Report: Train's Crew Likely Asleep in Fatal Texas Crash A Union Pacific freight train crew probably was asleep at the controls, causing a fatal Texas train crash that released deadly chlorine gas, the government said today. The conductor had been drinking before starting work and the engineer had been on the job for 37 hours out of 55 hours shortly before the accident on Jun28, 2004, the National Transportation Safety Board's staff reported. Increasingly, investigators are focusing on heavy workloads of train crews as a possible factor in wrecks. Regarding the Texas mishap near San Antonio, the NTSB was considering a possible finding that Union Pacific scheduling practices contributed to the crew's fatigue. In a statement, the railroad said it agreed the accident was caused by human factors, but declined to comment further pending review of the NTSB's findings. The train went through a caution signal and a stop signal before plowing into a BNSF Railway Company train that was moving onto a rail siding near MacDona, Texas, shortly before dawn. In the accident, a tank car was punctured, sending a cloud of chlorine gas 10 miles. Three people died from chlorine gas, including the train conductor, and 30 other people suffered from chlorine inhalation. The engineer remembers little of the accident. Concluding that both crew members probably were asleep, the NTSB's Gerald Weeks said the conductor asked the engineer "what happened" in the moments after the accident. The conductor had been off duty for 26 hours before his final shift, but he also had been bounced from day work, to night work and back to day work in the weeks before the Union Pacific train ran into the BNSF freight. Tests after the conductor's death concluded that his blood alcohol content would have been in violation of federal regulations at the time he reported for work. NTSB acting chairman Mark Rosenker and the agency have been pushing unsuccessfully to require voice recorders in train engine compartments, which would enable investigators reconstructing accidents to listen in on crews. - Pete Yost, The Associated Press, The Houston Chronicle
37 out of 55 hours? That averages about 6 hours between trains? (not 6 hrs sleep, take about 2-3 hours off that figure for transit time, eating, showering and misc) And a 12-hour shift to boot? No thanks. No wonder the poor guy was falling asleep at the control stand. That's a heckuva situation to be in...
This is a perfect case were as a professional railroader, you MUST tell the crew caller you are not properly rested. Get it documented in case you are 'forced' to go to work. It is even more desturbing that the conductor had been drinking before his call. He should have told them he had been drinking and could not take the call, and since he did, the other crew members should have refused to work with him. EVERYTIME the safety of the crew has to come before a big paycheck, and working till you drop. Look at what it got this Engineer.
I would also like to add this..... I normally work 170-180 hrs every two weeks. I have done this for the last several years. When I go home, I don't party, or stay up late watching TV, etc. I make sure I get my proper rest so I can perform my job safely. That is not a normal job.......it is a way of life. I always hear people complaining about the hours they are away from home, the hours they work, how tired they are, etc. If you cannot manage your time for the RAILROAD, this is NOT a job for you. You will NEVER beat the system and have a 'normal' life doing this job. Too many younger new employees, and I know a few older ones too, try and beat the system. It cannot be done people. The railroad HAS to come first in everything you do, or you will eventually fail. People really need to understand this before doing this full time as a career. There is NO excuse for coming to work tired and falling asleep while operating a locomotive.
What took them so long, to realize this fact? Insofar as current problems, it is virtually THE cause. For many years, railroads tried to skimp on personnel expenses, to increase profits. Yes- They've been hiring of recent years. But not at any rate that keeps up with demand. Or safety. The way to change this, is to make it too costly to not hire more people. If found at fault for having a tired crew, the railroads need to be nailed. Mandatory tens of millions of dollars fined per incident. And even mandatory jail time for supervisors, managers, etc. Harsh.Yes. Otherwise, nothing will change. Until a major town is wiped out..... My guess is we're now simply waiting until after this disaster does occur. Boxcab E50
JD - I would disagree with your POV on this to some extent. The RR is in fact a way of life and requires a whole different kind of dedication than a lot of other professions there's no doubt of that but...(there's always a 'but' isn't there?)...on the other hand, people are people, not machines. I've done the 6 for 8 routine for as long as 4 months straight and after a while, you don't even have the judgment left to know how exhausted you are. The similarity to being under the influence of 'recreational' substances is striking. The first thing to go is your own good sense when you're that tired. You are practically incapable of making routine decisions, much less crisis calls. You fall into the groove of work, drive, eat, nap, answer phone, drive, work...repeat. After about 2 months of that, I was a zombie and it finally took one of my conductors telling me when I showed up at 2 AM how bad I looked to finally mark off but I still worked another 2 weeks before I even did that. I was running on autopilot and didn't have the time or energy or smarts to realize it. It's a serious issue and it can't be a one way street. The carriers have to share some responsibility for how they use or misuse their people. Dedication is one thing, but there has to be more to life than this. No offense intended, just interested in batting this around a bit while the subject is up.
