(The following article by Dan Piller was posted on the Star-Telegram website on September 21.)
FORT WORTH, Texas — Union Pacific Railroad said Monday it will begin mounting digital cameras and microphones in its locomotives to provide a visual record of automobiles and pedestrians involved in accidents.
The small cameras, to be installed in 1,000 of UP’s 6,700 road locomotives, will be aimed down the track from the front of the locomotive. A microphone will record the locomotive’s air horn. The information will supplement the data on train speed and braking that comes from a “black box” recorder mounted inside the locomotive.
UP spokesman John Bromley said the railroad hopes that the cameras will help in lawsuits filed by accident victims or their families. Union Pacific has the most track mileage of any carrier in Texas and operates a major switching yard in Fort Worth.
“Sadly, lawsuits generally follow accidents, and this may save us some money in judgments,” Bromley said.
Union Pacific is believed to be the first carrier to announce widespread use of in-cab cameras, although Norfolk Southern Railroad has used similar devices. A spokesman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway of Fort Worth said the company has installed cameras in about a half-dozen locomotives as a test.
Since 1994, the number of grade-crossing accidents has fallen significantly. It fell from 557 to 284 last year in Texas, and from 4,979 to 1,454 nationally, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Fatalities have fallen from 58 in 1994 in Texas to 36 last year, and from 615 nationally in 1994 to 329 in 2003.
Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Steven Kulm said that the reduction is attributable to the closing of many branch lines and crossings, as well as the industry’s “Operation Lifesaver” program to educate the public about the dangers of grade crossings.
The railroads and the government have long contended that most railroad grade crossing accidents are the fault of motorists, who ignore crossing guards or signals.
But the issue has continued to dog rail carriers, not only in courts but in public perception.
This summer The New York Times and the railroad administration disclosed that some railroads had destroyed or altered accident records.
Union Pacific has been cited by some courts for being unable to provide proper evidence in car-train crash cases. Union Pacific has said that the lack of such information in some cases was inadvertent and that it would turn to the cameras to supplement the information provided by the black boxes.
UP said the first 1,000 cameras will be installed by the end of 2005, with the remainder of its locomotive fleet to be fitted later.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen supported the idea but was wary of cameras installed to watch workers.
“We are concerned about possible use of the cameras for disciplinary purposes,” union spokesman John Bentley said.
“But in many cases after an accident, not only is the railroad sued by the family but also the individual engineer. So we would welcome another way to help defend our people.”