The Federal Railroad Administration is warning rail workers about the dangers of rolling equipment following the death of a Norfolk Southern worker last week in Alabama.
The incident happened just after 5 p.m. on Feb. 7 in Decatur, Alabama, when 55-year-old train engineer Chris Wilson, a 30-year veteran, died after several uncontrolled train cars crashed into his locomotive.
The cause is under investigation by the FRA and on-site investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.
In a safety bulletin issued Tuesday, the FRA said the fatality occurred during yard switching operations.
“At the time of the accident, [Wilson] was operating a locomotive on the east side of the yard and working with a conductor and brakeman to switch cars. Another crew was switching cars on the west side of the yard and had set out 35 cars. At some point, those 35 cars from the west side of the yard track rolled uncontrolled towards the east, colliding with the locomotive, occupied by the engineer, that was located on the east yard track switching lead. The collision ejected the engineer from the locomotive cab and the engineer succumbed to his injuries.”
Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the “tragic loss underscores the safety risks present in railroading, even in the controlled environment of a railyard.”
In its safety bulletin, the FRA said:
1. Employees should understand the importance of complying with railroad rules for securement of rolling equipment.
2. Railroads should provide employees adequate training on railroad operating rules and procedures for proper securement of rolling equipment.
3. Railroads should provide employees appropriate periodic oversight of compliance with railroad operating rules and procedures for proper securement of rolling equipment.
4. Railroads should empower employees to seek immediate clarification of any safety rule, including rules related to the securement of equipment.
5. Railroads should remind employees of the dangers associated with improperly secured rolling equipment.
Jesse Larroque's Ghost
Reform or we will reform it.
The 2 Railroad train crew unions stink like
the Mojave desert..
Tim
30/60 rule for retirement needs to change. We are working with tired, beaten down employees who are just trying to make it through another day, just to repeat again tomorrow.
A valid option to push employees on the ground to work safely and follow rules would be lowering retirement to 20 years of service.
Brian Henry Richard
I concur whole heartedly. I had my 30 years of service when I was 51 y/o with years of service as a locomotive engineer and eventually as Director of Terminal Operations in Houston, TX. I had to work an additional 9 years to reach 60 y/o and be able to receive my pension and RRB benefits. This shorted me of 19 years with my family with 20 years of service or 9 years with 30 years of service. I worked multiple 12+ hour shifts in the craft and as many as 60 hour shifts in management during “emergency situations” (derailments etc.). The class 1 railroads care nothing about employees, whether craft or management concerning safety, quality of life or compensation. The FRA serves as nothing but lackies for the Class 1s with no punitive actions other than very minimal fines for violations (4 or 5 figures). Everything needs to change, immediately! Bless our brother and his family.
Thomas
The RRB needs to change the retirement from 30 to 20 years. It is bad enough that by the time a trainman retires he will have numerous health issues from working on the railroad but to die with 30 years of service and not spend one day free from being on-call or inside a locomotive is unacceptable. 20 years for the military, police, county workers to receive a pension and railroad workers have to work 30 and wait to 60 years of age so the poor man still had to work five more years. The FRA, RRB and the class 1 railroads are severe and unforgiving taskmasters offering no real reward to the trainmen. Reform it all now.