FRA Recommends Remedies
for Significant Safety
Inadequacies on Union Pacific

OMAHA, Neb. -- On the heels of a comprehensive safety inspection, Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene M. Molitoris today announced that Union Pacific Railroad will take immediate action to remedy a fundamental breakdown in the railroad's ability to effectively implement basic railroad operating procedures and practices essential to safe railroad operations.

Molitoris announced that Union Pacific will appoint a senior manager, reporting directly to the president, to oversee safety operations of the railroad. Union Pacific also will participate in a Safety, Assurance and Compliance Program (SACP) to deal with specific findings by safety inspectors and take necessary further remedial action.

The first SACP meeting with senior officials of Union Pacific and railroad labor organizations is scheduled for Sept. 17, 1997. The SACP process entails joint efforts by the railroads, labor, and FRA to address root causes of safety problems.

"Findings of widespread safety deficiencies in the areas of training, dispatching, and employee fatigue are of great concern to the FRA, and we strongly encourage that our recommendations be implemented," Administrator Molitoris said. "Since the deployment of our inspection team, we have received complete cooperation from Union Pacific and have been given the strongest assurances from them that our recommendations will be implemented."

Her announcement follows a 14-day comprehensive safety inspection of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) that identified significant safety deficiencies.

Based on findings by the inspection team, FRA's recommendations include:

+Emphasizing mandatory classes and job briefings for dispatchers, dispatcher supervisors, and other operating officials;
+Requiring managers to tell employees who the safety officer on duty is;
+Providing all employees adequate training on all the equipment they use; and
+Requiring crew transportation contractors to provide an adequate number of vans and drivers or arrange alternate transportation to ensure the safety of train crews whose hours of service have expired.

FRA inspectors reported violations that may be the basis of civil penalty recommendations. The investigation into these violations is continuing.
Molitoris delivered the results and recommendations, detailed in a written report, in person to Jerry Davis, president of the Union Pacific Railroad, at his headquarters in Omaha, Neb. The report is the culmination of an 80-person federal and state railroad safety inspection that began Aug. 23.
The report cites the following safety areas where the Union Pacific Railroad has been deficient:

+Dispatching fatigue. The FRA inspectors found evidence of heavy dispatcher workload and stress.
+Dispatching supervisors. The FRA found evidence that some UP dispatcher supervisors are unfamiliar with the territories of the dispatchers they supervise. Consequently, the dispatcher supervisors were unable to determine whether employees were complying with applicable carrier rules.
+Dispatching conflicts. The FRA found evidence of conflicting instructions from yard managers and train dispatchers that could result in a head-on collision.
+Operational compliance. The FRA found evidence that there is no mandatory process in place for advising or educating employees on operating rules, system-wide instructions and local operating restrictions.
+Knowledge and identification of safety officer. The FRA found that many employees didn't know who their safety officer is, and safety job briefings, normally held daily, were held once or twice a month.
+Unfamiliarity with new equipment. The FRA found many UP employees stated that they were not properly trained on new equipment.
+Operating with defective equipment. The FRA found examples of UP train crews being ordered to move trains that had defective equipment, despite protests to supervisors.
+Inconsistent drug testing of crews. The FRA found inconsistent and incomplete drug testing records for some train crews.
+Crew management. The FRA found that UP crews are working longer hours and getting less off-duty time than in the past. There was some evidence of crews being left on trains after their hours of service had expired.
+Harassment and intimidation. The FRA found widespread evidence of employees being harassed and intimidated to cover unfamiliar territory, to not report defects, and to not report injuries.
+Locomotive defects. The FRA found 57 percent of the UP locomotives inspected were defective. It found that some key locomotive maintenance shop personnel are inexperienced in repairing locomotives. According to the FRA, Union Pacific already has taken action on many of the recommendations cited in the report.

Molitoris said that the inspection will enhance progress for achieving lasting safety measures on the Union Pacific and throughout the nation's rail system. She noted that the Union Pacific Railroad's commitment to safety is not being challenged, and its action on that commitment and follow-through will be the focus of the FRA in the weeks and months to come.
Since January, the Union Pacific Railroad has experienced nine fatalities of employees on duty, more than double from the previous year. The deaths included five which resulted from collisions involving Union Pacific trains during the past three months.
The Union Pacific Railroad is the nation's largest freight railroad. It has more than 36,000 miles of track and employs 53,000 people. The railroad operates in the western two thirds of the United States and has its headquarters in Omaha.

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Official DOT/FRA news release.
9/97

FRA Recommends Remediesfor Significant SafetyInadequacies on Union Pacific

FRA Recommends Remedies
for Significant Safety
Inadequacies on Union Pacific