Train study predicts when fatigue becomes dangerous

New federal research shows that computer modeling can reliably predict when members of freight train crews have an increased risk of accident because of fatigue – a finding that might help solve one of the most persistent safety problems in the railroad industry.

During the yearlong study, Federal Railroad Administration researchers were able to detect the point at which fatigue becomes hazardous by analyzing the often erratic and long work schedules of conductors, brake operators and locomotive engineers.

The findings could prompt the railroad industry to provide more rest for crew members between shifts, FRA officials said.

According to the study, tired crew members play a role in about 25 percent of all railroad accidents caused by human factors, such as poor judgment, miscommunication, inattentiveness and failure to follow procedures.

Engineers, conductors and brake operators who serve aboard freight trains have some of the most irregular and taxing work schedules in the transportation industry.

They often put in 60 to 70 hours a week, sometimes more. They can be called to work any time during the day or night, which constantly disrupts their sleep patterns and produces the equivalent of jet lag.

From 2001 to 2005, fatigue either caused or contributed to 1,473 of 5,892 human-factor related railroad accidents across the nation.

Overall, mishaps related to crew failings have risen 50 to 60 percent since 1996, while train accidents attributed to other causes, such as mechanical failure, have declined. FRA officials blame weary crew members for at least part of the increase.

Although federal regulators identified fatigue as a top safety concern 20 years ago, it has continued to haunt the railroad industry, especially the nation’s largest carriers.

Cost cutting by railroad companies, inadequate hiring and the desire by union members to maximize earnings have contributed.

Accident reports show that fatigue has caused some of the deadliest and costliest train accidents, including the 1990 head-on crash of two freight trains in Corona, Calif., that killed four and caused $4.4 million in property damage.

In one of the latest such collisions, hundreds of people in and around Macdona, Texas, had to be evacuated in 2004 to avoid clouds of chlorine gas leaking from punctured tank cars. Three people died.

As a result of that crash, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended in June that the FRA require railroads to base their scheduling decisions on scientific measures designed to reduce fatigue.

The FRA study released last week analyzed 1,400 train accidents and the work schedules of the crews involved for 30 days before the mishap.

The FRA found a strong correlation between a crew’s estimated level of alertness and the likelihood of accidents.

Researchers said that the severity of fatigue associated with some of the work schedules was equivalent to being awake for at least 21 hours.

FRA officials said their model could be adopted by railroads and labor unions to improve fatigue management plans.

Tom Pontolillo, director of regulatory affairs for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the FRA study will put the “onus on the industry” to do more about the fatigue problem.