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SEPTA places railway safety technology order
SEPTA places railway safety technology orderTuesday, May 26, 2015
Written by Carolina Worrell, Managing Editor
Protran Technology, a Harsco Rail company, has received an order for railway safety technology from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), operator of the sixth largest rail transit system by ridership in the U.S., the company announced on May 26, 2015.
Protran Technology, which describes itself as "an industry leader in advanced safety technology and warning devices," will provide SEPTA with its Roadway Worker Protection System (RWPS). The system adds a second layer of safety by simultaneously alerting track workers of an approaching train and train operators of worker presence.
....
With its order, SEPTA becomes one of the first rail transit systems to launch both Positive Train Control (PTC) and RWPS. Earlier this year, Protran’s RWPS was designated an FRA top safety recommendation, along with Protran’s Collision Avoidance for on-track equipment.
Secondary warning systems such as Protran’s have also been recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board and required by the California Public Utility Commission. Harsco Rail acquired Protran Technology in March 2015.
Written by Carolina Worrell, Managing Editor
Protran Technology, a Harsco Rail company, has received an order for railway safety technology from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), operator of the sixth largest rail transit system by ridership in the U.S., the company announced on May 26, 2015.
Protran Technology, which describes itself as "an industry leader in advanced safety technology and warning devices," will provide SEPTA with its Roadway Worker Protection System (RWPS). The system adds a second layer of safety by simultaneously alerting track workers of an approaching train and train operators of worker presence.
....
With its order, SEPTA becomes one of the first rail transit systems to launch both Positive Train Control (PTC) and RWPS. Earlier this year, Protran’s RWPS was designated an FRA top safety recommendation, along with Protran’s Collision Avoidance for on-track equipment.
Secondary warning systems such as Protran’s have also been recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board and required by the California Public Utility Commission. Harsco Rail acquired Protran Technology in March 2015.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought that OSHA and the FRA had agreed to look into railway track worker safety.
NTSB to Meet on Special Investigation Report on Rail Roadway Worker Protection
NTSB Press Release
National Transportation Safety Board Office of Public Affairs
NTSB to Meet on Special Investigation Report on Rail Roadway Worker Protection
9/19/2014
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board will meet to discuss the special investigation report on the recent surge in deaths of railroad and rail transit roadway workers on or near tracks. The NTSB report will look more closely at roadway worker safety and the issues behind the 15 fatalities in 2013.
National Transportation Safety Board Office of Public Affairs
NTSB to Meet on Special Investigation Report on Rail Roadway Worker Protection
9/19/2014
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board will meet to discuss the special investigation report on the recent surge in deaths of railroad and rail transit roadway workers on or near tracks. The NTSB report will look more closely at roadway worker safety and the issues behind the 15 fatalities in 2013.
In Special Investigation Report, NTSB Looks at Recent Surge in Railroad Worker Deaths
NTSB Press Release
National Transportation Safety Board Office of Public Affairs
In Special Investigation Report, NTSB Looks at Recent Surge in Railroad Worker Deaths
9/24/2014
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board today issued a special investigation report on the recent increase in deaths of railroad and rail transit roadway workers on or near tracks and made recommendations to reduce the number of fatalities.
The Special Investigation Report on Railroad and Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection provides details of 14 fatal accidents in 2013. Over the year, 15 roadway workers died. The number of deaths in 2013, the findings from investigations of those deaths and the increasing number of fatalities prompted the NTSB to look more closely at the issue of roadway worker safety and to recommend actions to address these issues.
Railroad and rail transit roadway workers are subject to on-the-job risks and hazards that are markedly different from those faced by other railroad employees. Of the fatalities in 2013, 11 resulted from 11 accidents on freight railroads and four were on commuter or transit railways. The average number of railroad worker fatalities has fluctuated but has remained about 6.4 per year from 1990 to 2013.
....
The NTSB issued recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-Way Employees and Signalmen Committee. The recommendations call for additional training, harmonization of standards, a national inspection program and greater stakeholder participation in roadway worker fatalities, among other measures.
An abstract of the special report is available here.
National Transportation Safety Board Office of Public Affairs
In Special Investigation Report, NTSB Looks at Recent Surge in Railroad Worker Deaths
9/24/2014
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board today issued a special investigation report on the recent increase in deaths of railroad and rail transit roadway workers on or near tracks and made recommendations to reduce the number of fatalities.
The Special Investigation Report on Railroad and Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection provides details of 14 fatal accidents in 2013. Over the year, 15 roadway workers died. The number of deaths in 2013, the findings from investigations of those deaths and the increasing number of fatalities prompted the NTSB to look more closely at the issue of roadway worker safety and to recommend actions to address these issues.
Railroad and rail transit roadway workers are subject to on-the-job risks and hazards that are markedly different from those faced by other railroad employees. Of the fatalities in 2013, 11 resulted from 11 accidents on freight railroads and four were on commuter or transit railways. The average number of railroad worker fatalities has fluctuated but has remained about 6.4 per year from 1990 to 2013.
....
The NTSB issued recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-Way Employees and Signalmen Committee. The recommendations call for additional training, harmonization of standards, a national inspection program and greater stakeholder participation in roadway worker fatalities, among other measures.
An abstract of the special report is available here.