Track safety

Track inspection

The first federal track safety standards were implemented in 1971, following the enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 in which Congress granted to the FRA comprehensive authority over "all areas of railroad safety." A qualified railroad employee, in accordance with a schedule prescribed in these standards (49 CFR 213), must visually inspect all tracks in Iowa. The state of Iowa DOT's track inspectors, working with the Federal Railroad Administration, provide regulatory oversight of the railroad track safety effort to enhance railroad compliance with federal law.

The track inspector territories are roughly divided by a line that runs from Council Bluffs on the western border of Iowa northeast to U.S. 30, then to the Tama area, southeast to Columbus Junction, and then eastward to the Mississippi River. The inspectors occasionally work together and switch territories.

Track inspectors

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The State of Iowa is in Region 6 of the Federal Railroad Administration.  Region 6 covers Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

FRA's State Rail Safety Participation Program

Derailment statistics

2005 Iowa Rail Safety Report