As those of you who read my posts on the Lac Megantic disaster where 47 people were incinerated by a “bomb train” that derailed in the middle of town, brakes on trains are complicated and often fallible safety devices. This is how they work: A brake pipe runs the length of the train which supplies air to reservoirs mounted on each of the cars.
Human errors lead to a fatal 2017 train accident in South Dakota that killed two BNSF roadway workers, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), but the agency ultimately lays the blame on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), for its inconsistent enforcement of federal regulations.
Excessive rainfall that washed out a portion of the track was one of the factors in a June 22, 2018 train accident that released more than a quarter of a million gallons of crude oil into the Little Rock River, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
OSHA is seeking comments to a proposed rule regarding railroad construction equipment provisions in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard. The agency says the proposed rule, which was published yesterday, would maintain safety and health protections for workers, and address employers’ compliance burdens.
Last month, without any warning or explanation, Vanessa Sutherland announced her resignation as Chair of the Chemical Safety Board. Earlier this week we learned why. More money and more love.
OSHA is inviting public participation in an upcoming stakeholder meeting on whistleblower practices and experiences related to the railroad and trucking industries. The two industries combined accounted for the largest number of whistleblower complaints filed with OSHA in 2017.
Criminal charges have been dropped against Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA), according to Quebec’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), for causing the deaths of 47 people when 73 cars of highly combustible crude oil derailed in the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic in 2013 turning the downtown into a raging inferno.
On November 14, 2017, the day before our Most Wanted List (MWL) progress meeting, we concluded our investigation into the April 2016 Amtrak train derailment in Chester, Pennsylvania. As I offer the closing words of this blog series highlighting the progress made to address issues on our list, the NTSB is presently investigating the December 2017 Amtrak train derailment in DuPont, Washington, and the February 2018 Amtrak train and CSX freight train collision near Cayce, South Carolina.
Police don’t think alcohol or drugs were a factor in an incident Sunday in Westland, Michigan in which a pedestrian was hit by a train. A cell phone was to blame.
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on the January 31 in Virginia collision between a garbage truck and an Amtrak passenger train indicates that witnesses said the garbage truck entered the crossing after the gates were down.
