North Carolina NCDOT-Amtrak Carolinian Service

[rpjs]

This sounds very similar to the crash at Hixon in England in 1968, where a low-loader (what we Brits call a "low-boy") carrying a 120-ton electrical transformer grounded on a crossing. The police escort failed to call the signal box from the phone provided at the crossing either before beginning the move or when they realized it had stuck. An express train hit it at 75mph and 11 died. After this accident, most British grade crossings now have prominent signs telling drivers of large or slow vehicles to stop and call before attempting to cross.

[Watchman318]

if the cop had called 800 number listed on box the dispatcher would have had crossing identified as part of caller id (number dialed) and could have taken immediate action.

Huh? If you mean the railroad dispatcher, Caller ID isn't going to provide the crossing number or a caller's location. Toll-free numbers usually capture a caller's number with Automatic Number Identification, but that's separate from Caller ID, and still wouldn't provide the information. Only the caller can do that. Enhanced 911 has ANI and Automatic Location Identification (originating address of landlines) built-in, but from cell phones, the location info might not be great. (It's done by trilateration from cell towers.) Assuming there was an Emergency Notification System sign or signs posted, the crossing's FRA inventory number would be on the sign, and that would give the railroad dispatcher the location (if provided in time).

any other way would have a procedural delay, but then truck was only stuck for near 15 minutes WTF?

Yeah, that call should probably have been made sooner, and then cancelled if the truck got unstuck.

I think on this incident there will be a lot of blame to pass around; some of it may even land on law enforcement for their handling at the scene (a phone contact is posted at every grade X-ing nowadays).

At many/most crossings, but not every (yet). I believe railroads without an ENS in place still have until July to implement one.
Still, the bigger guys like CSX might be among the first to "git 'em done." I couldn't tell from a Google Street View if the location has ENS signage, because the imagery is almost six years old. One would hope it would, especially with Amtrak on the territory . . .

[TrainPhotos]

The load was NOT a modular home but a metal electrical switching station weighing as much as Genesis.

http://www.wncn.com/story/28359720/high ... -collision" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/03/10/2 ... hould.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yea, i've seen people comment that it was a mobile home.



As you can see, totally different.

[talltim]

I think on this incident there will be a lot of blame to pass around; some of it may even land on law enforcement for their handling at the scene (a phone contact is posted at every grade X-ing nowadays).

At many/most crossings, but not every (yet). I believe railroads without an ENS in place still have until July to implement one.
Still, the bigger guys like CSX might be among the first to "git 'em done." I couldn't tell from a Google Street View if the location has ENS signage, because the imagery is almost six years old. One would hope it would, especially with Amtrak on the territory . . .

This video (linked above as well) shows a sign, not sure if it is what you refer to as an ENS. I'm also not certain if it is at the crossing in question, although it looks like it,
http://www.wncn.com/story/28359720/high ... -collision" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Watchman318]

This video (linked above as well) shows a sign, not sure if it is what you refer to as an ENS.

Yup, that blue rectangular sign on the crossing signal mast is the Emergency notification System sign. Everything from the color of the background to the size of the letters on those is now in federal law. I think they're in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, too.
I guess it might need some public education that the time to make a call is before you start hearing a train horn in the distance.

I'm also not certain if it is at the crossing in question, although it looks like it,

It is; the inventory number (629659J) comes up as NC Rt. 125/Halifax Rd. when it's queried. NC 125 shows on the map in the video. (<http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofS ... yxing.aspx>)

Good eyes, spotting that in the video.

[Ken W2KB]

A simple solution would be any police department that has a set of train tracks that go thru their jurisdiction to have a list of frequencies that they can call the train directly on. It saves the what ifs and go between and gets quick hard information fast to train crew.

At major airports in the New York Area most ground crews and cars (driven by various employees of various companies) that drive around the airport have direct freq's and walkies to talk to planes in the rare event of an emergency. It's the same basic concept.

The airport ground crews and vehicles have radios to call the ground control position in the air traffic control tower to obtain permission to enter and cross taxiways and runways for routine business operations.

[litz]

BTW this is what it was hauling ...

http://www.pcxcorp.com/prebuilt-solutio ... n-centers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That load was somewhere in the neighborhood of 127 tons, and when combined with the truck underneath, it very likely outweighed the locomotive that hit it.

(you don't hear that often, in a discussion about a grade crossing collision ...)

[mmi16]

if the cop had called 800 number listed on box the dispatcher would have had crossing identified as part of caller id (number dialed) and could have taken immediate action.

Huh? If you mean the railroad dispatcher, Caller ID isn't going to provide the crossing number or a caller's location. Toll-free numbers usually capture a caller's number with Automatic Number Identification, but that's separate from Caller ID, and still wouldn't provide the information. Only the caller can do that. Enhanced 911 has ANI and Automatic Location Identification (originating address of landlines) built-in, but from cell phones, the location info might not be great. (It's done by trilateration from cell towers.) Assuming there was an Emergency Notification System sign or signs posted, the crossing's FRA inventory number would be on the sign, and that would give the railroad dispatcher the location (if provided in time).

any other way would have a procedural delay, but then truck was only stuck for near 15 minutes WTF?

