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Report: Federal inspectors found 7,100 defects, deficiencies at Metro-North
The following will be not necessarily pertinent to this particular story, but it is something I will be posting in a few prominent places this week in hopes of getting the ball rolling toward solving an ongoing problem on this forum.
In the comments below a BNSF story in last week’s Newswire, one of our fellow subscribers, Mr. Larry Gauthier, expressed his growing irritation with certain individuals who regularly use this forum as a political sounding board:
I believe he speaks for the majority of us.
Mr. Gauthier made mention of a suggestion to better police the forum - an idea that could actually be quite viable. Perhaps a good starting point would be for each of us to begin contacting the editors every time we see an offending post.
It so happens that I already took something of an initiative a few weeks ago, naming two specific individuals - a move which seems to have achieved at least partial success. Regular readers may have noticed the recent conspicuous absence of one of the more vociferous ideologues. However, the other fellow whom I brought to the editors’ attention is inexplicably still here, and still spewing his disparaging, racist references to our Native American fellow citizens, along with the usual dose of pretentiously cryptic drivel.
I strongly urge each and every one of you to write to Trains Magazine Newswire, expressing your displeasure with these certain offending individuals. Don’t be afraid to name names, and do, by all means, provide the editors with links to the offending posts.
The individual at Kalmbach, to whom you should direct your complaints is: Diane Laska-Swanke.
Her email is: dswanke@kalmbach.com
Thanks, fellow Newswire subscribers. Together we can solve this pesky situation and maybe get back to serious rail
Ridiculous, uninformed, and sensationalizing. For one thing, the number over 10 years for the track mileage (not route mileage) is not excessive. Most important is broken rail and missing bolt reports. That is the nature of track and the finding of those defects being a prime daily job. The finding of those defects is actually proof that MNRR is doing its job.
In this story, too, the final paragraph cites an accident that was not caused by track defects.
From the article:
According to FRA associate administrator Kevin Thompson, agency inspections found five times as many issues per 100 miles of track as similar inspections on other commuter railroads.
Versus
A representative for Metro-North tells the newspaper that the railroad generally does better than most on FRA inspections and that whenever the commuter operator is informed of a problem it is quickly fixed.
Here are two statements that appear to be 180 degrees out from each other. I know how this happens during Army aviation inspections. Does anyone have firsthand knowledge as to how this happens in Railroad operations/inspections?
From the article:
According to FRA associate administrator Kevin Thompson, agency inspections found five times as many issues per 100 miles of track as similar inspections on other commuter railroads.
Versus
A representative for Metro-North tells the newspaper that the railroad generally does better than most on FRA inspections and that whenever the commuter operator is informed of a problem it is quickly fixed.
Here are two statements that appear to be 180 degrees out from each other. I know how this happens during Army aviation inspections. Does anyone have firsthand knowledge as to how this happens in Railroad operations/inspections?
7000 incidents over 10 years = averages 700 incidents a year found by just FRA inspections? As I recall the FRA tries to do at least annual track inspection but is limited by lack of manpower. Without further information it is hard to make a conclusion. The only indication as to how many deficiencies were just track related is Kevin Thompson’s comment that agency inspections found five times as many issues per 100 miles of track as similar inspections on other commuter railroads. If true, it appears that this road does need improvement. In the accident world, human error is the primary cause followed by rail issues. As with most places, known issues do not get addressed until after the accident, until then, it really doesn’t seem to be a primary issue for management.
7000 "incidents’ over 10 years can create a grabber of a Headline for a 'Paper Syndicate to work themselves into a swivet.
Simple math lays it out like this (roughly) 10yearsx365 days= 3600 days div. into 7000 = 1.94 incidents a day. .
Their system reports 412 miles of track into 120 stations, hauling something over 412 K Passengers a day.
Admittedly, when they have an incident involving a loaded train it is likely to be very dangerous, and thrashed through their local media.
(After all nothing sells news like Bad News.) A politician touting these numbers to the Press; is like a lowland Gorilla thumping its chest to impress the lady gorillas.
The article does not mention how often the Federal Inspectors are on the property, or are the Feds pulling their numbers from the written records of MetroNorth’s own Track Inspectors? Just some thoughts.
Good ol willie knew how to sell newspapers,remember the maine and all that jazz.
Mr. Kuehn, thanks for your supporting comments. I have written (generically) to News Wire without much success; thanks for providing a name and e-mail address. If just one person comments that a particular person is abusing the comment/forum section, then it is easily viewed as just a personal issue and nothing changes. But if many of us complain; then there is a better chance that the offending person(s) will be dealt with.
As Mr. Kuehn suggests, we should do something positive to “clean up our block” instead of just fuming in silence, making sarcastic public comments, or laughing at those who are constant offenders.
Thanks again Mr. Kuehn for guiding us on how to make this section a more pleasant place for those who enjoy railroading and feel free to use my comments on this subject in other places you feel are appropriate.
Mr. Sommers, would you please expand on your comments? How do you know that approximately 700 a year is not excessive? Although it cannot be determined form this article, the way the article was written it would appear the “inspectors” found these deficiencies above the deficiencies already found by MNRR. For as you stated, if it was MNRR that found these deficiencies, that would indicate they are doing 5 times better with inspections than other commuter railroads.
Mr. Kuehn, thanks for your supporting comments. I have written (generically) to News Wire without much success; thanks for providing a name and e-mail address. If just one person comments that a particular person is abusing the comment/forum section, then it is easily viewed as just a personal issue and nothing changes. But if many of us complain; then there is a better chance that the offending person(s) will be dealt with.
As Mr. Kuehn suggests, we should do something positive to “clean up our block” instead of just fuming in silence, making sarcastic public comments, or laughing at those who are constant offenders.
Thanks again Mr. Kuehn for guiding us on how to make this section a more pleasant place for those who enjoy railroading and feel free to use my comments on this subject in other places you feel are appropriate.
Metro-North said that whenever the commuter operator is informed of a problem it is quickly fixed. Isn’t Metro North supposed to inspect its own tracks and fix problems instead of waiting for the government to find defects for it to fix???
I will have to disagree that inspectors have to justify their existence. As an inspector in aviation I have seen good companies and habitually poor companies. There are those that try to follow regulations, policies, and their intent and there are those who constantly push the limits and live by the creed of “show me where it says I have to?”
When investigating accidents, there are present and contributing factors and present and non-contributing factors. A rail defect may be considered a non-contributing factor, as a fire extinguisher past its inspection date or an incomplete survival kit that wasn’t used during the accident, but it does show a trail of a company that fails to follow the requirements in general. An accident may happen from the collective results caused by a general lack of regard of regulations/policy or it may have to do with something specific as exceeding the number of allowed duty hours and the operator fell asleep.
Yes, I hear comments of how the inspectors were out for us, we were not that bad, and a host of other excuses. Each finding is not an opinion; each one includes the page, paragraph, and line number of the document making the requirement. We did not write the requirement; we were charged to uphold it. So although some want to blame the messenger for their problems, most of the time they are just upset from being caught
Federal inspectors have to justify their existence, they have to find defects. This is a political effort to put Metro-North in a bad light. Yes defects were found, those in the Industry know a bolt can break right after inspection. Key issue when a defect is found by either Metro-North or FRA it is addressed/corrected or trains are slowed down until repairs are made. The unfortunate accident was not caused by track defect, it was a human error. Industry is working toward PTS, the corrective action needed to address this recent H/F incident. As to track inspection, railroads use sophisticated equipment that operates at higher speeds with greater accuracy to make the railroad safer. Get off the soap box politicians. Be part of the solution, not the problem.