Commuter Rail
NTSB
Commuter Rail
Deaths Reported Following Metrolink Crash
LOS ANGELES – At least a half-dozen people died following an accident involving a Metrolink passenger train and freight train. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team of investigators to Chatsworth, California to investigate the fatal crash.
FRA
FRA Joins Norfolk Southern in Research of Battery Powered Electric Locomotives
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is awarding a $50,000 grant to Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) to support the railroad’s effort to design a prototype battery powered electric locomotive which can reduce emissions and lower fuel costs. The grant funds will be used to design the lead-acid battery packaging system and perform Failure Modes and Effects Analysis to address potential safety risks associated with the high voltages and electric current arising from large numbers of batteries cabled together. The technology is being developed for locomotives used in rail yard switching operations. In addition, NS is providing $65,000 toward this
Commuter Rail
Heavy Traffic, Complex Rail Crossing Played Role in 2005 Collision
ELMWOOD PARK, Ill. — The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of an accident that occurred at a highway-railroad grade crossing in Elmwood Park, Ill., was a combination of factors including the intersection angle, the heavy holiday traffic and the complex street and rail pattern and related signal interactions at the intersection. “Despite the efforts of state and local authorities to address the safety concerns at this large and complicated grade crossing with a variety of signage and technology improvements, this accident occurred because these changes still failed to prevent vehicles from being trapped inside the crossing
Legislation
Senate Committee Reschedules NTSB Hearing
WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces that the Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee NTSB Reauthorization Hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. June 5 has been postponed. A new date and time for the hearing will be announced as soon as it is available. The hearing is expected to focus on the activities of the NTSB and its legislative reauthorization proposal. The NTSB’s current authorization expires on Sept. 30. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., will chair the hearing.
Legislation
Commerce Committee Announces NTSB Reauthorization Hearing
WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee will hold an NTSB reauthorization hearing. The hearing will focus on the activities of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and its legislative reauthorization proposal. The NTSB’s current authorization expires on Sept. 30. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., will chair the hearing, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 5.
Commuter Rail
MBTA Commuter Trains Collide
BOSTON — Two Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trains collided near Newton, Mass. The National Transportation Safety Board is dispatching a Go Team to investigate the collision. NTSB Rail Investigator Wayne Workman will serve as Investigator-in-Charge and lead the 7-member team. Board Member Kitty Higgins will accompany the team and serve as spokesman for the on-scene investigation.
NTSB
Rosenker: Safety Up, but Still Room for Improvement
WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker told members of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) that, while grade crossing accidents and railroad employee fatality rates have declined in the past quarter century, there is still room for improvement. Addressing rail executives at the AAR’s annual safety awards luncheon, Rosenker called upon attendees to move more quickly on safety improvements by adopting new technology, such as positive train control and electronically controlled pneumatic braking, two of the technologies that show great promise for improving safety. “As many of you know,” Rosenker stated, “I strongly believe that the
Norfolk Southern
NTSB: Inadequate Rail Inspection to Blame for 2006 NS Derailment
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern Railroad’s inadequate rail inspection and maintenance program resulted in a rail fracture from an undetected internal defect, which is to blame for an October 2006 derailment. Contributing to the accident was the Federal Railroad Administration’s inadequate oversight of the internal rail inspection process and its insufficient requirements for internal rail inspection. On Oct. 20, 2006, a Norfolk Southern freight train (68QB119), en route from the Chicago area to Sewaren, N.J., derailed while crossing the Beaver River railroad bridge in New Brighton, P.a. The train consisted of a three-unit locomotive pulling three empty freight cars and 83 tank