Year: 2009

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Commuter Rail

NTSB: Fatigue Played Role in 2008 MBTA Trolley Wreck

July 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board  determined that the two-train collision on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line last year occurred as a result of the trolley operator’s failure to obey a signal indication likely because she became disengaged from her environment consistent with experiencing an episode of micro-sleep. The lack of a positive train control system, which would have intervened to stop the train and prevented the collision, was cited as a contributing factor. At 5:51 PM EDT, on May 28, 2008, an MBTA Green Line train, traveling westbound at about 38 mph, struck the rear
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NTSB

NTSB Investigating DM&E Wreck

July 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
BETTENDORF, Iowa — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a railroad accident that occurred in Iowa this morning (July 14). At 2:10 AM CDT, in Bettendorf, Iowa, a Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad freight train struck a group of cars in a rail yard after crossing through a switch that was not lined for the main line, derailing 8 cars and 2 locomotives. Two crewmembers were fatally injured.
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CSX

CSX: Safety Levels Strong, Contributing to Favorable Casualty Reserve Adjustment

July 13, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. announced second quarter earnings of $308 million, or 78 cents a share, versus $385 million, or 93 cents a share, last year. Excluding the impact of discontinued operations related to The Greenbrier resort, earnings per share from continuing operations declined 24 percent from 95 cents to 72 cents. Second quarter revenues of $2.2 billion were down 25 percent from the prior year, primarily due to a 21 percent decline in volume and lower fuel surcharge recovery. Volumes continued to decline across the board, although the rate of decline in the coal market accelerated in the
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Commuter Rail

NTSB Issues ‘Urgent Safety Recommendation’ to Washington Metro

July 13, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board issued an “urgent safety recommendation” to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) calling for enhanced safety redundancy of its train control system. “A recent accident on the Metrorail’s Red Line between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations has shown that WMATA’s train control system is susceptible to a single point failure because it did not fail safe and stop a train when detection of a preceding train was lost,” they NTSB said in a statement. “The urgent safety recommendation issued today calls for WMATA to evaluate track occupancy data on a real-time
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Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific Offer Refrigerated Trailer Shippers the Rail Industry’s Fastest Intermodal Delivery From Los Angeles to Atlanta With New Expedited Service

July 13, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad announced they have launched a new expedited intermodal service specifically designed for refrigerated trailer shippers between Los Angeles and Atlanta. This new service gives customers the option to have their refrigeration units serviced during the stop in El Paso, Texas, significantly reducing the risk of protective service failure during transit. New rail customers will find this premier service a seamless shift from over-the-road transportation by providing truck-like speed (more than 500 miles per day) and reliability. This is the industry’s fastest intermodal service between Los Angeles and Atlanta, the railroads said.
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Miscellaneous

Three WDW Cast Members on Leave Following Deadly Monorail Crash

July 9, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Three Walt Disney World resort employees are on leave following a monorail crash between two trains that left one of the drivers dead, CNN reported. The network’s Web site quoted a Disney spokesman as saying the action is “part of an investigative process, not a disciplinary action.” The three employees include a manager, the pilot of the second monorail train and a maintenance shop cast member. The manager was at an off-site restaurant at the time of the crash, WESH-TV reported. On July 5, Monorail Pink backed into another train, Monorail Purple, near the Ticket
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Amtrak

Five Killed at Mich. Grade Crossing

July 9, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Five people were killed today when they drove around the gates of a grade crossing and their car was struck by an approaching Amtrak train, police said. “It looks like they probably did go around the arm,” The Associated Press quoted Sgt. Mark Gajeski as saying. “They went around the gate.” All five victims are believed to be teenagers. According to published reports, the crossing’s gate and flashing lights appeared to be working at the time of the wreck. “There is every indication the train crew was doing exactly what it should have been doing and
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Commuter Rail

Washington Metro: No Texting for Operators

July 9, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — Following a string of embarrassments, including a YouTube video that showed a subway operator texting, Washington Metro has adopted a zero tolerance policy on operator use of cell phones, texting devices. Metrobus and Metrorail operators caught using a cell phone, texting or using a PDA while operating a vehicle will be fired under the new policy announced by Metro General Manager John Catoe. The new policy will take effect on Monday, July 13. “There is no excuse for anyone who is operating a Metrobus or Metrorail train to be using a cell phone or texting other than for
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Commuter Rail

DART Testing Trains on Green Line

July 8, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
Image courtesy DART DALLAS — With only weeks remaining until the 2.7-mile Green Line light rail corridor opens, DART is conducting train tests and warning residents to keep an eye open for trains. The Green Line light rail corridor runs between the Pearl Station and MLK, Jr. Station near Fair Park. The tests will be conducted on an almost daily basis until the section opens September 14. The tests are designed to evaluate the operation of the new light rail track and to familiarize rail operators with the operating characteristics of the trains on the new line. At other crossings