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three million dollars in 1966. They do not include the damage to freight resulting from train accidents which, in 1966, cost over eighteen million dollars; and they do not include the railroads' personal injury costs-which amounted to over 108 million dollars. The total of these items for the year 1966, including damage to equipment and roadbed, clearing wrecks, freight damage, and personal injury charges, was $249,078,523. An additional 47 million dollars is estimated to be the cost of railroad employee man-days of work lost. Table 33 compares this amount with the Interstate Commerce Commission appropriations for railroad safety in the fiscal year ended June 30, 1966, which was only $3,257,650-1.1 per cent of the estimate of railroad accident costs.

SUMMARY

In conclusion, we would remind the members of the Committee that the causes of most railroad accidents are not uncorrectable; they all result, in one way or another, from circumstances largely under the control of railroad corporation managements. These corporations could keep their track and equipment in safe condition. They could keep available maintenance forces for that purpose and could employ adequate forces for operating safety. But the balance sheet which dictates the decision to do so or not to do so is in the hands of the financial officials of the companies, and not in those of maintenance and operating officials. Tighter supervision and inspection practices controlled by government authority and implemented by stronger monetary penalties can do a great deal to change the direction of such decisions in the future. The stakes are high in monetary terms, as the figures above demonstrate. But they are immeasurable in terms of human life and suffering.

TABLE 1.-NUMBER OF FREIGHT CARS OWNED, CLASS I RAILROADS, 1930-66

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Source: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Transportation and Statistics of Railroads of Class I.

95-388-68

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TABLE 3.-NEW RAILS AND CROSSTIES LAID, CLASS I RAILROADS, 1930-66

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Source: Interstate Commerce Commission, Transport Statistics in the United States.

TABLE 4.-MILEAGE PROTECTED BY CENTRALIZED TRAFFIC CONTROL, ALL RAILWAYS IN THE UNITED STATES, SELECTED YEARS, 1929-66

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Note: Includes both line-haul and switching and terminal companies.

Source: Carriers' exhibit 15, p. 45, before Emergency Board No. 164; Interstate Commerce Commission, Bureau of Railroad Safety and Service, Annual Report, fiscal years ended June 30, 1964, 1965, and 1966; Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration.

TABLE 5.-RADIO INSTALLATIONS, CLASS I AND II LINE-HAUL RAILROADS AND SWITCHING AND TERMINAL COMPANIES, SELECTED YEARS, 1948-62

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Percent of locomotives

TABLE 6.-DEFECTIVE FREIGHT CARS AND LOCOMOTIVES, ALL U.S. RAILROADS, 1931-40 AND 1955 66

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Steam locomotives

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Source of basic data: Annual reports of the Section of Railroad Safety, Bureau of Railroad Safety and Service of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

TABLE 7.-LOCOMOTIVE DEFECTS REPORTED BY DISTRICT LOCOMOTIVE INSPECTORS ON RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES 1955-67 1

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Source: Interstate Commerce Commission, Annual Reports of the Director of Locomotive Inspection; Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration.

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