TSB Chair Fox wants Canada to restrict rail workers' alcohol intake before they report for work
4/3/2024
By Julie Sneider, Senior Editor
Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) Chair Kathy Fox hopes the board’s findings in a CN derailment investigation will help lead to a new federal policy that restricts certain railway employees’ alcohol intake before reporting for work.
Fox would like to see a policy for railroading similar to one Canada transportation regulators now enforce for the aviation industry.
Last month, the TSB issued a report on its investigation of a head-on collision between two CN trains near Prescott, Ontario, in September 2021. The incident occurred when a CN intermodal train was traveling west on the north main track of the Kingston subdivision where a hand-operated switch provides access to an industrial spur track in Prescott. The train was supposed to pass the switch and continue on the north main track to Toronto. However, having received permission from the rail traffic controller (RTC) to enter the north main track, the crew of another CN train, on an industrial switching assignment, had reversed the switch to the industrial spur.
Approaching the switch, the intermodal train crew realized that the switch had been reversed, so they activated the emergency brake but the train was unable to stop. The two trains then collided head-on. As a result, four locomotives (two on each train) derailed and sustained significant damage.
Derailed rolling stock and damaged track are shown after the collision between two CN trains in September 2021. Transportation Safety Board of Canada report, Ontario Provincial PoliceTwo crew members had minor injuries, and one crew member was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries.
An impact on job performance
The TSB found a complex mix of reasons for the accident, but one factor was that the RTC had consumed alcohol sometime before he reported to work that day. After testing for alcohol in his system — as required by CN policy — it was determined the RTC’s performance and level of attention were likely affected by the effects of the alcohol he consumed.
Although railroads have their own zero-tolerance workplace policies related to alcohol and drug use, Canada’s federal rail industry regulations do not prescribe an amount of time when railway employees in safety critical roles must abstain from drinking alcohol.
Fox believes this case underscores the need for Canada’s rail safety regulations to include a measure that restricts alcohol consumption by employees prior to reporting for duty.
“This accident occurred as a result of a convergence of many factors, including the fact that the rail traffic controller was busy with a complex workload and was conducting many concurrent tasks,” Fox said in a recent interview with RailPrime. “That being said, there is an assumption and a requirement for employees to be fit for duty when they show up for work.”
CN policy says that being fit for duty includes being free of the negative effects of alcohol, cannabis and other drugs. They and other major railways have prohibitions — zero tolerance for impairment. But there's no federal requirement in Canada that prohibits railway workers from drinking during a prescribed period of time before assuming safety critical duties, Fox says.
“We know that people who may be recovering from a certain level of alcohol may not be the best judge of their fitness for duty.” — Kathy Fox, chair, Transportation Safety Board of Canada Transportation Safety Board of CanadaBy comparison, Canada's aviation regulations require that aircraft crew members are not allowed to work within 12 hours after consuming alcohol; traffic controllers or flight service specialists cannot work within 8 hours after drinking.
Fox is careful to say that the TSB did not conclude that the alcohol in the RTC’s system caused the accident. It did conclude, however, that his job performance and attention level were impacted by the persistent effects of alcohol consumption.
“In this case, we cited it as a causal or contributing factor. And because it's associated with no time prohibition between consuming alcohol and working, that's why we issued our safety concern,” she says.
Without a federal regulation, it’s left up to employees to judge whether the alcohol consumed before work has impacted their ability to do their job.
“It’s still based on a self-assessment of fitness for duty, and we know that people who may be recovering from a certain level of alcohol may not be the best judge of their fitness for duty under those circumstances,” Fox explains.
U.S. limits alcohol use prior to reporting for work
In the United States, the Federal Railroad Administration prohibits “regulated” employees from having alcohol or controlled substances while at work. In addition, they cannot report for or remain on duty while under the influence or impaired by alcohol; have a 0.04 or more alcohol concentration in the breath or blood; or are under the influence of or impaired by any controlled substance. Moreover, such employees may not use alcohol within four hours of reporting for service or after receiving notice to report for duty.
Regulated employees include those who work under hours-of-service laws and/or are maintenance-of-way workers, mechanical inspectors, train-and-engine employees, dispatchers, and signal employees.
TSB: Limited data in the rail realm
The TSB regularly considers drug and alcohol impairment as part of its transportation accident investigations, but the data on rail operations is “quite limited,” the board’s report states. Since 1995, the board has just four investigations in its database involving the presence and/or influence of drugs or alcohol for rail employees working in safety-critical roles. So, because they lacked more data on the matter, the TSB members didn’t take the formal action of issuing an official recommendation to Canada’s Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez to make regulatory changes. However, the board has communicated its concerns that the lack of a specific time period for alcohol consumption — like the aviation industry has — could impact railway safety in Canada. Issuing a “safety concern” versus a “recommendation” is a bit of a nuance, Fox acknowledges.
“But [we’re] simply saying, ‘Look, we’ve identified a safety deficiency here,’” she adds.
Under the nation’s Railway Safety Act, the minister of transport has the authority to implement regulations or rules restricting alcohol or drug use.
Fox hopes the board’s findings in the CN case will encourage Rodriguez to consider proposing a new rule or regulation — perhaps one like what the government now requires in aviation.
“It’s important to emphasize that the railways do have comprehensive policies with respect to impairment,” Fox concludes. “But we believe that action by the regulator could carry greater weight in terms of consequences.”
