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Volpe Center Highlights - September/October 2003

Safety

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment
Security | Organizational Excellence | Awards | Published and Presented

Sharing Rail Safety Research with South Korea (FRA)

Representatives of the South Korean National Railroad Education Center visited the Volpe Center on July 17 and 18, 2003, to discuss rail fire safety. Messrs. Wonyoung Lee, Suggui Kang, and Yongsam Kim met with Volpe staff regarding rail car material fire hazards as well as aspects of human-centered safety activities focusing on passenger evacuation and rescue. Messrs. Lee, Kang, and Kim are members of a team formed in response to a South Korean subway fire on February 18, 2003, that resulted in almost 200 deaths and more than 150 injuries. They are working to prevent human error in railroads through education, training, and the development of laws for railroad safety.

Dr. Donald Sussman, Chief of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division, and Ms. Stephanie Markos, Railroad Systems Division, hosted the visit, which was coordinated with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Ms. Markos provided an overview of the FRA regulations related to fire safety and the FRA-sponsored fire research program. The fire research program has investigated an alternative fire performance evaluation methodology based on Heat Release Rate and computer modeling. The preliminary results of passenger rail fire hazard analyses indicate that the proposed alternative test method could provide more accurate and cost-effective material fire performance screening. Ms. Markos and Mr. John Pollard, Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division, also provided an overview of the FRA regulations and research program related to emergency evacuation and rescue. The results of ongoing Volpe research have been incorporated into FRA regulations, as well as American Public Transportation Association Passenger Rail Equipment Safety Standards and recommended practices for emergency signs and emergency lighting.

As chair of the Transportation Research Board's Subcommittee on Railroad Operational Safety, Dr. Sussman arranged for the South Korean team to attend the midyear meeting of the subcommittee on July 15 and 16, 2003, in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, Mr. Wonyoung Lee was accepted for membership in the subcommittee.

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