CONNERSVILLE, Ind. — A railroad that ferries thousands of tourists from Connersville to Metamora each year — and that had a derailment a week ago in which 12 were injured — has been cited for 31 federal safety violations since 1995, The Indianapolis Star has found.
Whitewater Valley Railroad will resume its scheduled weekend trips today, two days after volunteers fixed the broken rail.
The Star has found the nonprofit railroad failed a federal inspection of its lines in May, after officials with the Federal Railroad Administration reported two defective rails, two bad rail joints and eight switches that did not meet federal standards, according to reports posted on the administration’s Web site.
Two other track inspections were conducted in 1995 and 1996 and resulted in 15 defect citations, including six for defective rails and nine for defective switches. Railroad officials downplayed the federal inspections.
“They always find something,” said Estel Day, vice president of the Whitewater Valley Railroad. “Normally, those things are taken care of right away.”
Federal investigators blamed the Dec. 7 derailment on fatigued lines and cold weather. No evidence of negligence on the part of the company was found, said Warren Flatau, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.
“We were not at the point of seriously considering shutting them down,” said Flatau, “but the violations had reached a level beyond the scope of routine defects found in most inspections.
“Broken rails are not uncommon in the industry. Obviously, they are subject to tremendous forces,” he said.
On Dec. 7, a diesel locomotive was pulling seven crowded passenger cars, carrying about 400 people, and five cabooses southbound toward Metamora when the accident occurred.
Investigators said the rail probably broke after the first four passenger cars had passed, because the fifth and sixth cars were the only two to actually derail. Trees stopped the derailed cars from turning over.
Twelve people were transported to Fayette Memorial Hospital in Connersville, but only one was kept overnight for treatment. All passengers were refunded the $9 to $17 paid for each ticket.
This was not the first derailment in Connersville. Three years ago, another passenger car derailed, but company officials called that a “minor” incident with just a few injuries.
Maria Pimental-Gannon was a passenger on the train last week. She was with 52 other parishioners of St. Monica Catholic Church in Indianapolis who take the trip to Metamora annually.
“We will go again, even after this,” she said. “We talked about it that evening. And I have already had people call me to say they plan to go next year.” Pimental-Gannon said she didn’t know about Whitewater Valley’s troubled past, nor did she know about the derailment three years ago. But she called last weekend’s accident, and the fact that so few people were hurt, a miracle from God.
She praised those responsible, many decades ago, for planting the trees that ultimately prevented the cars from tumbling into the deep ravine — and probably saved many lives.
Whitewater Valley Railroad officials say they inspect their tracks once a week, and more often during the busy month of May when local schools send students on trips.
Federal inspections are not done every year, Flatau said. Instead, they are done randomly and sometimes unannounced.
The Federal Railroad Administration rarely invokes its power to close a rail line. It has happened 21 times in the history of the federal agency.
Dennis Wall, a track supervisor and inspector for Noblesville’s Indiana Transportation Museum, which runs the popular Indiana State Fairtrain, said the critical point of inspections occurs when a railroad fails to fix a problem within 30 days.
The administration can levy stiff fines against the railroad and its individual track inspectors, with separate fines for every time a train crosses the track.
“It could be $5,000 a pop,” Wall said.
Because it is an all-volunteer work force, the Whitewater Valley Railroad often needs all the time it can get to make repairs. While it has about 400 volunteers, the railroad company has just 80 who can do heavy work on the lines.
“Sometimes we just have to wait and see who can show up,” Day said.
Before last weekend’s derailment, Whitewater Valley was on pace to have its best year ever in terms of total passengers.
Through September, 33,013 passengers had taken the train, just 3,000 shy of 1992, the busiest year recorded. With still-to-come October and November numbers, that record may already be broken.
Railroad officials are not sure what impact the derailment will have on customers.
“We’ve had some people call and cancel their reservations,” said Day. “And we did refund their money. But we still have a heck of a crowd coming (today).”