Derailments and Derailment Prevention

Dr. Allan M ZarembskiProfessor and Director Railroad Engineering and Safety

Program University of Delaware

dramz@udel.edu

© 2015 Allan M Zarembski

Railroad Safety and Derailments

• Railroads are a primary shipper of crude oil and hazardous materials

• Railroads are fundamentally a safe mode of transport

• However accidents and derailments do occur• Most accidents/derailments do not result in a

release of hazardous materials

Hazardous Materials• For a major release event to occur

– Accident/derailment must occur– Rupture/release must occur

• Failure of the tank car shell• Failure of the release valves

• Much attention has been devoted to the issue of tank car release– Cumulative Probability of Release (CPR) defines “risk”

of release– New generation tank cars such as DOT-117 designed

to reduce risk of release ( low CPR)

Accidents/Derailments

• Accident/derailment must occur for a “incident” to take place

• Accidents include:– Derailments – Collisions– Other

• Derailments are most common class of accidents

• 70% of all accidents ( 2014)

2013-2014 Total Accidents/Incidents

2014 2013• TOTAL ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS 11,896 11,598• TOTAL TRAIN ACCIDENTS (including

derailments): 1,762 1,824• HIGHWAY-RAIL INCIDENTS 2,287 2,098• OTHER INCIDENTS (including trespassers) :

7,847 7,676

Total Train Accidents/Incidents

CBR Focus is on Train Accidents/Derailments

Main track accidents about 30% of all accidents

2011-2014 Summary Statistics2011 2012 2013 2014

TRAIN ACCIDENTS 2,022 1,760 1,824 1,762

Collisions 158 155 160 146

Derailments 1,468 1,294 1,299 1,246

Other 396 311 365 370

Distribution of Accidents/Derailments

Collisions

Derailments

Other

Total Train Accidents/Derailments (2014) 1762

0.1% fatal

2013-14 Safety Statistics Summary-Train Accidents2014 2013

TOTAL TRAIN ACCIDENTS: 1,762 1,824Collisions: 146 8.3% 160 8.8% Derailments: 1,246 70.7% 1,299 71.2% Other accidents: 370 21.0% 365 20.0%

Number of accidents on yard track: 2014 1009 57.3% of all train accidents.2013 997 54.7% of all train accidents

Number of train accidents involving passenger trains 58 3.3% 54 3.0%

Number of fatal train accidents 1 0.1% 6 0.3%Number accidents per million train miles: 2.3 2.4

2013-2014 Hazmat Data

2014 2103TOTAL ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS: 11,896 11,598 Total train accidents 1,762 1,824Accidents w HAZMAT release 15 0.9% 18 1.0%Number of rails cars releasing HAZMAT

26 78Persons evacuated 1,537 3,187

2011-2014 HAZMAT Data

2011 2012 2013 2014

HAZMAT releases 21 26 18 15

HAZMAT Cars derailed

666 672 822 786

Cars releasing 66 50 78 26

2013-14 Safety Statistics Summary-Train Accidents by Cause

2014 2013TOTAL TRAIN ACCIDENTS: 1,762 1,824Human factors: 677 38.4% 693 37.9% Track defects: 515 29.2% 565 31.0% Equipment defects: 227 12.9% 229 12.6% Signal defects: 46 2.6% 54 3.0% Miscellaneous causes: 297 16.9% 283 15.5%

Distribution of All Accidents by Major Category

Main Line Accidents/Derailments by Category

Main track accident/derailments approximately 30% of all accidents

FRA Reported Derailment Causes

2012 Safety Statistics Summary-Track

Track Geometry: 206 $36.4 MRail Defects: 206 $50.0 M Frogs, Switch, etc. 124 $ 8.1M Other: 48 $ 4.0 MRoadbed: 14 $ 4.3 M

FRA Reported Equipment Subcategories

2012 Safety Statistics Summary-Equipment

Wheels: 43 $ 13.4 MTruck Components: 35 $ 3.1 MBrakes: 30 $ 2.0 MCoupler & Draft Gear 29 $ 2.6 MLocomotives 20 $ 0.9 MAxles and Bearings: 19 $ 7.2 M Body 19 $ 1.0 MOther 10 $ 0.9 M

FRA Reported Human factors Subcategories

2012 Safety Statistics Summary-Human Factors

General Switching Rules: 235 $ 11.7 MSwitches: 137 $ 6.7 M Train Handling/Makeup: 88 $ 5.0 MSpeed: 68 $ 6.8 MUse of Brakes 32 $ 2.0 MMain Track Authority 14 $ 1.0 MEmployee Condition 2 $ 0.2 MOther 32 $ 2.0 M

2012 Collisions

Damage($) Casualty Causes

Cnt Amount Kld Inj Eqp Hmn Othr Sig Trk Head on collision 6 12,458,347 3 5 - 4 2 - -

Rear end collision 17 5,218,612 1 9 - 15 1 1 -

Side collision 80 5,190,180 0 5 3 65 11 1 -Raking collision 46 3,852,757 0 2 1 37 5 3 -

Broken train collision 4 414,508 0 0 2 1 - - 1

Top 10 FRA Reported Derailments2010-2014

Total CostNumber of

Accidents/DerailmentsCost/derailment Derailments/yr.

