U.S. blames rail workers for deadly train crash
29 Nov 2005 23:27:01 GMT
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Freight railroads should locate tankers hauling toxic chemicals toward the rear of trains or take other steps to minimize the crash impact in a derailment, U.S. transportation safety investigators said on Tuesday.
The recommendation to regulators came as the National Transportation Safety Board blamed rail workers for an improperly aligned track switch that led to the deadly collision of two freight trains last January in South Carolina.
The crash punctured a Norfolk Southern Railway Co. tank car carrying chlorine, releasing a gas cloud that settled over the town of Graniteville, killing the train's engineer and eight other people.
More than 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes for several days, hundreds complaining of breathing problems, officials said.
Investigators found the crew of the train struck on a siding while idle and unoccupied failed to tend to a switch that would have kept the Norfolk Southern train traveling on the main track.
"Contributing to the accident was the absence of any feature or mechanism that would have reminded crewmembers of the switch position," the safety board said.
The tanker carrying chlorine -- the ninth of 42 freight cars of the Norfolk Southern train -- was pierced on its side by the coupler of the 11th car.
The safety board recommended regulators make railroads minimize the potential consequences of a derailment. This could include placing tanker cars loaded with toxic material toward the rear of a train and making trains hauling such cargo go slower through populated areas.
The Norfolk Southern train was traveling at 47 mph.
Your train wreck is interesting, could be a simple accident or a planned one.......LOL, still don't know the answer.