Review - FRA Publishes Hot Bearing Wayside Detector Safety Advisory Update

Today, the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a safety advisory update in the Federal Register (89 FR 58243-58245) on “Safety Advisory 2023-01; Evaluation of Policies and Procedures Related to the Use and Maintenance of Hot Bearing Wayside Detectors (Second Supplement)”. The original advisory was published on March 3^rd, 2023 and then updated on June 14^th, 2024. This latest supplement expands on the recommendations to incorporate the findings of FRA's ongoing evaluations by emphasizing:

•The importance of trend analysis and the opportunity to integrate wayside detector data types to evaluate railcar health,

•The need to establish and follow appropriate processes in analyzing and responding to HBD data,

•The need for railroads to ensure that adequate staff are assigned to monitor and respond to wayside detector data, and

•The need for railroads to maximize the use of HBD data, including sharing wayside detector data between railroads, as a train travels from one railroad's tracks to another railroad's track.

 

For more information on today’s supplement, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/fra-publishes-hot-bearing-wayside - subscription required.