FRA updates rail equipment accident, incident reporting regs

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has amended its accident/incident reporting regulation to modify the way the agency calculates periodic adjustments to the reporting threshold and the way it communicates each calendar year's threshold to railroads.

The final rule, which the FRA published yesterday in the Federal Register, takes effect Jan. 8, 2021. It was designed to improve the accuracy of accident and incident data gathered from railroads, FRA officials stated in rule.

FRA's accident/incident regulation requires railroads to report to the agency all rail equipment accidents or incidents above the monetary reporting threshold applicable to that calendar year.

Under the final rule, the FRA:
• revises the percentage term used to determine a change in equipment costs, so it is consistent with the percentage term used to determine a change in labor costs;
• revises the formula to use full-year data instead of only second-quarter data to calculate the reporting threshold; and
• will publish an annual notice on its website stating the reporting threshold for the upcoming calendar year. The notice will be published no later than Nov. 30 of each year.