
The Federal Railroad Administration's and NASA's Communication of C3RS Safety Information Is Not Consistent with Leading Practice on Communication to the Industry
By not effectively communicating C3RS safety trends or success stories to the wider railroad industry, non-participating stakeholders may be unaware of important and relevant safety information. Further, the Federal Railroad Administration may miss opportunities to demonstrate the C3RS program's benefits to a wider audience through communication of success stories, a practice that could help increase program participation.
Why GAO Did This Study
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, human error is a leading cause of train and rail equipment accidents.
House Report 116-452 included a provision for GAO to examine the Federal Railroad Administration's C3RS program. In this report, among other objectives, GAO: (1) describes the extent to which railroads participate in the C3RS program, reasons why or why not, and the Federal Railroad Administration's efforts to increase participation and (2) examines the extent to which the Federal Railroad Administration's and NASA's analysis and communication of C3RS safety information reflect leading practices for safety-reporting systems.
GAO interviewed Federal Railroad Administration and NASA officials and stakeholders from selected C3RS participating and non-participating railroads. GAO selected a non-generalizable sample of 22 railroads to reflect a range of carrier type, size, and geographic location. GAO also reviewed applicable statutes and regulations, and identified leading practices for the effective implementation of a safety-reporting system, including practices related to analyzing and communicating safety information.
Recommendations
GAO is recommending that the Federal Railroad Administration improve its communication with the wider railroad industry by sharing information from the C3RS program including (1) broader safety trends and (2) success stories. The Federal Railroad Administration concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Railroad Administration | The Administrator of FRA should, in collaboration with NASA as appropriate, make C3RS safety information, including broader safety trends, more accessible to the wider railroad industry. (Recommendation 1) |
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) first established the voluntary Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) as a pilot program in 2007 as a proactive way to improve unsafe situations by collecting information directly from railroad employees on close calls as human error continued to be a leading cause of train and rail equipment accidents. While 23 of the nearly 800 railroads in the United States participated in C3RS, the majority of railroads, comprising approximately 77 percent of the total eligible employee population, do not participate in the program. FRA administers C3RS in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and both agencies play a role in communicating safety information from the C3RS program. In 2022, GAO reported that FRA's and NASA's communication of safety information to the wider railroad industry is not consistent with leading practices. The leading practice on communication to the industry states that communicating safety information, such as broader safety trends, with the wider industry can provide tangible evidence of the value of the safety reporting system and alert the industry to important safety issues. This leading practice also states that an entity with recognized authority and industry-wide visibility, such as FRA, is ideally situated to ensure safety information is disseminated across the industry. GAO found that anyone who is interested in learning about broader safety trends from C3RS data may subscribe to NASA's quarterly Inside the Rail newsletter on NASA's C3RS website. However, while some of the newsletters can be searched for on FRA's website, the majority are not available on either FRA's or NASA's websites for the public to access. By not effectively communicating C3RS's broader safety trends to the wider railroad industry, non-participating railroads may miss important and relevant safety information. As such, GAO recommended that the Administrator of FRA should, in collaboration with NASA, as appropriate, make C3RS safety information, including broader safety trends, more accessible to the wider railroad industry. In May 2023, GAO confirmed that FRA collaborated with NASA to update the C3RS website that NASA manages and all previously issued Inside the Rail newsletters beginning in November 2015 to its most recent issue being dated April 2023 have been posted. FRA officials noted that the Inside the Rail newsletters would continue to be published on the C3RS website going forward. Additionally, FRA's Office of Railroad Safety's Partnerships Division continues to attend national railroad conferences to make presentations about C3RS. According to the FRA, since November 2022, FRA officials have attended four national railroad conferences, engaged with approximately 4,500 railroad attendees and handed out C3RS safety information as well as other railroad safety information from FRA's booth. By taking these actions, FRA is better positioned to help ensure that C3RS safety information is made more available to the wider railroad industry.
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| Federal Railroad Administration | The Administrator of FRA should ensure that success stories from the C3RS program are effectively communicated and shared with the wider railroad industry. (Recommendation 2) |
FRA concurred with this recommendation. We will update this recommendation when we receive additional information.
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