Commuter Rail Safety Study
Transportation fatalities spark rail safety assessment
In 2005, approximately 0.2% of all transportation fatalities (81 deaths) occurred on Commuter Rail. In order to address this dilemma, FTA called for an assessment of commuter rail safety performance that would be distributed to commuter railroads, government, industry associations and other interested parties. FTA asked us to help them conduct this study, in cooperation with FRA, to develop a report of these rail safety performance assessments.
Gathering safety data from FRA’s Office of Safety for the 18 commuter railroads receiving FTA funds between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2005, we hoped to analyze the data to determine trends in accidents as well as accident impacts (injuries and fatalities).
Learning from the past
BCG was eager to find the most frequent and highest risk causes of commuter rail accidents to help curb this problem. Partnering with FRA, we were able to produce FTA’s Commuter Rail Safety Study. The comprehensive report includes the frequency and causes of commuter rail accidents as well as conclusions regarding commuter rail safety risk. As a result of our study, we were able to provide transit agencies with valuable tools geared towards establishing safety performance measures to reduce the risk of commuter rail safety.