Yeah, that call should probably have been made sooner, and then cancelled if the truck got unstuck.

I think on this incident there will be a lot of blame to pass around; some of it may even land on law enforcement for their handling at the scene (a phone contact is posted at every grade X-ing nowadays).

At many/most crossings, but not every (yet). I believe railroads without an ENS in place still have until July to implement one.
Still, the bigger guys like CSX might be among the first to "git 'em done." I couldn't tell from a Google Street View if the location has ENS signage, because the imagery is almost six years old. One would hope it would, especially with Amtrak on the territory . . .

CSX crossings have had Emergency Notification Information plate installed since 1997 on the original CSX and shortly have the ConRail acquisition on those lines that were aquired.

With the load that was attempting to cross the railroad in this instance - CSX SHOULD have been notified by either the trucking concern or the Highway Patrol BEFORE the excess size load EVER attempted to cross the crossing. When notified of such happenings, CSX wil gladly prevent traffic from getting to the crossing and protect it until the move has been reported complete and the protection is no longer required. CSX does not want to make hood ornaments out of vehicles crossing the tracks any more than the operators of those vehicles want to become hood ornaments.

[Steve F45]

The days of the "Mutual Aid" channel on PD mobile radio,may have gone the way of the "dodo bird" due to
cellphones and onboard "mobile data terminals",and the change to 800 mhz radios.
Believe CSX or NS is the host RR here,most 911 centers have the direct dial #'s to RR dispatch centers,as long as the
officer on scene tells the 911 dispatch the crossing # to pass on to the RR dispatcher.
A RR PD officer might be able to "tone up" the dispatcher on the radio.

Out dispatch center has a numebr for CSX that is somewhat quicker to access someone in an emergency. NJ Transit, you gotta go through there police dispatch first. NYSW is the only one where we can call the dispatcher directly.

[AgentSkelly]

I work as a dispatcher/alarm monitor for a security company now; we have a directory of "other dispatch services" for various companies which I added BNSF, UP, etc to as a few times, our guys will want to report something but the number on the box is wrong.

I do know all the major Public Safety Answering Points for 911 here in Portland have a hot dial for BNSF and UP dispatch directly and can directly contact over their police radio BNSF and UP Railroad Police directly.

[TrainPhotos]

BTW this is what it was hauling ...

http://www.pcxcorp.com/prebuilt-solutio ... n-centers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That load was somewhere in the neighborhood of 127 tons, and when combined with the truck underneath, it very likely outweighed the locomotive that hit it.

(you don't hear that often, in a discussion about a grade crossing collision ...)

That info pretty much matches the behavior of the locomotive upon impact. A mobile home would have been exploded all over the place.

[matthewsaggie]

At the annual meeting of the NC Train Host Association last Saturday an interesting tidbit was brought up by the NC Rail Division staff. Apparently NCDOT is in discussions with ConnDoT to extend the Carolinian (#79/80) to New Haven. Recall that Charlotte is 704 miles from NYP and at this time NC pays the total cost of the train south of Washington, (less fares collected) despite the fact that the majority of the passenger loads are in the Richmond to DC segment. Virginia has been getting a free ride at NC expense for all of these years. Extending to New Haven adds 75 miles pushing us over the 750 mile mark making it eligible as a national system LD train.

Establishing the legal and operating procedure for Amtrak to take on this train expense is in discussion at the current point by all three parties, since apparently its not actually been done since the 750 limit was imposed by Congress. Setting up who would turn and service the equipment in New Haven is another point of discussion, but both parties seemed pretty positive that this can happen and happen soon. Of course in the end, one never knows.

From ConnDoT's viewpoint it adds a pre-6 AM departure from New Haven to NYP and south, since currently their earliest daytime departure is the Acela that leaves Boston at 5:05AM and leaves New Haven at 7:06. Currently, the first Regional is not until 7:37.

Speaking for the 100+ NC Train Hosts at the meeting, this announcement was certainly a surprise, though a pleasant one. I think it points to NC's efforts to provide a 1st class service at the lowest possible cost and like our own Piedmont's, a willingness to try someting new.

[east point]

Fly in the ointment. Just how can the equipment be rotated out ?. This proposal would freeze equipment to route with no way to substitute the present equipment for needed maintenance that is done at Sunnyside.

[Rockingham Racer]

Thinking out loud: would a deadhead or revenue run up to Springfield solve that? A Metroliner used to terminate at New Haven, so somehow that equipment got rotated.

[deathtopumpkins]

Why would ConnDOT need an earlier train that only goes south of NHV? They already have Metro-North to get from New Haven to NYC.

The first Metro-North train leaves New Haven at 4:05 and arrives at GCT at 5:55, with trains at a maximum of 30 minutes apart after that. Is there really enough demand for travel from NHV/STM to points south of NYP that early in the morning, that can't be accommodated by MN with a subway transfer? arriving at GCT at 5:55 gives you an hour and 11 minutes to get over to NYP to catch the Carolinian.

I just don't see more than a handful of people traveling from New Haven and Stamford to North Carolina. Certianly not enough to justify moving the endpoint away from Sunnyside.