A safety advisory is being issued by FRA and PHMSA as a reminder to railroads that are operating a "high hazard flammable train" (HHFT) that in the event of an accident PHMSA and/or FRA personnel may require certain information during the course of the investigation.
— and thus should be provided as expeditiously as possible, upon request:
- Information on the train consist, including the train number, locomotive(s),locomotives as distributed power, end-of-train device information, number andposition of tank cars in the train, tank car reporting marks, and the tank carspecifications and relevant attributes3 of the tank cars in the train.
- Waybill (origin and destination) information
- The Safety Data Sheet(s) (SDS), or any other document used to provide comprehensive emergency response and incident mitigation information.
- Results of any product testing undertaken prior to transportation that was used to properly characterize the Class 3 flammable liquids for transportation (initial testing).
- Results from any analysis of product samples (taken prior to being offered into transportation) from tank car(s) involved in the derailment.
- Date of acceptance as required to be noted on shipping papers under 49 CFR §174.24.
- If a flammable liquid is involved, the type of liquid and the name and location of the company extracting the material.4
- The identification of the company having initial testing performed (sampling and analysis of material) and information on the lab (if external) conducting the analysis.
- Name and location of the company transporting the material from well head to loading facility or terminal.
- Name and location of the company that owns and that operates the terminal or loading facility that loaded the product for rail transportation.
- Name of the Railroad(s) handling the tank car(s) at any time from point of origin to destination and a timeline of handling changes between railroads.
A high hazard train can either be a train that is comprised of 20 or more tank cars that are loaded with Class 3 flammable liquid in a continuous block or a train comprised of 35 or more tank cars loaded with Class 3 flammable liquids across the entire train.
