February 8, 2024 | Fatality, News, NS
A visitation and funeral for fallen Brother Christopher M. Wilson will be held on February 9 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. A member of BLET Division 423, Brother Wilson was killed in a Norfolk Southern rail yard accident on January 31. The National Transportation Safety...
February 5, 2024 | Derailment, Fatality, FRA, Legislation, News, NS, Railroad Safety
On January 25, 2024, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced a final rule requiring railroads to provide emergency escape breathing apparatuses to train crew members who work on hazardous materials trains. The FRA press release announcing the final rule...
February 2, 2024 | Fatality, News, NS, Obituary
It is with heavy hearts that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) reports that on Wednesday, January 31, locomotive engineer Chris M. Wilson, 55, was killed at the Norfolk Southern yard in Decatur, Alabama. Wilson, a BLET member, was a 30-year...
January 10, 2024 | Fatality, Headlines, NS
(Source: Television station WRDW, January 7, 2023) In 2005, nine lives were lost and hundreds were injured after two Norfolk Southern trains collided near the Avondale Mills Plant in Graniteville. Over 250 people were treated for toxic chlorine exposure. Full story:...
December 8, 2023 | Fatality, Headlines, NS, NTSB
(Source: Trains.com, December 8, 2023) The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for backup cameras on maintenance-of-way machinery, as well as other safety recommendations, as a result of a fatal accident involving a Norfolk Southern track gang at Reed,...
November 21, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Fatality, Headlines, NTSB
(Source: Associated Press, November 19, 2023) Federal safety officials investigating a Chicago commuter train crash that injured nearly 40 people when it slammed into snow-removal equipment are focusing on a “design problem” with its braking system. Full story:...
November 21, 2023 | Fatality, Headlines, NS
(Source: NBC Chicago, November 20, 2023) One person was killed and emergency crews were responding after a freight train struck a semi truck that was stopped on the Norfolk Southern rail yard tracks in Chicago, the Chicago Fire Department said. Full story: NBC...
November 3, 2023 | Amtrak, BNSF, Fatality, Headlines, NTSB
(Source: Associated Press, November 2, 2023) The NTSB is focusing on BNSF’s inspection and maintenance practices after a fatal derailment in Colorado on October 15. Preliminary reports indicate a broken rail caused the crash. Poor track conditions have...
October 25, 2023 | Fatality, Headlines, NS, NTSB
(Source: Associated Press, October 18, 2023) Several days before a Norfolk Southern conductor trainee was killed by a metal beam protruding from a parked railcar on the next track, workers at a U.S. Pipe facility noticed the beam was hanging off the top of the car but...
October 20, 2023 | BNSF, Derailment, Fatality, News
A truck driver was killed in this October 16 BNSF derailment in Pueblo, Colorado.Photo: Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office _______________________ Rail safety laws are receiving renewed attention after a truck driver was killed in a BNSF derailment near Pueblo,...