if you do not have rail inspectors, then there is no urgency on the part of somebody to get the track fixed. They have to go together, I suppose.

Mr. INGRAM. I would say so. The difficulty, of course, in the Northeast with bankrupt railroads is well known. The skyrocketing accident or derailment rate of the Penn Central Railroad has been in the Wall Street Journal on several occasions and is well known. It reflects the lack of money in the railroads to do effective maintenance work. Probably not so well known is the plight of railroads that are on the brink of financial disaster. It has been publicly announced that the Rock Island Railroad will seek a loan from the Department of Transportation of $100 million to rehabilitate its property, which is in fairly sad shape, according to the press releases and the communications that we received from that railroad. That is not a bankrupt railroad, but it is a railroad that is in bad shape because of financial problems.

You are quite right, especially when you get into the extreme low end of the financial spectrum, the lack of safety is caused by lack of money just as much as by lack of attention.

INTERCHANGE EQUIPMENT INSPIRES INCREASED INSPECTIONS

I would mention one other thing, which is that railroads interchange equipment with each other. Freight cars travel all over the country. I know several well-endowed railroads, or at least relatively well-endowed railroads, that are really worried about moving Penn Central equipment. They inspect them probably three times as heavily as they inspect any other car that comes near them, because they are never sure exactly what they have on the track.

So, the inability of railroads in the Northeast to finance proper maintenance work is something that does not just affect those railroads, but affects all railroads in the country because of the interchange of equipment.

PROPOSED SAFETY ACTIVITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1975

Mr. McFALL. Tell us about your program to implement the Railroad Safety Act of 1970. What safety regulations do you plan to issue during the upcoming fiscal year?

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, as the Administrator told you, we already have in the track standards. They are fully effective.

Our equipment standards were released as of January 1 of this year and cover the complete freight car, including lubrication requirements and obsolete equipment.

There are a number of other rulemaking ideas that we are now considering. One is locomotive wheel slip/slide indicators, as an example. We are looking into the area of the marking of the rear ends of passenger trains to increase visibility and prevent accidents like the one that happened in Chicago on the ICG 2 years ago.

Mr. INGRAM. Of course, we are also doing technological experiments on how to design safer tank cars. I imagine that will end up in safety regulations when the research is finished.

We are also concerned with human factors. The three main causes of accidents are track, equipment, and human factors. We will probably have a rulemaking proceeding in the near future on employee qualifications, drug and alcohol abuse, and things of that sort. to try to get a handle on that particular source of accidents.

STATUS OF REGULATIONS

Mr. McFALL. For the record, give us an outline of what you are planning to do during the fiscal year.

[The information follows:]

Following is a matrix and short narrative description showing actions taken and proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration through regulations directed at the causes of accidents.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

1. Tank car head shields (HM-109).-Proposed regulation designed to prevent, in impacts and derailments, head punctures of tank cars transporting flatmable gases.

2. Tank car safety vents/valves.-Proposed regulation requiring safety valve, in lieu of safety vents, for prevention of loss of products in impacts and derailments.

3. Tank Car-Bottom Outlets.-Proposed regulation prohibiting bottom outlets on flammable compressed gas tank cars.

4. Car class A explosives.---Proposed regulation requiring cars transporting class A explosives to be equipped with high-friction composition or high-phosphorous brake shoes; a metal sub-floor with no combustible material exposed beneath the car or metal spark shields extending from center sill to side sills and from end sills to at least 12 inches beyond the extreme treads of the inside wheels of each truck.

5. Reorganization hazardous materials regulations.-Proposal (ANPRM) for a more orderly arrangement of the present regulations and any new regulations published.

OPERATING PRACTICES

1. Operating rules and practices-enforcement.-Proposed regulation requires railroads to submit to FRA: (a) Operating rule books, timetables and special instructions; (b) programs for determining compliance with operating rules; and (c) programs for instructing employees on operating rules. Also requires FRA approval of aforesaid programs.

2. Operating rule-stop and proceed signal.—Proposal (ANPRM) for development of FRA rule which requires all trains to come to a stop before entering a block controlled by a signal displaying a permissive aspect indicating that the block of the signal is not clear.

