2016 Chester, Pennsylvania, train derailment

2016 Chester, Pennsylvania, train derailment

Photograph of train similar to that involved in the accident

A train similar to that involved in the accident
Location within Pennsylvania
Date April 3, 2016
Time 7:50 a.m. EDT (UTC−4)[1]
Location Chester, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°49′59.0″N 75°23′40.1″W / 39.833056°N 75.394472°W / 39.833056; -75.394472Coordinates: 39°49′59.0″N 75°23′40.1″W / 39.833056°N 75.394472°W / 39.833056; -75.394472
Country United States
Rail line Palmetto
Operator Amtrak
Type of incident Obstruction on line and consequent derailment
Cause Under investigation
Statistics
Trains 1 (a single ACS-64 locomotive and several Amfleet coaches)
Passengers 337[1]
Crew 7[1]
Deaths 2 track workers[1]
Injuries 41[1]
Damage Passenger cars damaged; total damages $2.2 million (estimate)[1]

On April 3, 2016, Amtrak train 89, the southbound Palmetto, struck a backhoe, killing two track workers and derailing the locomotive, as well as damaging the first two cars.

Accident

The train, on route to Savannah, Georgia,[2] had departed Philadelphia's 30th Street Station at 7:32 a.m.[3] The train was carrying seven crew members and 337 passengers, including two employee passengers.[1] The train was composed of one locomotive, eight passenger cars, one café car, and one baggage car.[1]

At 7:50 a.m., the train struck a backhoe obstructing the line.[1] The NTSB determined that the train was traveling at 106 mph, below the authorized speed of 110 mph zone.[4][1] The crash occurred near the intersection of Booth and Sixth streets in Chester, Pennsylvania,[5] 15 miles (24 km) from Philadelphia.[6] Siemens ACS-64 locomotive 627 sustained extensive damage to its cab and was derailed; at least two of the cars were damaged.[5] The point of impact was at mile post 15.7,[1] slightly north of the Booth Street underpass.[7] The location of the accident is about 25 miles (40 km) from the site of a 2015 Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia, which killed eight and injured 200.[3]

Two maintenance workers—a backhoe operator and a track supervisor—were killed in the crash.[4] Forty-one people were hospitalized.[1] Passengers were evacuated from the train to a nearby church.[2]

Among the passengers was businessman and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, who was on his way to Washington, D.C., to participate in the C-SPAN interview program In Depth. Forbes was unable to complete his trip, but did participate in a 15-minute interview by phone about his experiences that morning.[8]

Because of the accident, Amtrak rail service between Wilmington and Philadelphia, was suspended.[3] Full service along the Northeast Corridor resumed the following day.[4] SEPTA also suspended following its crash, resuming service the next day.[7] New Jersey Transit accepted Amtrak tickets for services between New York City and Trenton while services were disrupted.[9] Amtrak provided rental cars to those who required them; other passengers were returned to Philadelphia.[5] Amtrak and SEPTA service on the Northeast Corridor was restored the following morning, though with residual delays.[10]

Investigation and aftermath

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Railroad Administration immediately opened investigations into the accident.[2][3] One aspect of the NTSB investigation is whether or not the maintenance crew were working on the correct track.[3][11] The event data recorder and locomotive video (both forward-facing and inward-facing) were recovered by the NTSB.[4]

The NTSB released its preliminary report on April 18, 2016.[12][13] The NTSB report said that according to the federal investigation, the track was supposed to be closed to trains at the time of the crash.[12][13] The backhoe and the two killed workers were authorized to be present on track 2 during the maintenance period (which was scheduled to be from 10 p.m. April 1 until 5 a.m. April 4), for ballast cleaning and remediation of fouled ballast (mud spots).[12][1] The final report is expected to take nearly one year to complete.[12] The preliminary report states that Amtrak estimated that the crash resulted in $2.2 million in damages.[13][1]

Positive train control systems were in place and functional on the train and tracks.[14] However, crews performing work on the stretch of track where the crash occurred failed to deploy a supplemental shunting device while completing track work. Deployment of this device is consider a basic safety measure and is required by Amtrak's rules (although not by federal regulation) whenever workers are completing track work in short windows of time ("foul time").[15]

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division, the union representing track workers, was highly critical of Amtrak management in the weeks after the crash, saying that Amtrak's safety procedures were inadequate.[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Preliminary Report: Railroad DCA 16FR007, National Transportation Safety Board.
  2. 1 2 3 Baker, Karl; Horn, Brittany (April 3, 2016). "2 dead, dozens injured in Amtrak crash". The News Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Chokshi, Niraj; Siddiqui, Faiz (April 3, 2016). "Amtrak service disrupted in Northeast after derailment; 2 reported dead, 31 injured". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sisak, Michael R. (April 5, 2016). "Officials: Amtrak engineer hit brakes seconds before crash". Associated Press. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Stamm, Dan (April 3, 2016). "2 Die as Amtrak Train Strikes Backhoe Causing Fireball". NBC Philadelphia. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Amtrak Philadelphia: Two dead as train derails". BBC News Online. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Victims in fatal Amtrak collision ID'd, NTSB releases findings, WPVI (April 4, 2016).
  8. ↑ "Steve Forbes on Amtrak Derailment". C-SPAN. Retrieved 8 April 2016. Steve Forbes spoke by phone about being on the Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia earlier that day. Two people were reported to have died in the crash. Mr. Forbes was supposed to be the guest on Book TV’s In Depth series that day.
  9. ↑ Vantuono, William C. "Two killed in wreck of Amtrak Palmetto". Railway Age. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Trains running again after Amtrak crash". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  11. ↑ McGeehan, Patrick; Pérez-Peña, Richard (April 4, 2016). "Amtrak Trying to Determine if Workers Were Authorized to Be on Tracks". The New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Brittany Horn, Report: Track was closed morning of Amtrak crash, The News Journal (April 19, 2016).
  13. 1 2 3 Jason Laughlin, Feds issue first report on Chester Amtrak crash, Philly.com (April 18, 2016).
  14. ↑ Gregg Levine, Amtrak crash: state-of-the art safety gear was operational at time of fatal collision, Guardian (April 6, 2016).
  15. ↑ Tangel, Andrew; Calvert, Scott; Mann, Ted (April 5, 2016). "Amtrak Crash Probe Indicates Basic Safety Measure Wasn’t Deployed". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 5, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
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