Fatigue, ‘dark territory’ can cause accidents
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While investigators focus on an apparent switching error in the wreck of Norfolk Southern Train 192, railroad unions and workplace experts point to a range of related safety issues surrounding the deadly accident, where nine people were killed by a massive chlorine gas leak. One such issue is potential fatigue of both the crew of Train 192 and a local crew shuttling cars onto a spur line the day before the 2:39 a.m. Thursday wreck. Other issues include the availability of common railroad switch and signal-box keys and the dispatch system used to direct trains traveling miles of track without signals, known as “dark territory.” Of these, the fatigue of crew members working in a freight system stressed by a steep rise in traffic and the departure of veteran engineers, conductors and other workers is the prime contributing factor to miscues that can lead to wrecks, said John Bentley, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, one of the two unions representing workers at the nation’s seven railroads. “The crews that are out there are being pushed to the limit and sometimes beyond the limit, so fatigue is a real problem,” Mr. Bentley said. “People working for the railroad are pretty much on call all the time.” More : chronicle.augusta.com |