NTSB Safety Recommendations R-08-9 through -12

[NTSB Press Releases <NTSBPressReleases@xxxxxxxx>]

Title: NTSB Safety Recommendations R-08-9 through -12

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            NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

May 22, 2008

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Safety Recommendations R-08-9 through -12

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The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following
recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration:

Review all railroads internal rail defect detection
procedures and require changes to those procedures as
necessary to eliminate exceptions to the requirement for an
uninterrupted, continuous search for rail defects. (R-08-9)

Require railroads to develop rail inspection and maintenance
programs based on damage-tolerance principles, and approve
those programs. Include in the requirement that railroads
demonstrate how their programs will identify and remove
internal defects before they reach critical size and result
in catastrophic rail failures. Each program should take into
account, at a minimum, accumulated tonnage, track geometry,
rail surface conditions, rail head wear, rail steel
specifications, track support, residual stresses in the
rail, rail defect growth rates, and temperature
differentials. (R-08-10)

Require that railroads use methods that accurately measure
rail head wear to ensure that deformation of the head does
not affect the accuracy of the measurements. (R-08-11)

Assist the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration in its evaluation of the risks posed to train
crews by unit trains transporting hazardous materials,
determination of the optimum separation requirements between
occupied locomotives and hazardous materials cars, and any
resulting revision of 49 Code of Federal Regulations 174.85.
(R-08-12)

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http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2008/R08_9_12.pdf

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The complete recommendation letter is available on the Web
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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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