Rail defects/failure

$ 288,094,362 1,060 $ 271,787 212

Track geometry defects

$ 173,480,951 1,081 $ 160,481 216.2

Wheel failure $ 78,269,174 223 $ 350,982 44.6

Axle and Bearing Failure

$ 59,885,825 144 $ 415,873 28.8

Frogs, Switches, Track Appliances

$ 50,179,776 601 $ 83,493 120.2

Train Handling and Makeup

$ 38,537,362 421 $ 91,537 84.2

General Switching Rules and Switching Operations

$ 62,804,707 1,306 $ 48,089 261.2

Improper Use of Switch

$ 40,793,543 671 $ 60,795 134.2

Road Bed Effects $ 45,320,728 123 $ 368,461 24.6

Speed $ 47,238,739 327 $ 144,460 65.4

CBR Derailment Causes 2013-2015Year Date Location Train type Cause

2015 3/5/2015 Galena, IL CBR Broken Rim

2015 2/16/2015 Mt Carbon, WV CBR Vertical Split Head

2015 2/4/2015 Dubuque, IA ethanol Trasverse/compoud fissure

2014 5/9/2014 La Salle, CO CBR Track aligment irregular

2014 4/30/2014 Lynchburg, VA CBR Detail fracture from shell

2014 2/13/2014 Vandergrift, PA CBR Wide Gauge-fasteners T-111

2014 1/31/2014 New Augusta, MS Methanol and Gas Broken base rail

2014 1/28/2014 Mcdavid, FL Phosphoric Acid Detail fracture from shell

2013 12/30/2013 Casselton, ND CBR Broken axle

2013 11/7/2013 Aliceville, AL CBR Could not be determined-track suspected

2013 10/21/2013 Smithboro CBR Bolt crack or break

2013 7/21/2013 Tampa, FL Alcohol Trasverse/compoud fissure

2013 7/17/2013 Buffalo, NY Alcohol Truck bolster stiff

2013 5/20/2013 Bassett, IA Ethanol Extreme enviromental condition

2013 3/27/2013 Parkers Prairie, MN CBR Trasverse/compoud fissure

2012 11/7/2012 Columbus, OH Alcohol Cause under investigation

2012 8/5/2015 Plevna, MT Alcohol Track aligment irregular

Broken Rail represents the largest single category

Rail Failure (Broken rail)

Rail Defect Detection

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• Rail is tested to identify internal defects by using an Ultrasonic Rail Flaw Testing Vehicle

Visual inspection not effective

Risk Reduction Using Improved Testing

• Improved rail test management has shownability to reduce rate of service defects andassociated rail caused derailments– Documented reduction in both service defects

and rail related derailments

• Analysis of risk based testing requirementsshow that selectively increased rail testingcan reduce derailments

• Recently incorporated into FRA track safetystandards

Track Geometry DefectsSurface , warp and twist defects

Excessive Dynamic Response

Track Geometry Parameters

•Surface ( left, right) •Cross-level ( super-elevation)•Twist (warp)•Alignment ( left, right)•Curvature•Gage

Visual Track Inspection

• Visual inspections, continue to be an essential means for assessing track.

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Walking the track

2x week Inspection from TrainHi-Rail Inspection

Track Geometry Inspection Cars• Rail-bound geometry car loads the track

dynamically and measures deviations from railroad standards. – Self propelled or locomotive pulled

• Measurements of gage, profile, cross-level and alignment are compared to regulatory limits.

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Wheel Failure

Wheel failure zones:Thermal cracks: Tread, PlateSurface contact/rolling contact fatigue/spalling: TreadLoose wheel: Hub, BoreExcessive wear: Flange, tread

Broken Wheel

Wheel Inspection• Wheel Impact Load Detector (WILD)

– Measurement of vertical forces exerted by each wheel of a passing train.

• Generated by wheel surface conditions

• Hot Wheel Detector– Overheated wheels

• Wheel profile measurement System– Identify Worn wheels

Broken Axle

Broken Axle and Bearing at B

Axle Fracture Surface

Fatigue fracture surface covered 65% of axle

Bearing Failure

Detected by “Hot Bearing” detector when it overheadsBy Acoustic Bearing detector prior to overheating

Overheated Bearing

Burned Off Journal

Bearing Detectors

• Hot Box detectors (HBD) are designed to monitor axle and bearing temperatures indicating any overheating which could lead to bearing and axle failure– Uses thermal measurement techniques

• Acoustic Bearing Detector designed to monitor roller bearings and identify bearings with internal defects prior to overheating.– Uses acoustic signature analysis techniques

Special Trackwork

Chipped Switchpoint at Point of Derailment

Automated Switch Inspection Vehicle

Broken Switch Point

Frog and wing rails in poor condition

Train Handling In-Train Forces:Buff and Draft

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Train Handling category of derailment causes

Speed

Positive Train Control

Improper/Eccentric Loading

CONCENTRATED LOAD CONCENTRATED LOAD

Improper Switching

Roadbed Defects

Track Buckle

Spring and Suspension Failures