CCC PPPPP U U CCC N N EEEEE W W W SSS C C P p U U C C NN N E W W W S S C P P U U C N N N E W W W S C PPPPP U U C N N N EEE W W W W SSS C P U U C N N N E WW WW S C C P U U C C N NN E W W S S CCC P UUUU CCC N N EEEEE W W SSS California Public Utilities Commission 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 5301 San Francisco, CA 94102 Contact: Kiley Russell December 20,1996 CPUC-107 415-703-1366 CPUC Annual Rail Safety Report RAIL ACCIDENT RATES DROP IN CALIFORNIA IN 1995 The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) reported today that the most recent statistics show the total number of train and light-rail accidents dropped to 584 in 1995 - 153 of these involved trespassers. The total number of fatalities was 130 for 1995; that is down eight percent from 1994 when there were 615 accidents and 153 deaths. The CPUC Railroad Safety/Carriers Division issued its Annual Report of Railroad Accidents/Incidents which summarizes accidents and casualties on railroad lines, at highway-rail crossings, and on light-rail transit lines across the state for 1995. The report is compiled to help the Commission and other interested agencies/parties devise strategies for reducing accident rates. RAIL ACCIDENTS There were 200 highway-rail crossing accidents in 1995, killing 28 people and injuring 65. The highest number of accidents occurred because motorists either failed to stop or drove around or though gates at public railroad crossings. Of the 156 accidents at public crossings, 47 involved vehicles that did -more- not stop for on-comming trains; 43 involved vehicles that drove around or through closed crossing gates. Many other highway-rail crossing accidents occur because drivers do not accurately judge train speed, fail to look in both directions when crossing, or cross in front of a slow train without seeing a faster train hidden behind it on an adjacent track. There were also 153 accidents involving trespassers which did not occur at crossings in 1995 - 95 people were killed and 58 injured. In 1995, there were 126 accidents reported in California which did not occur at highway-rail crossings. These non-crossing accidents resulted in one death and 256 injuries; this is a decrease from 144 accidents in 1994 that killed one person and injured 324. The 1995 non-crossing accident numbers average out to 4.18 accidents per 26.21 million miles of track. The rate of train crew casualties per million miles fell to the lowest level since 1986. The number of crew-members injured or killed fell to 9.8 per million miles in 1995, from 13.9 in 1994 and 19.8 in 1986. One crew member was reported killed and 256 injured for 1995, accounting for 16,892 combined work days lost. The report also describes the ten costliest accidents of 1995, which together accounted for $3.4 million in damages, six injuries and no deaths. The most damaging of these accidents was the derailment of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Company (BNSf) freight train in Bakersfield on Oct.25. A locomotive and 31 cars derailed becauce of a broken rail. One of the cars, carrying Freon 22 (chlorodifluoromethane), was punctured. Although the gas is non-flamable, it can asphyxiate by air displacement. The local fire department evacuated 200 residents within a half-mile area, and 38 people were treated for various symptoms at the scene. -more- ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROGRAM CPUC has worked for 17 years with Operation Lifesaver, a national program to educate the public about rail safety. Operation Lifesaver programs include presentations to schools and professional driver's organizations; "officer on the train" programs to cite drivers who fail to stop at crossing warning devices; and mock rail accidents to illustrate the devastation of train-to-vehicle collisions. It takes an average freight train traveling at 30 mph over a half mile to stop, and about a mile and a half if it is traveling at 60 mph. LIGHT-RAIL TRANSIT ACCIDENTS There were 100 light-rail crossing accidents in 1995 - 86 of those accidents involved motor vehicles, 11 involved pedestrians and 3 were classified as "other" (meaning: bicycles, shoppingcarts, or trespassers). These accidents resulted in 6 deaths and 56 injuries. There were also 2 light-rail train-to- train collisions, 9 derailments, and 5 accidents classified as "other" (meaning: collisions with objects left on the tracks or with trespassers). ###