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NTSB: Chicago Train Speeding; Commuter Train Neared 70 Mph Before Derailing

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

CHICAGO - A commuter train was going almost 60 mph above the speed limit just before it derailed, killing two people and injuring dozens of others, the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday.

Mark Rosenker said the Metra train was traveling at 69 mph and should not have been going faster than 10 mph when it switched tracks at a crossover just before jumping the tracks Saturday.

"Sixty-nine miles an hour is very, very fast when you're dealing with a 10-mile-an-hour restriction," Rosenker said.

The speed information came from a preliminary reading of one of the train's three electronic data recorders, popularly known as "black boxes," Rosenker said.

Investigators conducted a three-hour interview Sunday with the train's engineer. The 41-year-old man had been on the job for 45 days after completing Metra's six-month training program, which included at least some training along the route where the derailment occurred. He also had worked for more than five years as a CSX Corp. freight-train engineer.

The double-decker commuter train was headed into Chicago from Joliet on Saturday morning with 185 passengers and four crewmembers when its locomotive and five rail cars jumped the tracks about 5 miles south of downtown.

The train began to derail as it switched tracks, striking a steel bridge just beyond the crossover. Rosenker said that collision damaged at least one rail car and likely contributed to at least one of the fatalities.

The train and the track had just been inspected Friday, said Judy Pardonnet, a spokeswoman for Metra, the commuter rail system that services the Chicago area.

Transportation officials also determined Sunday that train signals were working, meaning the engineer should have known he was approaching a crossover and should have had time to slow the train upon seeing the signals, even if he was traveling at 69 mph, Rosenker said.

Extensive damage to the train's undercarriage has prevented investigators from examining its brakes, but it appears the brakes engaged as the train was switching tracks. It was unclear if the engineer applied the brakes or if they engaged automatically, Rosenker said.

The train engineer, three crewmembers and dispatchers were tested for drugs and alcohol, which is standard procedure, Pardonnet said.

Source: Charleston Gazette, The

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