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Trains Magazine General Discussion
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Energy



Emergency vehicles with people involved in the incident exit the Shell facility Tuesday morning.

Gary Fountain: For the Chronicle

Jan. 31, 2007, 1:14AM
Officials investigate train, bus crash

By RUTH RENDON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

RESOURCES

SHELL COMPLEX

  • 1,700 workers: The Shell complex along the Houston Ship Channel employs about 1,700 at the plant.
  • Petrochemical: The plant also has a petrochemical facility.
  • Maintenance: The plant is undergoing maintenance involving 19 process units until mid-February.
  • More contractors: The project involves regularly scheduled maintenance, which will bring the number of onsite contract workers to about 3,000, Shell spokesman Dave McKinney said.

Investigators will continue their probe today into a train-bus collision at the Shell Oil Co. plant in Deer Park that sent 32 contract workers to area hospitals.

The collision between a school bus, which was taking the workers from a satellite parking lot into the plant, and a Port Terminal Rail Authority engine occurred about 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, Shell spokesman Dave McKinney said.

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was going to say, the sun was in driver’s eyes at that time of morning - but according to picture, it looks cloudy.

Well, then maybe he didn’t have his good glasses on and didn’t see that great big engine moving toward him.

Besides, the train should have stopped and let him go first! Tsk Tsk

Moo.

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While I don’t know as much about plant switching as Ed, I will assume that even if the PTRA engineer sounded the horn, it’s quite possible that the bus driver didn’t hear it, refineries and chemical plants can be noisy. At the same time, I’ll venture to guess that the bus driver made only a cursory stop and proceeded without looking.

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It is possible that the driver completely misjudged the speed of the approaching train, particularly if it was only going 20 mph. It may have appeared to be almost stopped.

Thankfully, no one was killed.

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[#ditto]

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A little more information.

If I had access to the event recorder information, it would show the bell ringing, horn being sounded with a correct crossing warning.

Throttle in idle, then an emergency brake application.

The crossing is in the middle of the refinery, on a well lit paved road, part of the entrance/main road through the place.

The accident occurred in the very early morning.

The train involved is the regular train that works Shell, Deer Park Rail, and several other plants in the area.

The reporter got a few parts incorrect.

It is not the Port Terminal Railroad Authority…but the Port Terminal Railroad Association.

The Port Authority is the governing body in charge of ship channel operations and berthing.

The train was not going 20 mph, that is just our top speed…all PTRA trackage is run at restricted speed, maximum speed 20 mph.

The UP has a track next to hwy 225, which has a 45 mph speed limit.

Our track runs dead center through the refinery, all of our trains which go out to industries located south of the plant have to go through the refinery, so your looking at two to four trains plus each way every 8 hour shift.

Knowing the engineer and crew, I would bet they were running at less than 15mph, if that fast, and coasting, as there is a slight downward grade.

The bus driver saw them, and tried to beat them at the crossing, got his rear end clipped, simple as that.

This is not the first incident in Shell…about 5 years ago, an independent trucker hauling gasoline for a construction contractor tried to beat one of our trains at a dirt crossing, the contractors crossing, and got tagged…big fire from that one.

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Ed: There ought to be a big “fire” over this one as well! Problem is, he will probably go out and drive school busses!

Mook