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Last week, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its latest “Watchlist” of transportation safety issues.

Since the last Watchlist was released in 2010, progress has been made in the operation of longer and heavier trains, crashworthy data recorders on trains and rail safety management systems, TSB officials said in a prepared statement. The rail-related items on the 2012 Watchlist include onboard video and voice recorders, following signal indications and passenger train collisions with vehicles.

"We've removed issues where the risk has been reduced, and left issues on the list where little or no progress has been made,” said TSB Chair Wendy Tadros. “In rail, the TSB still responds to far too many crossings accidents in our busiest rail corridor.”

Two new Watchlist items arose from what TSB members are learning from passenger-rail investigations, such as a fatal derailment that occurred in Burlington, Ontario.

“We know that when rail signals are not followed, we are at high risk for a serious accident,” said Tadros. "We need more defenses built into the rail system for the safety of everyone … [such as] making sure we have recorders in locomotive cabs so investigators will be able to understand what happened and why.”