Federal Railroad Administration February 28, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2013-01 to remind track owners, railroads, and their employees of the importance of ensuring that rails are properly aligned and movable spans are secured before permitting a train to pass a signal that is displaying a stop indication and protecting a movable bridge. FRA is issuing this notice in response to a recent train accident involving a derailment in which there was an unsecured swing span that moved laterally during the passage of a train. This notice recommends that track owners and railroads: (1) Evaluate the design and construction of existing movable bridges to determine if effective span locking is being provided; (2) review current operating rules and procedures to ensure that these instructions adequately protect movable bridges during the operation of trains; and (3) ensure that employees authorized to determine whether movable bridges are correctly aligned and secured are adequately trained to perform these duties.