Safety
NTSB Chair: No more delays on railway safety
(Source: The State opinion column by NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt, February 20, 2018) COLUMBIA, S.C. — Although the investigation is ongoing into the tragic Amtrak passenger train crash in Cayce, we knew immediately that a rail switch had been improperly set, diverting the Amtrak into a siding occupied by a stationary CSX train. Full story: The…
Read MorePTC hearing: Amtrak to suspend operations over non-compliant routes after 2018
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/16/2018) Amtrak will consider suspending service on tracks that don’t have positive train control (PTC) in place by the Dec. 31 deadline, the railroad’s president told a House subcommittee yesterday. President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson told the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials that there will be carriers over which Amtrak…
Read MoreUP says PTC to be ready in 2020
(Source: Associated Press, February 7, 2018) OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific says it expects to finish installing and testing a new automatic braking system on the railroad by the end of 2020. Full story: www.usnews.com Thursday, February 08, 2018
Read MoreNTSB: Sleep apnea probable cause of NJ Transit, LIRR accidents
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/07/2018) Two commuter-rail accidents at train stations in the New York City were caused by engineer fatigue resulting from undiagnosed sleep apnea, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined yesterday. The Sept. 29, 2016, accident involving a New Jersey Transit train at the terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, killed one person and injured 110. The MTA Long…
Read MoreNTSB preliminary report says PTC likely would have prevented Washington state Amtrak derailment; Damage estimate tops $40 million
(Source: Reuters, January 4, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The damage from a deadly Amtrak train crash in Washington state in December topped $40.4 million, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on Thursday. The safety board also said the crash that killed three and injured 70 could have been prevented if…
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