Railway accident in Sierra Nevada costs lives of two

A horrific railway accident in the Sierra Nevada region of California has left two railway workers dead – and investigators are scrambling to discover the cause of the tragedy.

The eight surviving railway workers told investigators that they noticed something was wrong as they traveled through a tunnel about three miles from the accident site. During the train’s decent into a ravine – one of the steepest sections of track in the country – all brakes including the emergency brakes seemingly failed. In a last ditch effort to save the train, the conductor threw the locomotive into reverse.

Ultimately though, the train hit a curve at the bottom of the ravine traveling about 50mph, twice the recommended speed. Six of 10 rail cars derailed. “This was a runaway train,” Dave Watson, lead investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told the Associated Press.

After the derailment, the maintenance train spilled thousand of gallons of diesel fuel, hydraulic fluid, acetylene, and other flammable liquids that ignited, setting fire to the brush around the tracks. The section of track was closed to the normally busy train traffic for two days as crews worked to fix 600 feet of rails and to clean up the chemical spills.

However it is unlikely that the full cause of the railway accident will be known for up to one year. Investigators secured the train’s “events recorder” – similar to an airplane’s Black Box – but initially had trouble getting any data from the box despite the fact that it appeared to be undamaged. The NTSB said that it would forward it on to expert data processors to retrieve the information from the recorder if necessary, though the Board implied that it was possible the recorder contained no information.

Soon after the railway accident, the NTSB had “almost” ruled out the track as the source of the accident. Investigators also confirmed that each of the eight survivors had similar stories about the events leading to the accident, seemingly ruling out human error. The investigation, then, will likely focus on the braking system.

The train itself, owned by Harsco Track Technologies (a subsidiary of Harsco Corporation), is described as a “rolling mechanic’s shop.” The main purpose of the train is to smooth down worn-out rails to prevent railway accident and derailment. The train was doing just that at the time of the accident under a maintenance contract with Union Pacific.

Working on and around trains that weigh several tons can be very dangerous. That’s why it is especially important that employers ensure the well-being of their workers by keeping machinery maintained and implementing safety measures to reduce the risk of accident. If you or a loved one has been injured in a railway accident, contact a Jim S. Adler & Associates personal injury attorney for a free case assessment. We may be able to help you receive compensation for your injuries including medical costs, lost work, and pain and suffering. Don’t try to decide for yourself who is to blame for your injuries, and don’t let your employer pin it on you. Contact Jim S. Adler & Associates right now by calling us directly or by submitting the facts of your railway accident in the form provided for a free case review.

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