NTSB Safety Recommendations R-08-01 through -04

[NTSB Press Releases <NTSBPressReleases@xxxxxxxx>]

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                   NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

January 30, 2008

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Safety Recommendations R-08-01 through -04

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The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following 
safety recommendations to the Washington Metropolitan Area 
Transit Authority:

Review your Metrorail Safety Rules and Procedures Handbook 
and revise it as necessary to create additional layers of 
protection for wayside workers, including:
Adding requirements for wayside pre-work job briefings to 
ensure that all workers are informed of their duties, of 
their respective roles in work crew safety, and of the areas 
that are to be used to stay clear of trains.
Requiring that when train operators request permission to 
either enter a main track, or when a train is turned for a 
return trip, the train operators along the affected lines 
must acknowledge receipt of the updated radio announcement 
from the control center regarding wayside workers.
Establishing procedures to be used for members of a work 
crew to acknowledge a lookout's warning that a train is 
approaching on a particular track from a particular 
direction before a lookout gives an all clear signal to a 
train. (R-08-01)

Establish a systematic program for frequent unannounced 
checks of employee compliance with Metrorail operating and 
safety rules and procedures. (R-08-02)

Perform periodic hazard analyses on the deficiencies 
identified by unannounced checks of employee compliance in 
response to Safety Recommendation R-08-02, and use the 
results to revise Metrorail training curricula or 
enforcement activities, as necessary, to improve employee 
compliance with operating and safety rules and procedures. 
(R-08-03)

Promptly implement appropriate technology that will 
automatically alert wayside workers of approaching trains 
and will automatically alert train operators when 
approaching areas with workers on or near the tracks. (R-08-
04)

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http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2008/R08_1_4.pdf

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The complete recommendation letter is available on the Web 
at the URL indicated above.

The letter is in the Portable Document Format (PDF) and can 
be read using the Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later from Adobe 
(http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html). 
	
An archive of recommendation letters is available at 
http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/letters.htm. 
Electronic versions of letters may or may not include 
enclosures; however, related publications, accident 
briefs, and aviation accident synopses may be found 
on the NTSB website.

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