I don’t know how long this will be vaild:
http://www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu/ntsb/live/ntsblive-cc.htm
Also regarding the crash, it is now being reported that the conductor of the UP train tested positive for marijuana.
Like that had anything to do with the crash!
I’m listening to it right now… Interesting stuff.
did you read those text messages? good grief.
[sigh]
Wow… Now I know why railroads don’t like to hire railfans, or more specifically, those classified as “foamers” by some people…
There has been a lot of talk about all the text messages. I always kind of wondered if what was said in those messages might reveal something. Yikes.
Maybe had a railfan been in the cab on that fateful day at least SOMEBODY would have been alert enough to see the signal. As it was…we have apparently have an engineer who wasn’t interested in doing his job or in following the rules and we have a conductor on the UP train of the same low calibre. Maybe the rails should hire railfans… people who have at a least a passing interest in their work tend to have fewer accidents…that makes sense.
I think that’s a really unfair statement. There are thousands of workers out there every day that do their jobs and do them competently whether they are fans or not.
Pointing a finger at this engineer and making the statement that the industry would be a lot safer if railfans were employed in his place is just silly, too. For one thing, it seems to me that he had more than a passing interest in the railroad as more than just a job. If it were just part of the daily grind, I have a feeling he wouldn’t have been going to the lengths he was to get people in the cab and such.
If he were interested in his job he would have been interested in following the rules, and he would have been interested in noticing signals on his route. And the UP conductor would also have shown some interest in follwoing the safety rules of his employer. I’ve stated nothing unfair here…these dodos are responsible for what happened. Period.
I have a question for the future - maybe someone will want to take a stab at it?
There will be lawsuits - possibly already. But is Metrolink a private company or a consortium? When the families sue, will they put Metrolink out of business? Any thoughts on how far up the food chain this will go?
Any one or any party that can by any stretch of the imagine be construed as having some responsibility in this is open to a lawsuit…According to their website, Metrolink is a government undertaking.
I beg to differ, sir. The UP conductor had absolutely nothing to do with the crash.
You can rightly call the engineer a dodo, but not the UP conductor.
I have not heard if the positive drug result indicated whether he was under the influence while on duty, or if it was residual from what he was doing on his own time. If the former, then he should be dismissed; if it was the latter, then the result should be irrelevant and thrown out (yes, I know it’s in the rules; but that does not make it fair. If alcohol stayed in the system as long as pot does, you can bet that there would never have been a rule G written the way it is today).
You cant smoke dope and work for a railroad! I heard the conductor Bad Ordered the original SD40 power for this local train to take the new SD70s and didnt report it to whomever… Of course, that might just be heresay.
He tested positive…that makes him a dodo. Do you think UP fired him? I think so…
The UP conductor testing positive for pot is significant, but it would certainly not be newsworthy on its own. It was not a factor in this crash, and covering it with the news of the crash investigation findings seems to me like an attempt to dilute the incredible culpability of Sanchez.
It is newsworthy and should have been noted as it further underscores what is possibly a serious problem. Not only do we have an engineer who is text messaging while ignoring signals we also have a conductor on the other train who has tested positive for an illegal substance. Coincidence? Maybe not… The question begs…is inattention and lack of care a serious WIDESPREAD problem on the railroad? That’s the bigger question that transcends the investigation into this accident. Check out this link…
But in that case, pot smoking played a central role in the crash, whereas the UP conductor testing positive for pot at the time of the Chatsworth crash is irrelevant to the crash. I understand your points about lack of attention
Whoa, Whoa. Let’s get sometings straight here. It does’t matter if the UP conductor had a joint in his hand at the impact. HIS train followed the signals. The metrolink train did NOT have a " engineer". It had a clown from a company dedicated to providing union busting scabs to school busing and garbage trucking firms. If this had been a BLE organinized operation , would this have happened? If there had been 2 men in the cab would it have happened?
But both incidents TOGETHER sure peek interest and make one wonder about a possible larger problem. The scope of the investigation should focus on the larger problem as simply proving the obvious (that Sanchez was in the wrong) would be an egregous waste of money. The best outcome of the investigation would be some indication of how bad the problem really is so that preventative measures can be taken to avert further accidents of this type. Everyone already knows Sanchez screwed up… no investigation is needed to see that.
But it DOES matter…If I get stone drunk and drive my car around without incident then that should be okay too? I can probably drink eight or ten beer and still manage to navigate home without an accident (I haven’t done it…just sayin). Now if a cop stops me and pulls my license is that fair? Sure it is…even if I drove properly…even if someone else hits me and it is the other driver’s fault…I get nailed for drunk driving. Same goes for the pothead…