The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on June 9 announced that it has made an additional recommendation to Safety Advisory 2023-01, originally published on March 3, addressing the use and maintenance of hot bearing detectors (HBDs) in response to the May 10 Norfolk Southern (NS) derailment in New Castle, Penn., which was suspected of being the result of a burnt journal bearing.

According to FRA, preliminary information related to this most recent accident shows that the train involved passed a HBD which alarmed prior to the accident.

Accordingly, FRA has issued this supplemental notice (download below), which adds a fifth recommendation to Safety Advisory 2023-01; Evaluation of Policies and Procedures Related to the Use and Maintenance of Hot Bearing Wayside Detectors, recommending that railroads “take action to evaluate the resiliency and accuracy of the overall process used to monitor and measure bearing health.

FRA Releases Supplemental Advisory Related to Hot Bearing Wayside Detectors