Title from a NEWSWire Posting for 11 July2020.
Saw this and was wondering why it woukd show up on a day when, in the past, there have been few postins? Might be worth a read!
Incident dates from September of 2019, and is apparently, a final finding of the Canadain TSB.
FTA:"...Incidentbetween a VIA Rail Canada train and two tank cars in Ernestown, Ontario, finding that switching moves by a Canadian National crew caused two cars to derail and foul the main line, where they were struck by the passenger train. No injuries were reported, but eastbound VIA train 48 from Toronto to Ottawa suffered significant damage on its right side in the Sept. 5 accident, which occurred about 9:15 p.m. Cars being switched by crew of CN local 519 were shoved through the end of the track where they were to be set out, striking and derailing the tank cars on the adjacent track, which caused those cars to foul the main line. The VIA train was traveling at 62 mph when the crew spotted the cars fouling the main line and was unable to stop. The incident could potentially have been much more serious had the VIA train derailed; about 9 seconds after its collision with the tank cars, a westbound VIA train passed going 89 mph. Transport Canadian subsequently issued a letter to CN for non-compliance with the rule requiring a crew member to be in position to observe and control a shoving move..."
Here is the embedded link to the TSB Report @
https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2019/r19h0123/r19h0123.html
"Rail transportation safety investigation report R19H0123"
The report includes a track diagram and also a couple of photos to the damaged VIA Rail equipment.
I am no expert and only ainterested fan, it seems to conatina much information and explanations of rules and regs; but to me it seemed to pin the blame on one of the freight's conductors, but seems to make the case that that individual was 'qualified' to work that job, but was lacking in experience and an ability of judgement of distances(?)
It seemed that what might be needed is possibly, some notes and information for us Forum Posters from the Operational side of things? Does something like this lead to a loss of job, or more training for the individals involved?
Training, vetting, supervision......
While I feel that the inexperience of the Conductor and Brakeman should be a mitigating factor in their discipline, the fact is that the Conductor committed a cardinal rule violation. After a year of railroading experience one should know the importance of protecting the point, especially when working in a yard one is unfamiliar with.
Based on a couple of similar incidents I have knowledge of (but was not directly involved in), it is likely that the Conductor received heavy discipline up to and including dismissal, while the other two freight crew members may have received less or no discipline.
Of course, the managers involved could have simply decided to fire the entire crew and be done with it. If that were the case it is likely that the Engineer and Brakeman would get their jobs back at arbitration, while the Conductor's prospects would be more grim.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Quote from the report with my highlight in blue, red, and bold red:
2. Known to be clear is defined as seeing the portion of the track to be used as being clear and remaining clear of equipment, track units, blue or red signals, derails, switches, and as having sufficient room to contain equipment being shoved. This determination must be made by a qualified employee who can observe the track and has radio contact with the employee controlling the movement. Where a track that has been seen to be clear and no access to that track is possible by another movement, the track may be considered as “known to be clear”.
****************************************************
Regarding the part in red, it is often easy to look at a track and see it is clear. But looking at a track and knowing how many cars will fit seems incredibly risky (bold red).
Also notice that the part in blue restates the definition of "known to be clear" without the condtion of also knowing if there is sufficient room to contain the cars being shoved. That means that the part in blue conflicts with the part in red.
For as serious as this was, it came very close to being far more serious. If the first train was fouled a little deeper, it would have derailed, which would have likely jackknifed its cars, bringing them into collision with more of the standing tank cars. This pileup could have then easily fouled the other mainline and been struck by the second passenger train which passed the site only nine seconds later, while traveling 89 mph.
"Known to be clear" should not have been applied in that situation. It still would have been possible for another movement (like the customer's trackmobile) to move cars and enter the track from the other end. Or, in theory, a foreman could have walked over from a Hi-Rail truck on the adjacent double track mainline and put up a red flag.
And they didn't even have a 20 car train. And would probably be waiting for a bit for the VIA train to pass before performing switching. Not walking or riding back all the way in this situation was just plain lazy, on top of being unsafe.
SD70Dude"Known to be clear" should not have been applied in that situation. It still would have been possible for another movement (like the customer's trackmobile) to move cars and enter the track from the other end.
I don't understand how that would be possible. Doesn't that track end right were the cars shifted over and struck the tank cars? I thought the cars went off the end of the track, onto the ground as the shove continued, and then swerved over and struck the tank cars.
Euclid SD70Dude "Known to be clear" should not have been applied in that situation. It still would have been possible for another movement (like the customer's trackmobile) to move cars and enter the track from the other end. I don't understand how that would be possible. Doesn't that track end right were the cars shifted over and struck the tank cars? I thought the cars went off the end of the track, onto the ground as the shove continued, and then swerved over and struck the tank cars.
SD70Dude "Known to be clear" should not have been applied in that situation. It still would have been possible for another movement (like the customer's trackmobile) to move cars and enter the track from the other end.
If you look at Google Earth, you will see that the track the movement was in merges with the other track the other tank cars were in. The sole industrial track then continues some distance to a cramped customer site, where a trackmobile is visible at work.
Okay, I see it on the Google map. Thanks.
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