http://m.ketv.com/news/bnsf-union-pacific-say-meltdown-in-nations-rail-grid-is-looming/35199992
Just the threat of a national railroad shutdown will start rippling through the economy soon. Amtrak is only a tiny freckle of the economic damage if the railroads shut down. CDL requirements and new diesel pollution requirements for trucks means there are neither the vehicles nor drivers to mitigate the effects. Coal is not going to be delivered to power plants one truck at a time. The military can’t move heavy artillery and munitions around the country on flatbed trucks.
While PTC makes sense for urban commuter rail, it is a completely inappropriate tool for freight railroads. There is not even a standard implantation that railroads agree on, because each railroad has entirely different operating rules and union contracts. Since PTC would reduce the locomotive engineer to a one person crew on mainlines with nothing to do but sleep while his train is going 79 miles an hour controlled by a computer 1000 miles away, the locomotive engineers and owners are on the same side.
The most recent Amtrak accident involving injuries (not caused by a vehicle at a crossing) happened a few days ago in Vermont. In compliance with the post-Philadelphia rules, a second set of eyes were in the cab. There may well even be an inward looking camera recording them by now.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d1da3688b58e4eb181f13fc0341d8107/amtrak-train-derails-central-vermont-no-word-injuries
The tracks run through the mountains of Vermont. The cause of the crash and derailment of the locomotive and three passenger cars was rocks on the tracks caused by a rockslide. The tracks recently were upgraded to Continuously Welded Rail that gets rid of the clickety clack and wear caused by jointed rail – however when put under stress, CWR just bends instead or separating at the joint. As long as electrical continuity is not broken, the block signals stay green and the crew has no warning of the danger ahead. Going at 60 mph, even if the engineer and conductor see the rocks and react quickly, there is not enough distance to stop the train in time.
This track is owned by a freight railroad, which arranges its schedule to accommodate The Vermonter coming To/from New York City. This day, the train had 98 passengers, which would fit comfortably on two intercity buses.
If the freight railroad spent millions of dollars it doesn’t have to run electrical wiring and erect the transmitters necessary for PTC – after years of filing environmental impact statements on the effect on the pristine forest, the case can be made that the engineer and conductor would have been less likely to recognize the danger on the tracks and delay putting the train in emergency braking if at all – resulting in a much more lethal crash.
The Governor of Vermont, who doesn’t know a restrictive block signal from a diverging frog declared that the replacement of the jointed track was completely unrelated to the crash. The story itself mentions the speed limit was raised due to the safer tracks. This is why you don’t let elected government officials make up laws on how to run a railroad, even if they promise to make the trains run on time.
Ways that government-think would prevent or mitigate this accident
– require every Amtrak train to be preceded by an empty test train
– put a third person in the cab
– require three empty cars between the locomotive and passengers
– remove all rocks within 500 feet of the tracks
– put video cameras pointed at potential rockslides and monitor them 24/7
– limit train speed to speeds where the train can always be stopped within the visible tracks ahead
– more frequent random drug testing
– installing transgender toilets
– put the railroad CEO in jail
– limit punitive damages when Antrak is sued
– monitor railroad tracks in real time from satellites using ground penetrating radar
Have any more suggestions?
American Airlines offers three non-stop flights a day from Saint Albans to Ronald Reagan National Airport in DC. The travel time is 1 hour, 37 minutes vs almost 14 hours by Amtrak. $150 million in track improvements could have bought 100 intercity buses and paid drivers for the next 50 years.
Amtrak is for all intents and purposes – a federal agency. The inefficiencies and the inability to upgrade track and move to profitable things makes the railroad a really bad choice for moving people unless being late is somehow fashionable again.
Many of the freight railroads agreed in exchange for the land grants to offer passenger service in perpetuity, 50 years before automobiles became available to the masses. This was also a good idea as many of the towns along their routes were built on railroad land. Reliable passenger service and package delivery was a win-win.
The main purpose for creating Amtrak was less about providing passenger service than it was releasing the railroads from their legal obligations. Southern Railway tried to not join Amtrak as they were still solvent and took pride in their passenger operation. They were eventually beaten or bribed into submission.
>”Southern Railway tried to not join Amtrak as they were still solvent and took pride in their passenger operation. They were eventually beaten or bribed into submission.”
True Dat ! and their E8’s were wore out.