The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) announced Oct. 12 that it ruled that a collision between a pair of Union Pacific trains in Texarkana, Texas, in September 2015 was probably caused by crewmembers who did not respond to wayside signal indicators because they had fallen asleep.
The board also said that the lack of a functioning positive train control was a contributing factor in the collision.
At 12:34 a.m. Sept. 8, 2015, when a westbound UP engine on the Pine Bluff Subdivision struck a northbound UP train that was traveling on the Little Rock Subdivision, the board said.
Data from the locomotive event recorder of the striking train showed that the train slowed from 19 to 6 mph after the engineer applied the emergency brakes, the board said.
The engineer and conductor of the westbound train were treated for minor injuries, and there were no injuries to the crew of the northbound train, the board said.
Both of the westbound train’s locomotives derailed, spilling 4,000 of diesel fuel, while seven cars of the train that was struck left the tracks, the board said.
The NTSB said damage to the trains was estimated at $4.66 million.
The board also announced Oct. 17 that it was to convene Nov. 14 to determine probable cause of a collision that happened April 3, 2016, between an Amtrak train and a backhoe that killed a pair of rail workers who were repairing track ballast in Chester, Pa.
A total of 41 passengers were taken to the hospital after the collision, the board’s preliminary report said.
Tag: NTSB
Union Pacific switchman, Jon Beckman, 48, was killed when he was struck by a train Friday, Sept. 22. He was working in Arlington, Texas when the accident occurred.
Beckman was a member of Local 243 in Ft. Worth, Texas, for 19 years. He served the local as president since 2007 and local chairperson since 2012, and was also the local’s delegate.
The SMART TD National Safety Team has been dispatched to the scene and is helping the NTSB with the investigation.
SMART TD extends its deepest condolences to the Beckman family and to all who knew him.
Forty-two people, including the train engineer, were injured when their SEPTA train crashed into an empty, stopped train inside the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, Pa., shortly after midnight, Tuesday, Aug. 22.
In a statement, SEPTA said that none of the injuries appeared to be life threatening. The train was carrying 41 passengers and the train operator when the crash occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched personnel to the scene to investigate the cause of the accident.
Read more from Philly.com.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Monday, July 31, issued a Safety Alert warning rail workers of the risks of working on the tracks using only a watchman/lookout to provide the train approach warning.
Safety Alert 066 was prompted in part by the deaths of two rail workers who were struck and killed by a train in Edgemont, South Dakota, Jan. 17, 2017. The NTSB investigation found the sight distance used by the watchman/lookout was about half the distance required by federal regulations. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires that workers be able to clear the tracks at least 15 seconds before a train moving at the maximum authorized speed can pass the work location safely.
“The accident cited in this safety alert, and other recent similar accidents, warrant a reminder to railroad employees to remain vigilant for approaching trains – whether they are the watchman/lookout or whether they are working on the tracks,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt. “If a watchman/lookout does not devote his or her full attention to their duty of looking for approaching trains, they might not provide warning of an approaching train with sufficient time for their coworkers to clear the tracks. This alert highlights actions that when followed, will save lives railroad worker lives.’’
Railroad worker safety was previously addressed by the NTSB in its Special Investigation Report on Railroad and Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection.
Click here to read Safety Alert 066: Watchman/Lookout: Your coworkers depend on you.
Two employees of CSX Transportation were struck and killed, Tuesday, June 27, as an Amtrak train approached Union Station in Washington, D.C.
The victims were aboard a CSX freight train approaching the station when an alert instructed the crew to stop and check part of the train, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) official said. The two CSX employees were then struck by the Amtrak train after getting off of their freight train. Of the 121 passengers aboard Amtrak Train 175, no one was hurt.
The identities of the two victims has not yet been released out of respect for the families. The NTSB is still investigating the cause of the accident.
Read more from NBC 4 Washington.
According to 6abc.com, a SEPTA commuter train collision in Upper Darby, Penn. resulted in four injuries, including the train engineer, who was reported to be in critical condition. Names of the injured have not been released; NTSB investigators are on site. Read the complete story here.
CNN reports that a tour bus operated by USA Holiday slammed into the back of a tractor trailer, killing 13 and injuring 31 more. The bus was returning to Los Angeles from a casino Sunday when the crash occurred at approximately 5:15 a.m. The bus operator was killed and the truck driver was injured. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to arrive at the scene of the crash Monday morning to investigate.
Click here to read more from CNN.
