The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently urged Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration to stop using “train approach warning” as the sole method of on-track safety in areas covered by positive train control.
The technique uses a designated watchmen to look out for approaching trains in a work zone.
On April 24, 2018, an Amtrak rail watchman was killed in Maryland using this method when a high-speed northbound Amtrak train struck him from behind. During the investigation, the NTSB determined Amtrak’s safety work plan did not adequately consider the challenges of multiple main tracks in a high-noise environment. The use of positive train control could have prevented trains from even entering the work zone and would have automatically reduced the speed of trains in the work zone.
“More action needs to be taken to protect train crews, maintenance-of-way employees, and mechanical workers from getting killed or injured,” NTSB board nember Thomas Chapman, who has focused on improving the safety of railway workers, said. “We have found from our investigations that many of these accidents are, tragically, preventable.”
Since 1997, there were 459 railway worker fatalities, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Last year, the NTSB investigated eight accidents involving railroad and transit worker fatalities.