Articles Posted in Train Accidents

In determining the cause of a 2021 Green Line crash that injured 27 people, federal investigators faulted a speeding train operator—as well as a missing safety feature they say would have prevented the accident. Two and a half years after the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a report concluding that the driver’s “loss of situational awareness” and “full-power” acceleration caused him to collide with another train.

The investigation also revealed that the accident didn’t have to happen. According to the report, the current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operations and control system lacks a key engineering feature that would have prevented such a crash. The recommended technology can both detect collision threats and prevent trolleys from violating speed policies. According to the Boston Globe, the NTSB first recommended the crash-avoidance system more than 14 years ago, but it has not yet been installed.

Green Line Train Accident

About 1,000 people are killed in train-related accidents each year and thousands more suffer non-fatal injuries. Despite these shocking statistics, train travel is generally quite safe. But concerns over recent – and tragic – accidents involving Amtrak have authorities questioning the railroad company’s safety culture.

In 2016, an Amtrak passenger train crashed into a backhoe on the track in Chester, PA. The operator claims he tried to stop when he noticed workers on the track, but failed to do so in time. Following the accident, toxicology reports showed that each of the three employees involved in the collision tested positive for drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and opioids.

Without Change, Another Accident is Inevitable

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the accident occurred due to Amtrak’s failure to maintain a “clear, consistent and accepted vision for safety.” The NTSB went on to warn that another accident is inevitable if Amtrak does not make some dramatic changes, and soon.

An NTSB investigation into Amtrak’s 2016 derailment revealed the following problems as the main causes of the crash:

• The train was permitted to travel on an unprotected track – while employees were working on the track – at maximum speed.
• The train lacked shunting devices (a feature that indicates if and where workers are present on the railroad track).
• Amtrak’s safety policies and management are inconsistent.
• The presence of drugs in three of the workers’ systems further indicated the railroad company’s “weak safety culture.”

Sadly, the collision above is far from the only fatal crash in Amtrak’s recent history. In 2015, more than 200 people were injured and eight were killed when a train derailed in Philadelphia. And only a few weeks ago, two employees were killed and more than 100 people were injured in South Carolina when a passenger train collided with a parked freight train. Officials say that Amtrak’s safety culture was again to blame in the South Carolina crash. A Boston injury attorney can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured in a train-related accident.

Common Carrier Law

Under common carrier law, train operators, railroad workers and train companies are held to a higher standard because they are responsible for the safety of hundreds – even thousands – of people each day. In addition to implementing an effective drug-testing program, Amtrak and other common carriers (such as MBTA) should ensure that employees receive adequate training and that vehicles and equipment are properly maintained and in good, working order at all times.

Amtrak has failed to do its part to protect passengers and limit any harm that can come to them while using its transportation services. When a company like Amtrak neglects to adhere to safety standards and regulations – and injuries result – it should be held accountable for its actions. That being said, determining liability can be an overwhelmingly-complex process. In such a situation, it is essential to consult with an attorney who has extensive experience in cases involving common carriers.

The NTSB recommends that Amtrak overhauls its safety culture by implementing professional risk assessments and ensuring that workers are compliant with safety protocol. If Amtrak does not improve its safety culture, more deadly accidents are inevitable. A MA personal injury lawyer can help you recover damages if you have been injured due to another’s negligence. Continue reading

Last week, three people were killed and dozens more were injured when Amtrak’s 501 Cascades high-speed locomotive derailed on its inaugural journey between Seattle and Portland. Excessive speed was a factor. More disturbing, however, was the fact that the automatic braking system (ABS) was installed on the tracks and train, but was not functioning. Such a system would have likely prevented this deadly accident from occurring.

Since 1969, train safety advocates have been pushing for the installation of ABS. According to an Associated Press analysis, since that year, more than 6,700 have been injured and 298 have been killed in accidents involving train derailments. Congress mandated the implementation of “positive train control” (PTC) on all trains by 2015. PTC is a communications system for passenger trains that includes ABS. Despite this mandate, most passenger trains in the United States are not equipped with PTC features. A Boston train accident attorney can help you determine how to proceed if you’ve been injured in a train derailment-related accident.

Train was Clocked at Nearly Three Times the Posted Speed Limit

Just before the accident, the train was estimated to be traveling at over 80 mph, nearly three times the legal limit. Occurring to investigators, the train cars were tilting as they rounded the curve with a 30 mph speed limit, and it appeared that the engineer was applying the brakes.

Passengers who were being interviewed shortly after the accident were stunned. Emma Schafer, who was traveling to Portland for the holidays, was napping when her train car fell onto the highway below.

“Have you ever been on a 3D simulator where it shakes you around a pod? It was like that,” said Schafer.

“It felt like the end of the world, like we’d stepped out of a nuclear bunker amid the wreckage,” she continued. “It’s hitting me in waves. I’m suppressing some of it. Tonight is probably going to be rough.”

