The National Transportation Safety Board, in its investgation into the April 3, 2016 fatal train accident involving Amtrak train 89 and maintenance-of-way equipment at Chester, Pa., made some damning determinations. I do mean damning, as in “leave your pass with the secretary, clean out your desk, and get off the property” damning.
I read with interest Railway Age’s most recent reporting of the failure of Amtrak’s safety culture. From a retired employee’s perspective, let’s admit that the “S” in safety is a dollar sign. Railroads institutionally (not just Amtrak) preach safety but practice inconsistency when it comes to implementation.
The NTSB analysis of the 2016 Amtrak backhoe accident on the Northeast Corridor at Chester, Pa., that killed two m/w workers and injured 39 has missed the mark. This incident is by no means the first of its kind.
For 54 weeks beginning in 2003, Roger Nober was the lone member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), tormented that if he discussed cases with himself he would violate the Government in Sunshine Act, which prohibits a quorum from discussing anything of substance outside a properly noticed public meeting.
The probability of a national railroad strike has likely been reduced to single digits with ratification of a new national wage, benefits and work rules agreement by four rail unions comprising more than half of unionized rail workers.
In October, I made a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to the Federal Railroad Administration for specific information regarding PTC performance on U.S. railroads. I received a reply on Nov. 21:
Hello, J.D. Congratulations on your retirement. I’ve missed working with you, and the GAS man, and AFF, and all, I mean all the others, all these years.
As many of you may know, I’m a motorsports fan. I’m pretty happy today, because the driver from my home state of New Jersey who I have been following since he entered NASCAR’s top-tier Cup series a few years ago, Martin Truex Jr., won his first championship in an exciting race at Homestead Miami Speedway on Nov. 19.
I spent three hours viewing the video archive of the Nov. 14, 2017 National Transportation Safety Board meeting convened to review and approve the findings, probable cause and safety recommendations developed from NTSB investigation into the April 3, 2016 collision of Amtrak 89 with M/W equipment at Chester, Pa., on the Northeast Corridor.
2018 will likely see a federal infrastructure bill introduced in Congress, nearly all of which will be related to transportation. If the mid-1950s process that led to the Interstate Highway System, which has been described as the largest public works project in history, is any guide to the future, what will the new bill look like?