NTSB makes recommendations after investigation

March 20, 2013

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The National Transportation Safety Board has issued 12 new safety recommendations as a result of its investigation of the Sept. 30, 2010, collision of two freight trains near Two Harbors, Minn.

The NTSB recommendations were issued to the following organizations: the Federal Railroad Administration, Canadian National Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, Kansas City Southern Railway Company, Norfolk Southern Railroad, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, BNSF Railway, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the United Transportation Union. 

In a letter to SMART Transportation Division (UTU) President Mike Futhey, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman requested that UTU “work with the Canadian National Railway and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, to develop and implement a non-punitive peer audit program for the Canadian National Railway’s North Division, focused on rule compliance and operational safety.

“The NTSB is vitally interested in this recommendation because it is designed to prevent accidents and save lives.”

“The safety of our members and all railroad employees, as well as the general public, is of the utmost concern to the UTU and we intend to work with CN and the BLET to implement the NTSB’s recommendation,” Futhey said.

Additional NTSB recommendations can be found here.

The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation, including railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline.

The NTSB determines the probable cause of the accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. In addition, it carries out special studies concerning transportation safety and coordinates the resources of the federal government and other organizations to provide assistance to victims and their family members affected by major transportation disasters.