(The Federal Railroad Administration issued the following news release on February 13.)
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has fined CSX Transportation (CSX) $227,000 for failure of a highway-rail grade crossing warning system to activate in advance of approaching trains in Fonda, New York.
The assessed civil penalties result from a federal investigation into a February 11, 2005, fatal train-vehicle collision. FRA is assessing the statutory maximum of $27,000 for interference with the normal functioning of a grade crossing warning system that resulted in an activation failure, plus $5,000 for each of 30 counts for not reporting the activation failure within the required 15-day period. An additional $5,000 for each of 10 counts is being assessed for previous events of interference with the normal functioning of a grade crossing warning system that resulted in a false activation at the same crossing.
As required by federal rail safety laws, CSX will have an opportunity to respond to the notices of violation and present any defenses and mitigating factors that may lead to a settlement agreement.
“Railroads have a duty to ensure that grade crossing active warning devices, including flashing lights and gates, work properly and to make timely reports when they fail,” Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman said. “Failure to do either is unacceptable.”
The fatal accident involved an eastbound CSX train that stopped short of the multiple-track Broadway Street grade crossing, but close enough to activate the warning lights and gates. A conductor used the manual control box to lift the gates and allow highway traffic to cross the tracks. However, this manual device was used improperly and subsequently prevented a westbound CSX train from activating the warning system to alert motorists of its approach. The train struck an automobile and killed its 38-year old female driver.
Improving grade crossing safety has long been a top priority for the FRA. From 1995 to 2004, the number of grade crossing collisions declined by 34 percent, the frequency of such collisions per million train miles decreased by 42 percent, and the number of fatalities fell by 36 percent. During the first 11-months of 2005, grade crossing collisions are down 5.1 percent and fatalities have declined 5.3 percent compared to the same period of 2004.
Further, the amount of civil penalties collected by FRA each year from railroads for violations of federal grade crossing safety regulations has tripled since 2000.