During a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee hearing on the implementation of positive train control (PTC) among U.S. railroads Oct. 3, an Amtrak executive said that the carrier plans to continue operating the Southwest Chief passenger route through at least the 2019 fiscal year.
Amtrak Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Scot Naparstek told U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D) of New Mexico that the route, which various reports had said would get a 500-mile “bus bridge” from Dodge City, Kan., to Albuquerque, N.M., to avoid non-PTC trackage, would be operated as usual once the Dec. 31, 2018, PTC deadline passes.
Senators representing areas with stops on the route, including Udall, as well as rail passenger advocacy groups had been fighting this option.
“We plan on running the Southwest Chief as-is through fiscal year 2019. We are well aware of the Senate’s directive,” Naparstek said. “We await Congress’s dealing with the Southwest Chief during the (budget) conference as well as in the fiscal spending bill.”
The president of the Rail Passengers Association was pleased with the outcome.
“This is a huge win for our association, for passengers, and for the states that rely on the Southwest Chief,” said Rail Passengers Association President Jim Mathews. “It shows that advocacy works, and I want to thank every person who took part in our campaign in defense of the national network. Now, we need to take that energy and turn it towards the coming reauthorization where we can make a positive vision for passenger rail in the U.S.: fast and frequent trains, 21st century equipment, and on-time service that passengers can count on.”
The Southwest Chief runs daily from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Tag: Amtrak
The public and members of Congress have been vocal in their displeasure with Amtrak’s announcements of cuts and planned cuts to service, including replacement of dining car service with boxed lunches on some routes, de-staffing 15 train stations around the country that serve less than 40 passengers per day and a proposal to substitute parts of the Southwest Chief train route with bus service.
Hot meals a thing of the past on select routes
Beginning June 1, Amtrak replaced the hot meal service offered to sleeping car passengers and replaced it with cold-meal service on the Lakeshore Limited (daily service from New York and Boston to Chicago) and the Capitol Limited (the only daily train from Washington to Chicago). With the replacement, onboard preparation of meals has been eliminated. Instead, the meals are delivered just prior to leaving the point of origin. These new changes have not been popular with passengers who pay hundreds of dollars more for sleeper cars and the amenities, such as hot meals, that come with it.
Julie King, executive director of the National Railroad Hall of Fame and the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners, has expressed concern that the changes will dissuade customers from riding on trains.
“When you’re on a very long train trip, the equivalent of a boxed lunch is not going to enhance your experience,” King said. “The lack of train attendants has the same impact. It makes it difficult for people to get their questions answered and get tickets.”
De-staffing stations
Since the de-staffing of train stations, there has been a considerable amount of public outcry to the loss of service. In fact, rail passengers have formed a Station Volunteer Program (SVP) set to begin in August to help pick up the slack. Volunteers in the program intend to provide information to travelers and will even help with luggage.
The staff cuts also have gotten the attention of senators. Ohio Sens. Rob Portman (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) have introduced an amendment to H.R. 6147, the 2019 fiscal transportation legislation, as a result of the de-staffing. If passed, the amendment would require Amtrak to staff any station that has averaged at least 25 passengers per day in the last five years.
“The services Amtrak staff provide are important to all passengers … but this is particularly true for elderly and disabled individuals who may have to carry baggage down to the train platform unassisted, often late at night,” Portman said.
Southwest Chief: train to bus service?
The most concerning cuts that Amtrak wants to make is to its Southwest Chief daily train service. According to the Rail Passengers Association (RPA), if Amtrak makes its proposed changes to the Southwest Chief route by discontinuing rail service and replacing it with bus service from Dodge City, Kan., to Albuquerque, N.M., it would take 7.5 hours to drive from point-to-point, stopping at all nine current stops.
“The proposal would leave a 500-mile gap in the rail network, it would displace thousands of riders from the train and is projected to lose as much as 70 percent of current revenue generated,” the RPA said.
The RPA has started a petition on its website, www.railpassengers.org, in the hopes that Amtrak will reconsider its proposals.
SMART TD Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith said he is dismayed at the potential loss of jobs and the hardships that current passengers will face if Amtrak has its way.
