The National Transportation Safety Board held a public hearing in Dallas from Feb. 24 to 25 to examine safety violations committed by the Union Pacific Railroad.
The hearing focused on UP's year-long safety meltdown that resulted in a rash of 15 accidents and 13 deaths on UP's tracks from October 1996 to October 1997. BLE members R.W. Adams and Michael E. Brown were among the fatalities. The hearing was just beginning as this issue went to press.
BLE Division 366 Local Chairman Rodney Stutes served as a witness before the Board. Stutes is also a member of the BLE Safety Task force. In addition, Vice-President Bill Walpert served as BLE Party Spokesman.
This hearing was a follow-up to another hearing held in March of 1998 in Springfield, Va., where the NTSB addressed safety issues at UP stemming from its merger with the Southern Pacific Railroad. The NTSB examined government oversight and the railroad's safety program. The 1998 hearing was recessed, urging the parties to submit more facts, conclusions, and recommendations that would drive toward safety improvements.
"Rail safety is a major concern of the Safety Board," Goglia said. "The NTSB is interested in the changes and improvements in operations and functions of UP since our last hearing. This hearing gave us the opportunity to re-examine and record those improvements."
The focus of the hearing was to complete the UP Special Investigation in the following areas: assess UP's progress in addressing issues identified in the March 1998 hearing; assess the effectiveness of Federal Railroad Administration oversight; gather information to support recommendations for special oversight programs to be put in place to monitor merging companies; and examine the current effectiveness of UP's own oversight program.
Goglia chaired the Board of Inquiry, made up of senior Safety Board staff. A technical panel of NTSB investigators led the questioning of witnesses, who were also examined by representatives of the following parties to the hearing: Union Pacific Railroad, the FRA, the Texas Railroad Commission, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and the United Transportation Union.
Topics expected to be examined were UP safety oversight; federal and state regulators' safety oversight; and the unions' role in safety.
Various items of UP's operating practices are expected be thoroughly examined, including fatigue, violations of the Hours of Service Act, crew size, dispatching, and the hours locomotive engineers spend on trains.
A review of the hearing will appear in the next issue of the Newsletter.
BLE Member Roger H. Bell was killed as three Conrail trains collided in heavy fog near Toledo, Ohio, on January 17.
Brother Bell, 56, was a member of BLE Division 457 in Toledo, Ohio. He first joined the BLE on Sept. 1, 1973. Also killed in the crash was conductor Raymond E. Corell, 52.
A westbound Conrail freight, TV-7, was stopped or had just begun to move ahead after waiting for MGL-16, an empty steel train traveling eastbound, to pass. TV-7 apparently wanted to cross onto the other track so it could pass a slower train ahead of it.
A westbound mail train with three engines, Mail-9, crashed into the rear of TV-7. The collision caused a fiery explosion and sent derailed engines and cars from Mail-9 into the middle of the passing MGL-16, which caused several cars from that train to derail as well.
Members of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the crash, with assistance from members of the BLE Safety Task Force. Preliminary reports indicate that low visibility due to heavy fog was a factor in the collision, but fatigue is also being examined as another reason for the fatal wreck.
Brother Bell began his railroad career in 1965 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsy then became part of Penn Central in 1968, and Penn Central part of Conrail in 1976. He had worked the Toledo-Chicago run for the last 13 years.
A boxer since the age of 12, Brother Bell won the Golden Gloves in the 147-pound class in 1959. He spent his later years coaching boys boxing at a local Toledo gym.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 35 years, Norma; children Kim (Howard) LaCourse, Chip, Lori, Bryan, Nikki, and Kris Bell; nine grandchildren; and sisters Shirley Bell and Debbie (Jeff) Whitner.
His son Bryan, 31, is a conductor for Conrail. "He was always there for us," he said. "We always had family gatherings when he was home."
"It's tragic, really tragic," said Steve Rathke, a member of
BLE Division 4 in Toledo. "Both Roger and Ray were highly regarded
railroaders, but most importantly, they were good people."
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