3. Advisory committee on operating rules.-Proposal for establishment of a committee to advise the FRA on the matter of revisions and standardization of railroad operating rules currently in effect.

4. Passenger train visibility.-Proposed regulation requiring railroads to enhance conspicuity of trailing ends of passenger trains by use of flashing strobe lights, retroflectors, or fluorescent panels.

5. Radio rules.--Proposed regulation specifying minimum standards relating to the area of radio communications in railroad operations, including the use of radio for transmission of train orders.

6. Blue flag.-Proposal (ANPRM) for development of FRA rules to enhance protection of railroad employees working on, under or between locomotives or cars while performing inspectioin, servicing and repair tracks.

7. Alcohol and drugs.--Proposed regulation requiring railroads to prohibit an employee to go on duty or perform service if he has a blood alcohol concentration in excess of 0.04 percent weight per volume, and specifying breath analyzing devices approved by FRA.

8. Operating rules 34. 93, and 99.-Proposal (ANPRM) for development of FRA rules related to lookouts maintained by crew members in locomotive cabs (34); speeds of trains operating within yard limits (93), and protection for trains stopped under circumstances in which they may be overtaken by other trains (99).

9. Enginemen physical qualifications.-Proposed regulation prescribing physical standards for enginemen, and requiring enginemen to pass physical examinations at prescribed intervals.

OSHA

1. OSHA safety standards.--Proposal to develop OSHA-type standards applicable to the railroad industry.

OTHER

1. Amendment to wire report rules.-Revised regulation requiring railroads to promptly submit telegraphic reports of accidents (other than rail-highway crossing accidents) resulting in one or more deaths or five or more injuries. Requires report of rail-highway crossing accident resulting in five or more casualties.

2. Incident report rules.-Amendment of regulation governing monthly reports of railroads incidents (accidents).

PETITIONS

1. PB-4 amendment to power brake equipment.-Petition by AAR for amendment and recodification of regulations related to the installation, inspection, maintenance and repair of power or train brakes.

2. Amendment locomotive inspection intervals.-Petition by AAR seeking relief from present 30-day locomotive requirements. Petitioner desired amendment provide for inspection at "no less than every 3 months.”

3. Running board removal-extension requirements.—Petition by AAR for FRA to extend time for the removal of running boards from box cars.

4. Train brake leakage test program.-Proposed test program resulting from petition by AAR for FRA to allow 8 pounds train brake leakage per minute (instead of 5 pounds) under extreme cold weather conditions.

RESPONSIBILITIES RELATED TO SHIPMENT OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Mr. McFALL. What are your responsibilities with respect to the shipment of hazardous materials?

Mr. ROGERS. We have the responsibility for all of those that are contained in CFR 49, Mr. Chairman. That means there are about 1,800 commodities that move that we regulate.

Our responsibility is to make as reasonably sure as possible that they move safely.

Last year we issued 700 special permits for commodities not covered by the regulations. Hazardous materials is one of the areas we have been giving specific attention to since the explosion in Roseville last April 28. We are inspecting the shipper points, as well as the packaging of the shipments. We are paying a lot of attention to the tank car itself, its size, its vent valves, and the insulation of the tank shell which will protect the steel, as well as the material being transported within the pressure shell.

In calendar year 1973, we had 21 evacuations, which was the same as the previous year.

GOALS OF FRA RESEARCH PROGRAM

Mr. McFALL. You have a large budget request for research and development. I would like you to put in the record at this point the goals of your research program.

[The information follows:]

Ledustry problems

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Develop the analytical tools to analyze the operating and financial problems of the industry in areas such as energy use, environmental impact, and the ovement of critical commodities such as grain, coal, scrap, and perishables. Freight car management systems

Develop a car management system to improve car utilization and freight services.

Improved freight services

Develop improved freight services through improved terminal and car components and equipment in a cost beneficial manner.

safety research

Reduce hazardous material tank car, running gear and track component failure, grade crossing, accidents and fatalities through improved hardware and equipment.