A new study of federal rail records has found that most train accidents are due to track problems and human error, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Some of those accidents and derailments have involved oil trains, but rather than focus on rail improvements and engineer training, US regulators continue to focus on beefing up tanker cars instead. After several dozen […]
Track Defects and Human Error Cause Most Train Accidents
More Passengers File Lawsuits Against Amtrak
A Philadelphia law firm stated this week that it will seek punitive damages in lawsuits filed for six more passengers in the deadly Amtrak derailment last May. The law firm, Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, stated that the complaints that were filed in federal court will be consolidated with others that were filed earlier this year. The law suits allege […]
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Union Pacific to Proceed
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled this week that a wrongful death lawsuit should proceed in the case of a 13 year-old Schuyler NE boy who was killed by a passing train in 2005. The 3-2 decision overruled the decision made by Colfax County District Judge Mary Gilbride; she dismissed the lawsuit in favor of Union Pacific Railroad. The case involves […]
Warren Buffett’s Railroad Helps to Delay Train Safety Measures
After an Amtrak train derailed last May in Philadelphia, which killed eight people and injured dozens, it appeared that the railroad industry’s efforts to delay the installation of safety technology on all passenger trains was at an end. However, under pressure from Warren Buffett’s BNSF Railway Company, the US Congress passed another law that delayed the implementation of positive train […]
FRA Pushes for Fast Upgrades to Train Safety Systems
The head of the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) promised to be aggressive in urging railroad companies to install newly mandated safety systems as soon as possible, even though Congress moved the deadline back to 2018. The safety system is called Positive Train Control or PTC, and was supposed to be operating nationwide by the end of 2015. Its widespread use […]
Ohio Man Dies in Rail Crossing Accident
A man died in Huron Township OH on Nov. 24 after a train smashed into his car at a railroad crossing. The man was driving a 2008 Ford van on Rye Beach Rd. in Huron Township when he approached the railroad tracks south of SR 2. He tried to skirt the railroad crossing gates when a Norfolk Southern train slammed […]