Voluntary Programs

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the railroad industry share an interest in improving railroad safety.  To that end it sponsors several programs with the industry focused on safety risk reduction.

Pilot Projects  

The Risk Reduction Program supports voluntary projects aimed at reducing accidents, and improving industry safety culture.  Projects the RRP has helped develop include:

• Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), pilot programs with two freight railroads and two passenger railroads
• Building cross-functional risk reduction teams at Amtrak
• Peer-to-Peer based safety program at BNSF
• Programs to mitigate fatigue-caused accidents at Union Pacific Railroad
• Improving rail inspection procedures using new state of the art inspection techniques at CSX and Norfolk Southern
• Eliminating or reducing distractions caused by improper use of electronic devices through peer-to-peer coaching