“The Southwest Chief is critical infrastructure to sustaining good jobs in rural areas as well as providing passenger transportation to under-served areas that do not have ready access to other forms of travel to larger metropolitan areas,” Smith said.
The Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization (TEMPO), which was created in the 1990s when Amtrak was looking to discontinue service on the Texas Eagle, a line that stops in Chicago; San Antonio; Fort Worth, Texas; and Los Angeles, has also been outspoken about the changes Amtrak is proposing.
“Over the years we’ve had to battle with Congress to fund these trains, but now it seems the battle is with Amtrak itself,” said TEMPO’s Dr. William Pollard after hearing about Amtrak’s planned cuts.
Members of Congress expressed their concern after Amtrak’s CEO Richard Anderson announced that he plans to renege on deals with affected states Amtrak had made under then-CEO Joe Boardman to keep the Southwest Chief running.
In a bipartisan letter to Amtrak’s Anderson, U.S. Sens. Marin Heinrich (D – N.M.), Tom Udall (D – N.M.), Michael Bennet (D – Colo.), Richard Durbin (D – Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D – Ill), Dianne Feinstein (D – Calif.), Kamala Harris (D – Calif.), Pat Roberts (R – Kan.), Jerry Moran (R – Kan.) and Cory Gardner (R – Colo.) wrote: “The potential suspension of rail service has raised serious concerns among our constituents who depend on the Southwest Chief. We strongly disagree with such a decision and urge you to uphold Amtrak’s commitment to intercity rail service across the entire national network, particularly through our rural communities.”
The Senate has since passed an amendment to the chamber’s fiscal 2019 transportation legislation to force Amtrak to keep running its long-distance routes. Amendment No. 3414 of the funding bill H.R. 6147 says, “It is the sense of Congress that 1) long distance routes provide much needed transportation access to millions of riders in 325 communities in 40 states, and are particularly important in rural areas; and 2) long distance passenger rail routes and services should be sustained to ensure connectivity throughout the national network.”
That amendment passed, 95 to 4. The clear objective of the amendment is to tell Amtrak that it cannot be the sole decision-maker in the decision to scrap portions of the national network.
“Now, more than ever, we need a ‘national’ rail system. It’s sad that we need the representatives and senators of the people to mandate the CEO of Amtrak to continue to operate a national system instead of dismantling it,” said Dirk Sampson, general chairperson of Amtrak GO 769.
On the one-year anniversary of the shooting of Amtrak conductor Michael Case in Naperville, Ill., U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D – Ill.) introduced S. 2861 — The Passenger Rail Crew Protection Parity Act — a bill that would make it a felony to assault or intimidate passenger rail crewmembers. U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R – N.D.) has signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill.
“The senseless shooting in 2017 of Michael Case, a SMART TD brother out of Local 1525, that inspired the senators to craft this bill is just one example of the crime against rail crewmembers that happens all too often,” SMART TD President John Previsich said. “Making such incidents felony-level offenses throughout the U.S. would be a step in making our nation’s rails a safer place to work and travel.”
Case spent 10 weeks in the hospital after being shot May 16, 2017, and his shooting is one of 73 recorded cases of assault on Amtrak employees since 2015. A year later, Case said he is still recovering.
“I am working very hard to get my strength, flexibility, endurance and mental health back to 100 percent. I have my struggles, but I count my blessings that I am alive,” Case said. “My family has been through a lot this past year — we look forward to better days ahead!”
Case’s shooting, as well as other incidences of assault, inspired Duckworth to propose the legislation.
“No one in America should experience what Amtrak conductor Michael Case endured while just doing his job. We are all entitled to work in a safe environment, one that is free from violence, harassment and intimidation,” Duckworth said in a press release.
If passed, the bill would provide the same protections to passenger rail personnel as airline crewmembers. Currently, any assault on a rail crewmember falls under the laws of the local jurisdiction where the crime occurs, leading to an inequality in justice for assault victims. This legislation levels the playing field, and victims can expect to receive the same justice, no matter where the crime happens, if the bill becomes law.
“This bipartisan legislation is welcomed and overdue,” Previsich said. “SMART Transportation Division applauds Sen. Duckworth’s and Sen. Hoeven’s efforts to bring federal protections of rail workers in line with those of the airline industry. We urge members of Congress to support this bill to bring crimes against railroaders under the umbrella of federal law.”