The last business I owned, I was working it 105-110 hours, AND MORE, a week. I was quite healthy at the start. I am not now. We got out of that well over four years ago. And I am still struggling to regain my health. Am certain I know how drained railroaders are every day. :thumbs_down: Boxcab E50
I know it IS exhausting, but, railroads are very up front about this lifestyle. Another thing that makes it worse is the newer employees, and old too, mark off sick which shorten the crew board, forcing crews out faster. Yes, railroads could hire more people, and have bigger boards, but that would mean less trips for crews and smaller paychecks. With some of the union agreements of recieving a certain pay each week, as long as your 'on-call', it wouldn't make sense to be paying several employees to sit at home. Again though, it comes back to the employees time management.
I've been working 15-16 trips every two weeks for the last couple months or so, and that's with taking my rest day every Friday. I've got 27 years in, with 15 to go. Will I make it without killing myself or someone else? I certainly hope so. Do I get tired of it? You bet. Do I understand how this wreck happened? Oh yeah. Part of the problem is greed, and part of it is the contract allowing too many people to play the bumping game and be off constantly. It is nothing for me to be 4 or 5 times out on the pool and get called right away because all the slots ahead of me are vacant and no one on the extra board. I just have to keep telling myself, "I love my job, I love my job".
My friends keep wondering why I don't work for the RR. The above discussion is why. There are no checks and balances to ensure crews are given opportunity for proper/legal minimum rest? In my line of work, if I break 12's, a person with a bird or a leaf on their lapels gets notified--and in any case, I have to have opportunity for at least 8 hours rest.
My son once asked me that if I love trains so much, why can't I work for the railroad? I told him because I liked being there for him on his birthday, and being available to him. My impression, unless things have changed, is that the railroad practically owns you and all other considerations like family are secondary, and subject to cancellation by a crew caller. I can't imagine things have changed that much in the last few years since I considered working for a railroad. That said, I fully agree that a self-disciplined employee lives much longer, and with more fingers and toes. Are employees today able to keep their job and their reputation after refusing to work with an exhausted crew member? I don't know if there's a definitive answer for that question.
You got that right brother. Greed is the monster that makes this a whole lot tougher than it needs to be. Greed for money and/or time off among a select few and a willingness to cut throats to get it adds significantly to the stress and lack of rest. When I worked the extra list early in the game, the local chairman would chop it when he and his pals wanted some extra cash and then fill it up when they wanted time off. I never knew from week to week where I'd be and even managed to get bumped 3 times in the same day on one occasion thanks to their scheming. Between that and the other guys sharpshooting for the daylight, high rate jobs...I only saw home about every third day for months. There's no need for it except that some guys figure they deserve to get 8 starts in 5 days, make 2 grand a week, work days and have weekends off while the rest of the list slugs it out. There's nothing like being 6 times out and thinking you can sneak a Saturday in and then getting called on your rest because half the list and a third of the regular men dropped Friday night. And they wonder why we're running on empty all the time.
Are employees today able to keep their job and their reputation after refusing to work with an exhausted crew member? I don't know if there's a definitive answer for that question I would not hesitate to bring an employees unsafe condition to someones attention. If they want to get mad at me, thats fine. I could be saving their life, and my own. When I teach classes, I always tell students that it is their responsibility to report unsafe conditions, and that includes crew members. It's better to report a condition before something happens then after. If it is reported after something happens, you can be assured you will face harder consiquences.
Here in Sydney we have strict fatigue guidelines for all rail workers, we use a software package called FAID that all rosters must pass to ensure everyone is safe to carry out their work. Jerry the hours you work are excessive and would not be permitted here. The maximum allowable overtime hours per month is 38 unless otherwise approved under strict guidlines and the normal hours of work are 38 hours a week.
