Railroad Safety: Human Factor Accidents and Issues Affecting Engineer Work Schedules

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how railroad engineers' work schedules affect railroad safety, focusing on: (1) whether the number of accidents on yard tracks differ from mainline track accidents; (2) how accident rates differ depending on the type of shift, time of day, and starting time; (3) the differences in work schedule characteristics of engineers who had accidents and the general engineer population; and (4) how the crew-calling system affects the engineers' ability to predict their next work shift.