The railroad’s personal injury rate improved for the fifth straight quarter, while the train accident rate declined compared to last year and the second quarter, CSX noted in its third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.
“The safety of our employees is my No. 1 priority,” CEO Jim Foote says.
“We made some good progress this quarter and we need to sustain this momentum,” he says. “The personal injury rate this quarter is encouraging, but we must improve our train accident rate.”
CSX in May tapped a consulting firm to evaluate and improve its safety programs. It also hired a new safety officer to oversee its safety efforts.
CSX’s train accident rate increased 73 percent from 2013 through 2017, while the employee personal injury frequency rate rose 38 percent over the same five-year period, according to a review of the safety figures the railroad reports quarterly alongside its financial results.
CSX’s train accident rate — the lowest among the Class I railroads in 2013 — was the highest among the big six systems in 2017, according to Federal Railroad Administration data.
The vast majority of CSX’s train accidents, as holds true for the industry as a whole, occur at low speed in yards and did not involve injuries or significant damage, the FRA data show.
But high-profile wrecks — like the fatal Silver Star collision in February and the derailment of a long train that forced the evacuation of 900 residents of Hyndman, Pa., in August 2017 — often indicate deeper safety problems, railroad safety experts have said.
Earlier this year, FRA was becoming increasingly concerned with safety trends at CSX.
