Port Richmond Railway Accident
The Port Richmond railway accident occurred on May 12, 2015 in Port Richmond , a borough of Philadelphia . Eight people died.
Starting position
The track on which the accident occurred belongs to the “ Northeast Corridor ” railway line and was not yet equipped with a functioning train control system. Signal systems and superstructure had been checked the day before as part of a routine check.
Amtrak's Northeast Regional 188 was en route from Washington, DC to New York City on May 12, 2015 and was occupied by 238 travelers and five railroad workers. The train consisted of a withdrawing at the top of the train electric locomotive of the type Siemens ACS-64 . It was manufactured by Siemens Mobility and delivered a year earlier. Technical problems with the locomotive were not known. There was a front camera in the locomotive, which images could be used to reconstruct the course of the accident. The locomotive pulled seven passenger cars. The driver has been driving trains since 2010 and the Philadelphia to New York City route since 2011.
At the time of the accident (9:23 p.m.) it was already dark.
the accident
Immediately before the accident, the driver had a radio conversation with the driver of a regional train operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). During this conversation the SEPTA driver reported that his train had been hit by an unknown object and the windshield had broken.
Immediately before the derailment, the driver accelerated train 188 from a speed of 112 km / h to 171 km / h within 50 seconds and at this speed entered a left turn that was approved for a speed of 80 km / h. When he noticed the speed limit, he initiated an emergency brake that slowed the train slightly before the locomotive leaned about 10 degrees to the right, derailed and came to a halt on an adjacent track. All of the cars also derailed, and the front four fell on their side. The wagon that followed the locomotive was particularly badly damaged.
Immediate consequences
Eight people were killed and around 200 injured in the accident.
Accident investigation
The driver survived. He said he didn't remember anything. He was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs , and his mobile phone was switched off at the time of the accident (it was in his backpack ). The driver's misconduct was not known, he was valued by colleagues.
In its investigation report, the NTSB traffic authority , which was responsible for clearing up the accident, takes the view that the driver was distracted by the radio conversation with his colleague and believed he was already in the next section of the route during the acceleration process. Due to the darkness, he only noticed his misjudgment when he entered the bend at the excessive speed. So it was human error . The chairman of the NTSB committee of inquiry emphasized that " anyone can make a mistake on their best day ". The NTSB Committee of Inquiry closes with the recommendation that train control systems be installed on the entire American rail network as soon as possible.
Reactions
Immediately after the accident, the lack of a train control system led to a resurgence of the previously frequently expressed criticism of the state of the US infrastructure . Parts of the line, including the opposite track at the scene of the accident, were already equipped with one of the automatic train control (ATC) or positive train control (PTC) train control systems, which would have prevented the accident by applying an emergency brake . As a result, allegations were made that Amtrak had achieved a delay in the deadline for nationwide roll-out of PTC through lobbying . Barack Obama expressed his condolences to the survivors of the victims and said that investments in infrastructure should be made continuously and not in response to accidents. Joseph H. Boardman , President of Amtrak, replied that $ 111 million had already been invested in the introduction of train control systems . Boardman promised to fully equip the Amtrak-operated portion of the route with PTC by the end of 2015, which it did. In fact, the north-facing track used by Northeast Regional 188 was already equipped with PTC at the time of the accident, but not yet put into operation due to pending tests.
When the investigation was announced in May 2016, the chairman of the NTSB committee of inquiry, Christopher Hart, complained that an infrastructure operator would not have to fear any legal consequences until 2021 if he had not installed a train protection system and an accident occurred. Train control systems have been available for 45 years, and through the use of PTC, 25 serious railway accidents have been avoided in the USA in the last 20 years .
See also
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ It turned out that it was a rockfall ; based on: Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Josh Keller: Why an Amtrak Train Derailed in Philadelphia. In: The New York Times .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Matt Flegenheimer, Richard Pérez-peña: Brandon Bostian Agrees to Talk About Amtrak Derailment but May Recall Little . In: The New York Times . ( nytimes.com ).
- ↑ a b c Jana Kasperkevic, Joanna Walters, Matthew Weaver: Amtrak Philadelphia train crash: mayor describes 'disastrous mess'. In: the Guardian. May 13, 2015, accessed May 13, 2016 .
- ^ For Train 188 engineer, a solitary but dream job. In: philly archives. Retrieved May 13, 2016 .
- ^ Dave Philipps, Emma G. Fitzsimmons: For Amtrak Engineer Brandon Bostian, Childhood Passion Became a Career. In: The New York Times . May 14, 2015.
- ↑ a b c SEPTA call released from night of Amtrak 188 crash. In: 6abc Philadelphia. Retrieved May 13, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Josh Keller: Why an Amtrak Train Derailed in Philadelphia . In: The New York Times . ( nytimes.com ).
- ↑ a b c NTSB: Radio conversations about SEPTA incident distracted Amtrak 188 engineer prior to crash. In: PhillyVoice. Retrieved May 19, 2016 .