Reliable sources indicate the coupling speed was 12 MPH.
From what I understand any coupling speed over 10 mph can cause a derailment so I am not surprised that the coupling speed was reportedly 12 mph. I wonder why the speed was so high as the locomotive approached a standing train?
The Fox 5 10 PM news on February 7 showed what looked like a MARC AEM 7 and an HHP 8 which looked like a MARC engine, and the HHP 8 seemed to have gotten the worst of it. The train that was impacted was a Penn Line MARC train which operates in a push-pull mode with the engine pusing toward Washington. In any event this was a case of an Amtrak collision even though MARC equipment was involved because the Maryland Transportation Administration, which runs MARC, contracts with Amtrak to operate MARC’s Penn Line which provides commuter serviice over the Northeast Corridor from Washington through Baltimore to Perryville, MD.
Four MPH is usually the upper limit - and that’s still a pretty solid hit.
The crew that made the joint at more than 4 mph is so fired!
Now that the feds are involved, the railroad investigation is going to look like Judge Roy Bean, Law West of the Pecos. [X-)]
We can reasonably infer that the switch crew involved in the incident will get some time off. The length of that suspension and whether or not they get fired will depend on a lot of other factors of which we know little. The switch crew’s union reps will insure that they get a fair hearing.
As far as Federal involvement, the NTSB routinely gets called in to investigate accidents involving common carriers.
I was at a meeting with a lot of our RR volunteers today. Mention of the 12 mph hitch brought a collective wince…
In my opinion, I think it would be interesting to have a device on board a locomotive for switching that tells you if there is something in the way or help calculate the speed to come in taking into account distance and other factors. Call it an electronic conductor I guess and it can display on a console recommended speed to observe and then it starts announcing “5 car lengths”“4 car lengths”…etc. Especially if you are in a situation as Zardoz mentioned about the lighting difference in a shed. There are a few stations that I know of that would be kind of bad for the eyes I would imagine such as Penn Station, the station in Newark and Chicago.
I wonder if some of the problems could be averted too if they put some of that special see through plastic that filters out the sun, on the locomotives windows-that stuff is more common on buses.
This thread did start out like a typical Amtrak bashing thread…
I frequently take the train from my home in CT to Lewistown PA to visit my family (or back from there). Since it goes from the electrified NE Corridor (and now PA’s Capital corridor between Philly and Harrisburg) to the standard track NW of Harrisburg, at some point in the trip, I usually get to experience an loco swap, usually in Philly or Harrisburg. I have experienced both gentle nudges and some nice jolts over the years. I can say for sure that passengers will sit up and take notice when the new loco couples on at a high rate of speed. I can’t say for sure I’ve never experienced one done at higher than 4mph… some of those jolts were pretty severe. If the crew comes on the PA system and warns us that the coupling is coming (which they don’t always do), I sit down, just in case.
Also, who commented “my mother is taking this train in a couple days”? I hope you don’t let your mother drive! Personally, I’d MUCH rather have my mother take Amtrak to visit me than drive the 6 1/2 hours by herself. By passenger-miles travelled, the train is about 1000 times as safe as an automobile, and yet most of us blithely climb into our death machines without a second thought. Accidents will occur any time a human operator is involved – the key is to minimize the occurance.
If the railroads fired every crew that tried to weld the couplers together - there would be no trains running. When you move big metal things on little metal things, crap will happen. In other words, calm down, this is not that big a deal.
Two words characterize this incident
MAN FAILURE!
It is no more difficult than that.
I agree w/earlier posts and lets not use this event as an excuse to bash a company. I don’t hold anything against anyone if they dislike Amtrk, but those opinions are for another time. On to what took place: what happened could have taken place w/any rr anywhere; class 1, shortie, communter, tourist. The only reason it made news was that it took place on the NEC @ WUS. This most likely will go to investigation. Letters will soon be sent out, if not already. When the meeting takes place, all crewmembers will give their oral statements & such. The companies will then have 30 days to hand out any displine. It could mean a temporary suspension or some type of level S. As for people geting fired, not so fast. Not likely to happen.
Since I so like being P.C.:
HUMAN FAILURE
[:-,]
[:-^] [(-D] [;)] Good one zardoz, and as much as I like to argue the PC issue (and I really hate PC), let’s not tempt the “thread locked” Gods this time, shall we?
Just my feeble attempt at being witty.
btw, I also cannot stand “P.C.” either (hence the sarcasm).
If you don’t like PC, how can you be on the Internet?!? [Tee Dum Dum - Clash!]
(queue Apple supporter “I love me” posts…)
No really! Keeping the day job! You want feeble humor, you got it!
Depends, are you spotting coaches, or cars, maybe racks? Its not really feasible.
Perhaps not feasible while spotting, but the “electronic conductor” (I like that) sure might be useful during a “light engine” move. However, polarizing film on the windows would likely not be too helpful. The CNW had a rule for suburban train light engine moves that required us to be physically looking in the direction of travel (actually sticking our heads out the window–lots of fun in the winter and during heavy rain, not to mention being a target for all the local rock-throwers).
So much for my theory.