Join the discussion on the following article:
Train strikes, kills NS worker in New Orleans
This should never happen. The railroads are supposed to have safety personnel watching out for trains when maintenance personnel are working on or near active tracks. On a similar note, how about the train personnel, what were they doing at the time? Did they see the worker?
There is no dedicated “look-out” under lone-worker rules. Many maintenence functions are carried out with only one person at the “worksite”.
A death on the line is a tragedy, and I send condolences to everyone involved, both the victim and his family and the train crew.
The fact that this incident is news is a reminder of how far the railroad industry has come in the last hundred years toward cleaning up its act safety-wise, dragged kicking and screaming much of the way by unions and government regulators. Providing for the safety and well-being of employees is a hassle, but it pays off.
I MAY BE CONSIDERARED VERY NEGATIVE BUT WITH THE PRESENT DAY WORK FORCE I WOULD NOT TRUST MY " LOOKER" FURTHER THAN I COULD THROW HIM/HER. A WELDER NEEDS A TRUSTFUL PERSON - ANYONE OVER 50 YEARS OLD CAN APPLY = YOUNGER ??
LOTS OF EDUCATION BUT NO PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE & DEWINDLING I SITE !
& IT IS IN CAPITALS LETTERS BECAUSE I AM 82 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Mr. Symonds,
I salute you for your 82 years of experience, but I do think that you’re way too negative ! I think the present day workforce (over-all) can be trusted to do a good job, and we must remember that they’re working under ’ leaner and meaner ’ conditions now days ! I also don’t believe that any rail road worker wants to be injured or killed or intentionally endanger anyone else lives either !!
Very sad of his passing, but it also could’ve been prevented. He was a trainmaster, and if your a trainmaster, you put yourself in sometimes dangerous positions when you are required to hide in bushes, behind other trains, etc. To spy on employees in hopes of catching them do something wrong. It’s not a guess, it’s a fact. I’ve seen many a times unfortunately where trainmaster have almost gotten themselves killed doing this very thing. They’re focused on the employee they’re trying to catch rather than what’s going on around them. If the RR didn’t practice these acts, this young boy could still be here. I hope an outside company, and not railroad investigators, investigate this so that his family can have peace in knowing the truth.
Zunc, First I’ve heard, that was the primary job of a Trainmaster. I would suggest that it’s quite difficult to fill those positions, if that really is the case.
You said, " it’s not a guess, it’s a fact ".! Were you hiding in the bushes near- by also, where you were a first hand witness to the incident ? Not a significant amount of foilage on those bushes this time of the year, I would imagine !
Was the man deaf?
Every excellent corporate Safety Program, that I’m aware of, has the ’ motto ’ that EVERY ACCIDENT OR INJURY can be prevented, period !!
I understand that NS is reviewing this with all their on ground employees. He was not just a Trainmaster, he was a Terminal Trainmaster which is the highest on ground supervisor I believe. He was standing in the gage of the track, that is the defect. They believe he thought the track was a yard track, but it was a main track and trains do move very quietly at times, and other noise can be involved.
Never stand in the gage and always be 4 feet from a rail.
Never use your ears for protection, always use your eyes ,and frequently look behind yourself.
This is very sad for the company and the family of the employee.
This was not a spying incident but just conducting his job of supervision.
Railroading is still a dangerous business, and just one mistake and it is the last…