Amtrak said there were seven crew members and 77 passengers on board at the time of the accident. More than a dozen people suffered serious injuries, some of whom required surgery, and more than 100 people were rushed to the hospital.

Train Accidents are Relatively Common

More than 3,000 train accidents occur in the United States annually. Although not all of these accidents result in injury or death, most involve some level of property damage. The most common railroad accidents involve collisions with other trains or passenger vehicles, derailment, mechanical failure, poorly-maintained tracks, driver fatigue, and driver inexperience. Continue reading

It is a widely known fact that crashes involving large trucks (a.k.a. 18-wheelers, big rigs, tractor-trailers) often result in serious injuries and deaths. It is also relatively common for long-haul truck drivers to spend significant hours behind the wheel during each work shift. In fact, in response to a rise in accidents blamed on driver fatigue, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implemented hours-of-service rules in 2011. These rules govern the amount of hours that truck drivers can be behind the wheel in a single shift. Although efforts have reduced trucking accidents, approximately 4,000 fatal trucking accidents still occur annually. How can we reduce these  deadly crashes? One startup based in San Francisco thinks it has the answer. Contact a Boston Trucking Accident Lawyer Today.

Anthony Levandowski, an engineer who helped design Google’s driverless cars, left the technology giant to form a startup with two other Google alums and a robotics expert. His company, Otto, aims to power big-rigs with software, cameras, sensors, and lasers that will allow trucks to effectively navigate U.S. highways autonomously while their human drivers rest or complete other tasks. Levandowski believes that driverless big rigs will have an immensely positive effect on highway safety.

Driverless Cars are Already on the Roads

Although this might seem a scary idea to many, it is not a particularly new idea. Thanks to Google, driverless cars are already navigating city streets in Texas, California, Arizona, and Washington. Otto’s vision is to equip robot truckers with the ability to control highway travel. The more complicated task of weaving in and out of city streets would still be left to humans. “Our goal is to make trucks drive as humanly as possible, but with the reliability of machines,” said Levandowski.

Before you start checking every passing 18-wheeler for a robot driver, it might be a good idea to consider that autonomous big rigs may be decades away. Although driverless car technology has made great progress in a relatively short amount of time, the process is expected to move much slower with large trucks. According to Steven Shladover, the program manager for mobility at the University of California’s Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology, convincing government regulators to trust robot drivers to safely steer high-speed trucks on our highways is what’s going to take some time. “I don’t want to be on that highway when there is nobody there to take over a truck with 80,000 pounds of cargo and I don’t think I know anyone else who would want to be,” said Shladover. “The consequences of any kind of failure in any component would be too severe.” Continue reading

Following a chaotic scene at the State Street station Tuesday night, officials at Mass Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) say they will begin a thorough inspection of the Orange Line trains. According to transportation officials, at around 8:30 pm Tuesday night, deteriorating fasteners caused a body panel to fall off an Orange Line train and onto the tracks. The train subsequently ran over the panel, resulting in a disabled train, an overheated motor, and a smoky T station. In fact, as the train began to fill with smoke, some passengers kicked through windows to escape. Contact a Boston Injury Lawyer Today.

Loose Body Panel Hardware Was the Culprit

The good news coming out of this incident is that nobody was injured and MBTA will immediately begin conducting inspections of the Orange Line’s fleet of 120 cars, some of which have been in service since the 1970s. Although the Orange Line cars aren’t the oldest on the T, the older Red and Green Line cars have been rebuilt since they were put into service. The Orange Line vehicles have not. In a statement, the T’s general manager, Frank DePaola said, “Following last night’s incident involving two Orange Line trains, the MBTA is immediately incorporating inspection of body panel hardware as part of regular maintenance work on Orange Line cars.” Let’s hope they stay true to their word, as a future incident could have a more devastating outcome.

According to officials, two cars struck the panel, the car from which it fell and another about six minutes later. Since the train had not come to a proper stop at the station, the doors remained locked. Passengers, who were likely concerned with increasing levels of smoke, had to kick out windows and crawl through the openings to escape. Immediately after the incident, workers inspected every train and secured 13 panels. The panels are actually unique to trains on the Orange Line, so trains from other lines don’t need to be inspected for loose panels. The MBTA performs routine maintenance on the Orange Line trains at 12,000 mile intervals, however, checking for deterioration of fasteners on panels has not been standard procedure. From now on, it will be.

Orange and Red Lines in Head-to-Head Match for Least Reliable Fleet. Over the years, both the Orange and Red lines have become increasingly unreliable. Between February 8th and 14th, the Orange Line trains were running late about 20% of the time. According to MBTA officials, cars from both fleets are scheduled to be replaced, beginning in 2018. Four new cars will be delivered monthly until 2022.

Similar Incident Occurred Last Year. Tuesday’s incident was the second in a little over a year where panic arose due to a smoke-filled MBTA subway train. In January of last year, a failure in a train car’s propulsion system caused a Red Line car to fill with smoke at the Quincy Center station. In that incident, passengers also kicked out the windows of the car. Continue reading