ARC
has 35 years of railroad track safety inspections, new track installations, maintenance and repair experience.
ARC has since
1979 contacted tens of thousands of Midwestern industries, grain companies, plastic companies, scrap and new
steel companies, paper makers, bread bakers, auto builders and many more who have one
thing in common, they all own, and/or operate and must maintain a section of railroad
track. ARC has contacted the same companies every year to see how well their
track holds up under usage. Not only has ARC contracted these companies,
ARC has visited and inspected thousands of these companies railroad track.
Industries who own, operate
and maintain their own section of railroad, are diversified and sometimes as different as
night and day, each having very different railroad needs.
Below you will find a
Q&A section answering the most frequently asked questions out of over 40,000
inquires in the last fourteen years (results on file.) Questions like,
Is a railroad
track safety inspection mandatory on industry owned railroads? Is there a penalty for non
compliance with the FRA? Will the FRA want a copy of the Track Safety Reports?
The
answers are supported by the Department of Transportation, FRA Track Safety Standards
{Section 49 Part 213}.
Isn't it
our company's serving railroad’s responsibility to perform a Railroad Track
Safety Inspection on our industries privately owned railroads spur? No, the FRA states that the
responsibility for a railroad track safety inspection lies solely on the owner of the
track as in 213.5 of the FRA
standards. For obvious liability reasons the railroad company's actually discourage their
track safety inspectors from doing track safety inspections on industry owned railroad.
Generally, it's the train crew that reports unsafe track conditions, but not until those
conditions are intolerable. Usually at that point, the railroads track safety inspector
becomes involved to officially shut down the company's railroad spur.
Is a railroad track safety inspection mandatory on industry
owned railroads.
As in 213.231 of
the FRA railroad safety standards, the FRA, mandates that all railroad tracks in the
general operating system must have a regular track safety inspection. Whether your company
has 500 feet of track or 500 miles with few exceptions, (213.3) your company operates
railroad in the general transportation system.
Is there a penalty for non compliance with the FRA? Will the
FRA want a copy of the Track Safety Reports?
Fines that may be imposed could
reach $11,000 per incident. (see
213.15) The FRA may never ask for the Track Safety Inspection Report, unless a
incident occurs.
Who is
qualified to perform a railroad track safety inspection? Why can’t I
perform the inspection myself?
As in 213.7 of
the FRA railroad safety standards, the FRA requires a minimal
amount of qualification for one to be a qualified railroad track safety
inspector. For the safety inspection report to be legitimate the inspector
who performs the inspection must meet FRA requirements. ARC’s 33 years
experiences, as well as formal training, well exceeds the minimal
requirements.
If our company has a railroad track safety inspected and
that tracks fails, will we loses service to that track?
As in 213.4 of
the FRA railroad safety standards, the FRA offers a minimum standard for safe operations. If a
track fails a safety inspection, that track will fail your company's needs. The FRA allows
30 days in most cases for remedial action to take place. These are usually very
small inexpensive repairs taking less than a day to perform.
Does the completed track safety inspection go to the
FRA? What about our company's privacy?
The FRA only requires that the
inspection report be kept on file for a period of one year at the location
responsible for the track.(see213.241)
ARC never shares information with anyone on the condition of any railroad
track that was inspected. The inspection reports are kept strictly
confidential between ARC and the clients. ARC is under no obligation
to report the findings to the FRA or others.
What will the Railroad Track Safety
Inspection Report tell us about our track safety conditions?
ARC is required by the FRA to specify what
track was inspected, date of inspection, location and nature of all defects and remedial
action taken, as in: 213.241(B)
of the FRA safety standard.
ARC’s track
safety inspections start at a minimum of $300.00 a year for a 1,000 foot or less railroad
siding and are pro-rated for longer tracks. Standard switches, bridge decks and public
street crossings are an additional $30.00 each. Most of our inspections range between
$300.00 and $700.00 a year and includes the "TRACKWATCH" Track
Risk Management system. In many cases your company's insurance carrier will pay for part,
if not all, of the cost for the inspection.
Will there be costly repairs
required as a result of the inspection?
A Railroad Track Safety Inspection will not
create repairs that are not needed. The FRA requires minimal guide lines for a railroad
track to meet its safety standards. The FRA rules apply to specific track conditions
existing in isolation. Therefore, a combination of track conditions, none of which
individually amounts to a deviation from the requirements, may require remedial action to
provide for safe operation over your company track. If ARC finds any required
repairs they normally can wait to be budgeted, or be done in less than one day
Our
company has a regular railroad contractor who
offers FREE estimates, why should we pay ARC for a Railroad Track Safety Inspection?
Several reasons, first a FREE estimate
already assumes that repairs are going to be done, a Railroad Track Safety Inspection does
not. ARC works very hard to avoid unneeded repairs and still stay within FRA safety
limits. Any repairs that ARC may find, are needed to comply with FRA safety rules.
ARC also prepares an estimate for repairs, at no additional cost to the inspection service. Second, this is one
time when your company can save money going by the book. The FRA track inspection
standards recognize 6 classes of track safety standards 213.9 based on operation speed.
Industrial track like your company's with speeds under 10 mph. are classified as class 1,
the most minimal of safety requirements. There is a significant difference in up-keep cost
between class 6 and class 1 track. If the contractor who now inspects your companies track
is inspecting on standards anywhere higher than a class 1, your company is paying too much
for up–keep cost. The FRA requires that a Track Safety Inspection Report be kept on
file for a period of two years (213.241(C). NOT a repair estimate.
Complete the ARC Response Form and return it to
ARC. Or call, write, fax or e-mail us. We will take care of all the details. No one
from your company will be required to be with ARC while the inspection is taking place. We
look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
The most neglected system in
company operations is the railroad spur. Allen
Railroad Consulting has been making company owned
railroad tracks safer for 25 years. ARC performs Railroad track safety inspections, track
repairs, supplies track materials and performs other railroad related consulting services.
To receive a ARC Customer Connection number, fill out
the questionnaire HERE
and return it to
ARC.
