The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that a derailment at Paulsboro Bridge in New Jersey, which resulted in a hazardous material release occurred because Consolidated Rail Corporation rules allowed the train to proceed past a red signal onto a movable bridge without the rail slide locks being fully engaged. Investigators determined that Conrail relied on a training and qualification program that did not prepare the train crew to adequately examine the bridge lock system.
Contributing to the accident was the lack of a comprehensive safety management program. Such a program would have identified multiple bridge malfunctions, which had been increasing in frequency, and mitigated the risks associated with the continued operation of the bridge.
“The stakes are too high to leave multiple malfunctions uncorrected without a robust process that adequately mitigates the increased risk,” said Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart. “And that starts at the top. In this case, the red signal was correct. Inadequate bridge inspection procedures – compounded by the lack of a safety management system - were the problem.”