Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the adequacy of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) enforcement program, focusing on its: (1) compliance with safety regulations; (2) implementation; and (3) timeliness in reviewing, transmitting, and settling penalties.
GAO found that FRA: (1) did not effectively ensure compliance with federal safety regulations through its enforcement program; (2) identified an increasing number of safety defects and violations despite an overall decline in railroad equipment, track, and employment; (3) repeatedly identified the same types of safety problems at the same railroads, including defective track, cracked or broken bars, disregard of operating rules and practices, and unsafe locomotives; (4) inspectors did not uniformly apply safety rules and regulations; (5) did not timely review, transmit, and settle civil penalties, partly due to a backlog of about 24,000 violations; and (6) could adopt a speedier civil penalty process by having its regional offices formally notify railroads of violations and penalty assessments, and eliminating the need for the Office of Chief Counsel's review.
