Railroad Derailment Factors Affecting Hazardous Materials Transportation Risk

Transportation Research Record - Tập 1825 Số 1 - Trang 64-74 - 2003
Christopher P. L. Barkan1, C. Tyler Dick2,1, Robert Anderson1
1Railroad Engineering Program, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801
2HDR Engineering, Inc., 512 Main Street, Suite 600, Fort Worth, TX 76102

Tóm tắt

U.S. freight railroad accident and hazardous materials release rates have declined substantially since 1980. Ironically, this trend has made the identification and implementation of further safety improvement options more challenging because less empirical information exists on which accident causes present the greatest risks. Consequently, more sophisticated methods are needed to identify the best options for transportation risk reduction. Of particular interest is identifying the principal causes of accidents that can result in a tank car release of hazardous materials, which can harm people, property, and the environment. Because large hazardous materials release accidents are relatively rare, railroads cannot effectively manage safety improvement efforts solely in response to the causes of specific accidents. Instead, a risk-based approach is needed to better understand predictive factors for conditions that can cause a release. Railroad derailment data were analyzed to identify the conditions most likely to lead to a release accident. The objective was to identify proxy variables that can be used as performance measures. The speed of derailment and number of derailed cars highly correlated with hazardous materials releases. Some accident causes are much more likely to lead to release conditions than others. Accident prevention efforts to reduce these causes are more likely to reduce the risk of major railroad hazardous materials release accidents.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Harvey A. E., 1987, Statistical Trends in Railroad Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety

10.3141/1707-04

Railroad Safety Statistics—Annual Reports

Phillips E. A., 1989, Analysis of Tank Cars Damaged in Accidents: 1965 Through 1986

Gallamore R., 1999, Essays in Transportation Policy and Economics

Office of Safety Analysis, FRA, Home Page. Rail Equipment Accidents Database: 1992–2001. Report F6180.54. July 19, 2002. http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety.

2001, Track Safety Standards Part 213, Subpart A to F, Class of Track 1–5

Nayak P. R., 1983, Event Probabilities and Impact Zones for Hazardous Materials Accidents on Railroads

1995, Guidelines for Chemical Transportation Risk Analysis

Cody R. P., 1997, Applied Statistics and the SAS Programming Language, 4

Berenson M. L., 1979, Basic Business Statistics: Concepts and Applications

Barkan C. P. L., 1991, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1313, 33

DickC. Tyler. Factors Affecting the Frequency and Location of Broken Railway Rails and Broken Rail Derailments. M.S. thesis. University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, 2001.

Recommended Railroad Operating Practices for Transportation of Hazardous Materials. AAR Circular OT-55A. Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C., March 9, 1992.

10.3141/1825-07

Rhyne W. R., 1994, Hazardous Materials Transportation Risk Analysis: Quantitative Approaches for Truck and Train

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Transportation Research Record

Tập 1825 Số 1

64-74

Thông tin tác giả