New Audit Announcements

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Defective track conditions result in 30 percent of all reportable railroad accidents and are one of the most frequent causes of derailments according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Since 1974, FRA’s Automated Track Inspection Program (ATIP) has conducted operational surveys of the U.S. rail transportation network to determine railroads’ compliance with Federal Track Safety Standards. Currently, FRA uses ATIP technology to collect data on the highest risk routes—such as those that carry passengers or hazardous materials—and uses these data to generate diagnostics notifying railroads of major safety risks and supporting track safety research. Given the continuing safety impact of track defects and track safety-related technological changes in recent years, we are initiating an audit to evaluate FRA’s use of automated inspections to aid in track safety oversight.