Case also supports the bill and says it would help to protect his fellow passenger rail workers.
“I pray that my co-workers NEVER have to go through what my family and I have endured this past year!” Case said. “A safe and secure environment will allow my co-workers to focus on the task at hand — operate and administrate their equipment up and down the railroad safely.”
In a press release released by Duckworth’s office, Illinois State Legislative Director Bob Guy also lent support.
“Given the interstate nature of passenger rail, it only makes sense to provide the same federal protections that aviation employees enjoy to employees in the passenger rail industry, and that’s just what the Passenger Rail Crew Protection Parity Act would do. I want to thank Senators Duckworth and Hoeven for their commitment to rail safety and working to provide our members the federal protections they deserve,” he said.
S. 2861 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Committee Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, of which Duckworth is a member.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress passed and President Trump signed into law Friday a bipartisan spending agreement also known as the “omnibus” spending bill that provides a massive boost toward several of our union’s priorities, including transportation infrastructure projects, the Railroad Retirement Board and the National Mediation Board.
With the growing demand by our nation’s leaders to address infrastructure needs, the omnibus provides a major boost to funding passenger rail and transit projects such as $1.9 billion for Amtrak, including $650 million for projects in the Northeast Corridor.
This will provide much-needed funding for the Gateway Project that will double passenger train service between New York and New Jersey to reduce congestion while making repairs to tunnels and tracks that are long overdue. For our bus and transit members, the bill provides $2.6 billion to fund major transit capital investments, including heavy rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit projects nationwide.
In addition, the Railroad Retirement Board received a $10 million boost that will allow the agency to phase out its decades-old hardware systems with modernized Information Technology services to provide and disburse benefits to our railroad retirees in a timely manner. Lastly, the omnibus provides the National Mediation Board with $13.8 million that includes the sustained $570,000 funding increase to address the arbitration backlog.
“The SMART TD National Legislative Office continues to inform lawmakers about the importance of funding transit and passenger rail that are vital to our union membership and the nation’s transportation workforce at large. We will continue working to ensure that Congress addresses the full needs of our rail workers by increasing resources for the National Mediation Board and Railroad Retirement Board so that our members receive the services they earned and deserve,” SMART TD National Legislative Director John Risch said.
On February 4, 2018, southbound Amtrak train 91, operating on a track warrant, diverted from the main track through a hand-thrown switch into a siding and collided head-on with stationary CSX Transportation local freight train F777 03 on the CSX Columbia Subdivision in Cayce, S.C.
The engineer and conductor of the Amtrak train died as a result of the collision and at least 92 passengers and crewmembers on the Amtrak train were transported to medical facilities. The engineer of the stopped CSX train had exited the lead locomotive before the Amtrak train entered the siding, ran to safety, and was not injured. The conductor of the CSX lead locomotive saw the Amtrak train approaching in the siding and ran to the back of locomotive. The conductor was thrown off the locomotive and sustained minor injuries.
The normal method of train operation on the subdivision was a traffic control system with wayside signals. Signal indications authorize movement in either direction. On the day before the accident, CSX signal personnel suspended the traffic control signal system to install updated traffic control system components for implementing positive train control (PTC) on the subdivision. During the suspension, scheduled to last through February 4, 2018, dispatchers would use track warrants to move trains through absolute blocks in the work territory.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators inspected the track structure, signal system and mechanical equipment; collected and are examining records for operations, signal systems, mechanical equipment, and track and engineering; and interviewed train crewmembers, train dispatchers and other personnel from CSX and Amtrak. In addition, investigators are reviewing the emergency response to the accident. Members of the NTSB investigative team traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., to investigate the dispatching aspects of the accident, to test the CSX signal system and to conduct additional interviews.
While on-scene, NTSB investigators located and removed the undamaged event data recorder from the destroyed Amtrak locomotive. The event data recorder was successfully downloaded and an initial review of the data revealed the following information:
- From the train’s last stop, the maximum speed reached 57 mph, which was below the 59 mph limit allowed under signal suspension rules.
- About 7 seconds before the end of the recording, the train was moving at 56 mph and the train’s horn was activated for 3 seconds.