In light of the deadly NJT September 29th transit crash in Hoboken, NJ, that killed one person and injured more than 100, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, the top-ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate subcommittee that oversees passenger rail safety, and U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, the top-ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate mass transit subcommittee, submitted a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx , calling for DOT to investigate the long list of safety violations, accidents and apparent systemic failures that have plagued the NJT in recent years. The NTSB is currently investigation the crash. Read the complete article posted in NJ.com, here.
Separate rules increase protections, add Maintenance of Way workers to drug and alcohol testing policy
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced it has issued two final rules to better protect railroad employees working on or near railroad tracks. One rule amends the existing Roadway Worker Protection regulation. The second rule, Control of Alcohol and Drug Use, revises FRA’s existing alcohol and drug testing regulations and expands the requirements to now cover maintenance of way (MOW) employees. The second rule fulfills a requirement of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
“Clear communication, multiple layers of safety and a rigorous alcohol and drug testing policy are critical to keep workers along and near tracks—and ultimately passengers and train crews—out of harm’s way,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “These are common sense rules that will help make our railroads safer.”
The Roadway Worker Protection final rule amendments will: (1) resolve different interpretations that have emerged since the rule went into effect nearly 20 years ago; (2) implement FRA’s Railroad Safety Advisory Committee’s (RSAC) consensus recommendations; (3) codify certain FRA Technical Bulletins; (4) codify a FAST Act mandate by adopting new requirements governing redundant signal protections; (5) address the safe movement of roadway maintenance machinery over signalized non-controlled track (not under a dispatcher’s control); and (6) amend certain qualification requirements for roadway workers.
The latest amendments require that job briefings include information for roadway worker groups on the accessibility of the roadway worker in charge; set standards for how “occupancy behind” train authorities (when the authority for a work crew does not begin until the train has passed the area) can be used; and require annual training for any individual serving as a roadway worker in charge.
In addition to the existing requirement to have a primary means of protection by establishing working limits and a requirement that all affected roadway workers be notified before working limits are released, FRA’s rule changes will now require another level of redundant signal protection.
“These new rules add another layer of protection for workers who work along and near railroad tracks and will help us reduce preventable worker injuries and fatalities,” said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg.
In response to both a congressional mandate and a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation, FRA is broadening the scope of its existing drug and alcohol testing regulation to cover MOW employees. Currently, a MOW employee is only drug and alcohol tested when he or she has died as a result of an accident or incident. MOW employees will now be fully subject to FRA’s drug and alcohol testing that includes random testing, post-accident testing, reasonable suspicion testing, reasonable cause testing, pre-employment testing, return-to-duty testing and follow-up testing.
“Whether you are an engineer, conductor or someone working alongside the tracks, safety requires alertness. Any reduction in awareness caused by drugs or alcohol use can often be the difference between life and death,” Feinberg added.
The Control of Alcohol and Drug Use rule, which also clarifies interpretations since the testing rule went into effect in 1986, includes other substantive changes. In response to another NTSB recommendation, the rule changes will now allow drug testing of railroad and MOW employees that are believed to have caused an incident at a railroad crossing.
The final Roadway Worker Protection rule is effective April 1, 2017. The Control of Alcohol and Drug Use goes into effect one year after publication.
Read the rules:
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a board meeting (webcasted live) yesterday, detailing the probable cause of the May 2015 Amtrak train 188 derailment outside of Philadelphia.
The derailment caused eight people to lose their lives and over 200 injuries. The NTSB found that “the probable cause of the accident was the engineer’s acceleration to 106 miles per hour as he entered a curve with a 50 mile per hour speed restriction, due to his loss of situational awareness likely because his attention was diverted to an emergency situation with another train. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a positive train control (PTC) system. Contributing to the severity of the injuries was the inadequate requirements for occupant protection in the event of a train overturning.”
The NTSB also made numerous recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Amtrak, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Association of American Railroads (AAR), Philadelphia first responders, Philadelphia’s mayor and National first responders organizations based on the accident and their findings.
The NTSB recommended to the FRA that they consider requiring railroads to install procedures where no PTC is present; modify existing regulations to include the number of crewmembers required in the cab of the locomotive and use the data regarding the number of crewmembers in the controlling cab of the train at the time of an accident to evaluate safety adequacy of current crew size regulations; and conduct research to evaluate the causes of passenger injuries and evaluate methods for mitigating those injuries such as the use of seat belts and implement any findings.
The NTSB recommended to Amtrak that they incorporate training strategies for operating crewmembers and new hires to recognize and effectively manage multiple concurrent tasks in prolonged, atypical situations.
Click here to read a summary of the NTSB’s findings.
Click here to read NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart’s opening statement.
Click here to read the presentation given by the NTSB.
Click here to read Hart’s closing statement.
Click here to view the webcast.