Rail Transit Track Inspection Practices (2013)

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7 Safety Standards with the exception of concrete ties, which the FRA has recently added to its Track Safety Standards. CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION CPUC regulates privately owned railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation companies. It was created in 1911 as the Railroad Commission, and in 1912 its regulatory authority was expanded to include natural gas, electric, telecommuni- cations, and water utilities as well as railroads and marine transportation companies. In 1946, it was renamed the Cali- fornia Public Utilities Commission. This commission super- sedes the FRA only in California, but does not impose fines. It does not have Track Safety Standards as the FRA does; however, it oversees and comments on an owner’s means and methods when performing track maintenance (3). AMERICAN RAILWAY ENGINEERING AND MAINTENANCE-OF-WAY ASSOCIATION AREMA, formed in 1997 by a merger of railway and bridge engineering support associations all dating to the late 19th cen- tury, is a non-profit organization whose members range from chief engineers, CEOs, and owners of railroads to laborers, contractors, and vendors. Its website describes its mission as “the development and advancement of both technical and practical knowledge and recommended practices pertain- ing to the design, construction, and maintenance of rail- way infrastructure.” AREMA does not inspect or maintain track and has no enforcement power. However, it publishes a four-volume manual of “recommended practices” involv- ing track, infrastructure, systems management, etc., with the “aim of assisting [railways] to engineer and construct a railway plant which will have inherent qualities of safe and economi- cal operations as well as low maintenance cost” (4). FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION The FTA is primarily responsible for funding of transit proj- ects and historically has had no regulatory authority to enforce compliance with any FTA Track Safety. “The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) role in the safety oversight of these systems is extremely limited as a matter of Federal law. We are statutorily prohibited from establishing national safety stan- dards for a large segment of the nation’s rail transit system” (as testified by FTA administrator Peter M. Rogoff in a Con- gressional hearing on August 4, 2009; see Appendix C for text Over the years many organizations have assisted or overseen the rail transportation industry. Some regulate and some may simply observe, whereas others may recommend. They all play a vital role in achieving the primary objective: to move people safely. FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION The FRA was established under the U.S.DOT in 1966, and was operational by April 1, 1967. Its function is to issue and enforce railroad safety regulations, including its Track Safety Standards (1); to administer railroad financial assistance pro- grams and grants; and to conduct research. The FRA employs approximately 500 certified inspectors, has eight regional offices, and inspects freight railroads within the general rail- road system. It has the authority to impose fines that can be very expensive to a rail agency. AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION APTA, which includes public transportation organizations as well as those that design, construct, and supply them, was formed in 1974 as the American Public Transit Association and in 2000 changed its name to American Public Transporta- tion Association. In 2004, APTA published a manual on track safety standards and asked all transit agencies not under FRA jurisdiction to comply by 2006. This was on a volunteer basis and not enforceable, because APTA is a membership associa- tion without a regulatory function. The manual is comprised of six volumes covering, respec- tively, Background and Process, Vehicles, Grade Crossings, Operating Practices, Fixed Structures (which includes track), and Signals and Communications (2). The manual was written by 241 volunteers, representing 25 transit authorities as well as the FTA and Wabtec Corpora- tion (a merger of Westinghouse Air Brake and MotivePower locomotive). It does not apply to commuter rail, and APTA will not accept any liability. The manual follows FRA Track Safety Standards with additional guidance with respect to high water criteria, storage of materials along the right-of- way, lift rails, switch heaters, slip joints, concrete ties, DF track, embedded track, restraining rail, rail wear criteria, slow order restrictions, new construction, power rail, and stray cur- rent. None of these conditions is addressed in FRA 213 Track chapter two MAJOR ASSOCIATIONS AND AGENCIES AFFILIATED WITH THE RAIL TRANSIT INDUSTRY

8 of the full hearing). However, the FTA has been compiling a “Pocket Guide” to rail transit best inspection and maintenance practices that, along with legislative changes, may give it regu- latory authority in the future. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION The U.S.DOT is the umbrella organization of which the FRA has been a sub-section since 1966. Each state has a DOT that in some cases oversees transit agencies and confirms that each agency is abiding by its own maintenance standards. States do not have the authority to impose fines. CANADIAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION The format of the Canadian Standards (CSA) guidelines is identical to the FRA Track Safety Standards, with very minor differences in some criteria. The CSA guidelines are written in U.S. customary measurements, not the International Sys- tem of Units (SI).