- The brake pipe pressure began decreasing 2 seconds later.
- The following second, the throttle transitioned from full throttle to idle, while the train was moving at 54 mph.
- The engineer induced emergency braking one second later, while the train was moving at a speed of 53 mph.
- The recording ended 2 seconds later, as the train’s air braking system was approaching maximum braking effort and the train’s speed was 50 mph.
The Amtrak locomotive’s forward-facing video recorder hard drive was recovered and downloaded. The initial review of the recording indicated that it ended prior to the collision. NTSB engineers are attempting additional forensic efforts to determine if additional information can be recovered. Other investigative efforts included the download of information from the forward-facing video recorder and the extraction of the event recorder from the CSX lead locomotive.
Parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration, CSX, Amtrak, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; International Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, and the State of South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff.
In response to this accident, the NTSB issued an urgent recommendation requesting that the Federal Railroad Administration issue an emergency order providing instructions for railroads to follow when signal suspensions are in effect and a switch has been reported relined for a main track.
***
These are the preliminary findings of the NTSB and will be either supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued three urgent safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), acting upon the agency’s findings in two ongoing railroad accident investigations.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) received one urgent safety recommendation based on NTSB findings in the agency’s investigation of the Feb. 4, 2018, collision of an Amtrak train and a CSX train near Cayce, S.C. The conductor and engineer of the Amtrak train died as a result of the collision. The NTSB issued two urgent safety recommendations to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) based on findings from its investigation of the June 10, 2017, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) accident in which a roadway worker died near Queens Village, N.Y.
In the investigation of the train collision in Cayce, South Carolina, investigators found that on the day before the accident, CSX personnel suspended the traffic control signal system to install updated traffic control system components for the implementation of positive train control (PTC). The lack of signals required dispatchers to use track warrants to move trains through the work territory.
In this accident, and in a similar March 14, 2016, accident in Granger, Wyo., safe movement of the trains, through the signal suspension, depended upon proper switch alignment. That switch alignment relied on error-free manual work, which was not safeguarded by either technology or supervision, creating a single point of failure.
The NTSB concludes additional measures are needed to ensure safe operations during signal suspension and so issued an urgent safety recommendation to the FRA seeking an emergency order directing restricted speed for trains or locomotives passing through signal suspensions when a switch has been reported relined for a main track.
“The installation of the life-saving positive train control technology on the CSX tracks is not the cause of the Cayce, S.C. train collision,” said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt.
“While the collision remains under investigation, we know that signal suspensions are an unusual operating condition, used for signal maintenance, repair and installation, that have the potential to increase the risk of train collisions. That risk was not mitigated in the Cayce collision. Our recommendation, if implemented, works to mitigate that increased risk.” said Sumwalt.
During the investigation of the LIRR accident, the NTSB identified an improper practice by LIRR roadway workers who were working on or near the tracks. LIRR employees were using “train approach warning” as their method of on-track safety, but they did not clear the track, as required, when trains approached and their “predetermined place of safety” did not comply with LIRR rules and procedures.
The NTSB is concerned LIRR management is overlooking and therefore normalizing noncompliance with safety rules and regulations for proper clearing of tracks while using “train approach warning” for worker protection. The two urgent safety recommendations to the MTA call for MTA to audit LIRR’s use of “train approach warning” for worker protection, and, to implement corrective action for deficiencies found through the audit.
The full safety recommendation reports for these urgent safety recommendations are available online at https://goo.gl/z87Dpz and https://goo.gl/LVVef3.
A current SMART Transportation Division conductor and a former member were killed when Amtrak Train 91 traveling from New York to Miami collided early Feb. 4 with a stationary CSX freight train east of Columbia, S.C.
Brother Michael Cella, 36, of Orange Park, Fla., was a conductor out of Local 30 in Jacksonville, Fla. He, along with the train’s engineer, Michael Kempf, a former SMART TD member out of Georgia, died in the accident, which injured more than 100 passengers, in Cayce, S.C.
Cella hired on with Amtrak as an assistant conductor in July 2008 and became a full member of SMART TD in September of that year.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the collision that happened about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 4 when the Amtrak locomotive hit the locomotive of the parked CSX train head-on.
