Decatur Ga: A Marta bus stalled or got stuck in front of CSX freight. Bus driver evacuated bus befor train struck bu. No one hurt. This route is the ATL - Augusta GaRR line. A CN unit wsat least the third unit.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/marta-bus-hit-train-decatur/nXyxF/
Somebody is not talking to each other
Hmmm. The report said the bus got hung on the grade crossing. I wonder if MARTA has been buying “kneeling” buses like our transit district locally has been buying. Probably won’t know about this situation, as the story will fall off the edge of the earth by tomorrow.
This is interesting. MARTA has been using these buses for a number of years. I would hope NTSB looks into this one. IIRC this is a low floor bus with the kneeling ability. This type of bus is in regular service in the Atlanta area and is kind of the new standard. A suspension failure might cause it to have been too low. Rgds IGN
Fortunately it sounds like all the passengers were standing safely clear. There was a tragic case in Toronto 30 years or so ago where the passengers were off the transit bus but still beside it. When the express commuter train hit, several were in the path of a now spinning missile.
Ironically, in that case the cause of the stopped bus was a safety feature. The driver stopped and proceeded, but then the safety interlock with the rear door had a false activation and stalled the bus across the 4-track main. There was an override switch available but the knowledge had been kept secret from the bus drivers. Needless to say, that policy was quickly reversed.
John
Years ago I was very familiar with transit bus interlocks. With the rear door open, or a front door wheelchair lift down, the interlocking feature prevents the bus brakes from being released.
With this grade separation in El Paso, TX, everything is cool for buses!
The description of what occurred in the MARTA incent leads me to perceive the interlocking feature was turned OFF, probably unbeknownst to the coach operator, and, after lowering the front door for an elderly or disable person, they forgot to raise the bus back up (or it didn’t rise fully) and proceeded forward. When such an un-interlocked lowered bus would encounter the railroad tracks, it naturally would get hung up.
Whether that is what happened or not is not known at this point in time, but that is my two cents worth as a possibility.
I have occasionally ridden buses with a door interlock mechanism that prevents a bus from moving when the interlock was not working properly. The bus driver, who clearly knew what the problem was, would have to get out of the bus and bang the read door shut. After he did this manually the bus would run without a problem.