In a new assessment from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the increasing length of freight trains was found to be potential safety risks.
Some of these trains are nearly 3 miles long according to the GAO report, which cited the need these demand for more complex braking and other operations, in addition to the potential for blocking traffic and emergency response, as well as spurring unsafe behavior from those stopped by these trains. To find solutions, GAO recommended the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) share its research results into these safety risks and cooperate with railroads and government officials on methods to identify and solve these issues.
In the meantime, these train lengths come with certain tradeoffs. GAO quoted officials pointing to increased efficiencies and economic benefits provided by the longer trains. Officials also claim that the longer trains potentially decrease the frequency of blocked crossings, but these claims were challenged by some state and local officials, who noted that while frequency might go down, duration decidedly goes up, and responders can suffer for it.
Complicating matters further is how the FRA is going about their research. They plan to share their research results with relevant stakeholders but lack any documented strategy to do so. They also do not intend to use the research to change anything — they openly state the belief that there is no linkage between frequently blocked crossings and longer freight trains. GAO wants to see these results shared and analyzed specifically to determine safe measures for longer freight train operation better.
The FRA has thus far concurred with GAO’s recommendations.