Train 91 was carrying eight crew members and 139 passengers, Amtrak said on a posting on its website.
“We are cooperating fully with the NTSB, which is leading the investigation, as well as working with FRA and CSX. CSX owns and controls the Columbia Subdivision where the accident occurred,” Amtrak said in a statement on Twitter. “CSX maintains all of the tracks and signal systems. CSX controls the dispatching of all trains, including directing the signal systems which control the access to sidings and yards.”
NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt also said during a news conference that CSX owns and operates the tracks that the Amtrak train was traveling. A switch that was “lined and locked” in the position to divert traffic onto the track where the CSX train was parked is being considered a cause of the accident.
“Key to this investigation is learning why the switch was lined that way,” Sumwalt said.
“We were able to see that it was actually literally locked with a padlock,” he said when asked by a reporter if there was any physical indication that the switch was faulty.
A statement issued by CSX offered condolences to the families of Cella and Kempf and said that the carrier was focused on providing assistance and support to those affected by the accident.
Sumwalt said that the forward-facing video recorder from the Amtrak locomotive had been recovered and was already transported to the NTSB offices in Washington D.C. for investigation.
The event recorders from both trains were still being sought, he said.
“Fully operational positive train control could have avoided this accident,” Sumwalt said.
In a tweet, NTSB said it expected to release additional information at 4 p.m. Eastern Feb. 5.
The Cayce accident is the third fatal incident in three months involving Amtrak trains. A derailment off an overpass in Washington state in December killed three passengers, and an occupant of a garbage truck that was struck by an Amtrak train Jan. 31 near Charlottesville, Va., also died.
Follow this link for video of the NTSB investigation.
SMART Transportation Division General Chairpersons Dirk Sampson (GO 769), Robert Keeley (GO 342) and Fran Ariola (GO 663) announced today that they have reached a tentative agreement with Amtrak on behalf of their members employed by the passenger railroad.
The chairpersons convened Jan. 10 and 11 at SMART TD headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, to continue negotiations over a new contract for Amtrak employees represented by the union. Assisted by SMART TD President John Previsich and Vice Presidents John Lesniewski and John England, union officials and Amtrak representatives reached tentative agreements for each bargaining group.
A synopsis of the tentative agreements can be read here.
Each proposed agreement will be submitted for a ratification vote of the affected members.
Copies of the proposed agreement and information on ratification will be communicated by the General Chairpersons to their respective memberships with balloting materials to be prepared and distributed beginning Jan. 15.
Amtrak has named Ken Hylander their new executive vice president and chief safety officer. Hylander previously served as chairman of the Flight Safety Foundation and as the chief safety officer at Delta Air Lines.
Hylander’s first order of business will be to install a Safety Management System (SMS) at Amtrak.
“Ken is a recognized leader in the implementation and operation of SMS, and his experience will be instrumental in helping build our safety culture,” Amtrak CEO and President Richard Anderson said.
SMS is a proactive risk management system, which builds on predictive safety management methods. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently recommended that Amtrak implement a SMS Program in light of multiple derailments that occurred recently.
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (Dec. 19) — SMART Transportation Division is assisting as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducts its investigation and offers its sincere condolences to the victims and families of those affected by the Dec. 18 Amtrak Cascades derailment outside of DuPont, Wash.
Members of SMART TD’s national Safety Task Force have responded to the accident scene and will work along with the NTSB and other rail investigators to help determine probable cause of the accident and to make appropriate safety recommendations at the conclusion of the investigation.
SMART TD has a Party Status agreement with the NTSB that makes the federal agency the chief source of information for this and other accident probes involving trains. Because of this, neither the union nor its representatives will make any official comments as to the status of the accident investigation or the events leading up to the accident. All media inquiries should be directed to the NTSB, which will provide details about the accident and the investigation. Any comment on the investigation from current or former members does not speak for the union or its membership.
“We will await the facts of the investigation and will not speculate in any way about the circumstances leading up to this accident,” SMART TD President John Previsich said. “We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and families of the victims of the Cascades derailment, and our personnel will help investigators as they look for answers as to the cause of this tragedy.”
###
The SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members of the former United Transportation Union, who work in a variety of crafts in the transportation industry.