NTSB – Page 8 – Railfanning.org

NTSB to Discuss ‘Most Wanted’ List

October 24, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting on Oct. 28 to review its list of Most Wanted safety recommendations directed at federal agencies. The Most Wanted List was developed in 1990 to focus attention on safety improvements the Board believes will have the greatest impact on transportation safety. Some of the issues to be reviewed this year include runway incursions, positive train control, motor carrier operations and operator fatigue.

NTSB: Rail Fatalities Increased in 2007

October 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON –Rail fatalities increased slightly in 2007 from 2006, according to preliminary figures released by the National Transportation Safety Board. Overall, transportation fatalities in all modes totaled 43,193 in 2007, compared to 45,085 in 2006. “While statistics show that transportation fatalities have declined this past year,” said Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker, “there is still much work to do to prevent the loss of life on our roads, rails, waterways, and skies.” Rail fatalities increased slightly from 774 to 808. The vast majority of these fatalities were people struck by a rail vehicle, the NTSB said. — Railfanning.org News Wire

NTSB: Metrolink Engineer Sent Text Message 22 Seconds Before Fatal Crash

October 1, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES – The engineer of a Metrolink commuter train that crashed head-on with a Union Pacific freight train sent a text message 22 seconds before the wreck, the National Transportation Safety Board said. On Sept. 12, the day of the crash that killed 25 people and injured 130 more, the Metrolink engineer was on duty twice during the day. First, he was responsible for the operation of a train from 6:44 am until 8:53 a.m., and during that time, the engineer’s cell phone received 21 text messages and sent 24 text messages. The engineer was off duty until 2

House Approves Rail Safety Bill; Billions to go to Passenger Rail

September 27, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has approved legislation that proponents say will improve the Nation’s intercity passenger rail system and the safety of the nation’s railroads. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 will increase funding for Amtrak over the next five years, require new safety controls on trains that help reduce crashes, allow states to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines and allocate funding for improvements to Washington’s Metro transit system. The legislation sets “an aggressive deadline” of 2015 for implementation of positive train control (PTC)

No Phones in the Cab of California Trains

September 19, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

SAN FRANCISCO — Metrolink engineers and train operators across the state of California are no longer allowed to use cell phones while in the cab. The California Public Utilities Commission voted to temporarily prohibit the personal use of “commercial mobile radio services and devices” by on-duty railroad engineers, brakemen, conductors or rail transit vehicle operators. Personal communications “that take place when the train or transit vehicle is stopped and with the approval of the appropriate management personnel” is allowed, however. The CPUC determined that this action was needed due to a June 14, 2008, MUNI accident that may have resulted

NTSB: Engineer Sent, Received Texts Prior to Crash

September 17, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES – The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that the engineer of a Metrolink commuter train that crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train sent and received text messages prior to the crash. “NTSB investigators asked for records of the Metrolink engineer’s cell phone calls and text messages from the service provider,” the agency said in a statement. “The Board today received some of those records, which indicate that the engineer had sent and received text messages on the day of the accident, including some while he was on duty.” The Metrolink commuter train and the Union Pacific

Oberstar: Deadly Train Crash was Preventable

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Friday’s fatal Metrolink train crash was preventable, according to Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In the wreck, a Metrolink commuter train collided with a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles, killing 25 people and injuring 135 others. The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095), a bill the House of Representatives passed last year, would require trains to be equipped with Positive Train Control (PTC), a collision avoidance system. PTC has been at the top of the National Transportation Safety Board’s priority list for nearly two

Metrolink Spokeswoman Resigns Following Comments

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES — Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell has resigned following comments she made to reporters in the wake of a fatal wreck. A Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train collided on on Sept. 12 near Chatsworth, Calif., killing 25 people and injuring more than 130 more. Tyrrell and Metrolink quickly blamed human error for the crash, but the National Transportation Safety Board says it is still investigating. “Her teary comments and surprising candor elicited a flood of encouragement from Metrolink staff members and commuters from as far as London and Vietnam,” The Los Angeles Times reported. “By

Conductor May be Key to Metrolink Investigation

September 15, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHATSWORTH, Calif. — Investigators probing a fatal Metrolink crash want to interview the train’s conductor and also hope that recordings of verbal safety checks will help paint a fuller picture of what happened in the moments leading up to the crash. “He’ll be able to tell us whether he recalls the engineer calling out and him confirming those signals,” The Associated Press quoted Kitty Higgins of the National Transportation Safety Board as saying about the conductor. Metrolink has already blamed human error for the Sept. 12 crash that killed 25 people and injured 130 more. However, the National Transportation Safety

Metrolink Engineer May Have Been Texting

September 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHATSWORTH, Calif. — Investigators probing a fatal Metrolink crash are looking into whether the train’s engineer sent a text message just before his train crashed into a parked Union Pacific freight train, according to various media reports. “That would be to me unbelievable,” KTLA quoted Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell as saying. “I cannot imagine a scenario where a Metrolink engineer would be texting someone while driving a train.” Metrolink has already blamed human error for the crash that killed 25 people and injured 130 more. However, the National Transportation Safety Board says it is still investigating. The wreck is said