CLEVELAND, July 24 — In a letter to BLET National President Don M. Hahs and UTU International President Paul C. Thompson, the National Transportation Safety Board has given a safety recommendation to the organizations regarding train crew fatigue. The NTSB has asked the BLET to inform its members about Safety Recommendation R-06-17, which was issued in response to the fatal accident in Macdona, Texas, on June 28, 2004, that resulted in the death of BLET member Heath Pape.
The accident occurred when a westbound UP train traveling on the same main line track as an eastbound BNSF train struck the midpoint of the 123 car BNSF train as the eastbound train was leaving the mainline to enter a parallel siding. The collision derailed the four locomotive units and the first 19 cars of the UP train as well as 17 cars of the BNSF train. As a result of the derailment and pileup of railcars, the 16th car of the UP, a pressure tank filled with liquefied chlorine, was punctured. The resulting leak engulfed the accident area and the area surrounding the train. Three people, including Brother Pape, died as a result of chlorine gas inhalation.
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the collision was UP train crew fatigue that resulted in the failure of the locomotive engineer and conductor to respond to wayside signals governing the movement of their train. Contributing to the crewmembers’ fatigue was their failure to obtain sufficient restorative rest prior to reporting for duty because of their ineffective use of off-duty time and UP train crew scheduling practices, which inverted the crewmembers’ work/rest periods.
The NTSB recommends that the BLET and UTU “Use this accident as a fatigue case study to illustrate the responsibility of the carrier to provide an employee the opportunity for adequate sleep and the responsibility of the employee to acquire sleep sufficient to work at a safe level of alertness, and the options available if adequate sleep is not obtained. Present this case study to your members at meetings, through written materials, and other appropriate methods.”
The BLET Safety Task Force participated in the investigation and the recommendations that it filed were similar to those adopted by the NTSB.
The Board also sent a recommendation to the Union Pacific Railroad for its part in the accident. The NTSB recommends that the UP “Use the Macdona collision as a case study in fatigue awareness training to illustrate the shared responsibilities of the carrier to provide an employee the opportunity for adequate sleep and of the employee to acquire sleep sufficient to work at a safe level of alertness, and the options available if adequate sleep is not obtained.”
The NTSB also made recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration, which included asking the FRA to “Determine the most effective methods of providing emergency escape breathing apparatus for all crewmembers on freight trains carrying hazardous materials that would pose an inhalation hazard in the event of unintentional release, and then require railroads to provide these breathing apparatus to their crewmembers along with appropriate training.”
The NTSB also asked the FRA to: “Require railroads to use scientifically based principles when assigning work schedules for train crewmembers, which consider factors that impact sleep needs, to reduce the effects of fatigue;” and asked the FRA to “Establish requirements that limit train crewmember limbo time to address fatigue.”
For a copy of the NTSB’s letter to BLET and UTU, go to:
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/R06_17.pdf