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Derailment of Amtrak Passenger Train No. 27. Home Valley, Washington April 3, 2005. Accident Site. Consequences. 30 people sustained minor injuries 14 taken to local hospitals 2 admitted overnight $854,000 property damage. Cy Gura Russ Quimby Dr. Kathleen Curry Alice Park
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Derailment of Amtrak Passenger Train No. 27 Home Valley, Washington April 3, 2005
Consequences • 30 people sustained minor injuries • 14 taken to local hospitals • 2 admitted overnight • $854,000 property damage
Cy Gura Russ Quimby Dr. Kathleen Curry Alice Park Christy Spangler IIC, Track and Engineering, and Signals Mechanical and Operations Editor Animation Graphics NTSB Team
Parties • Federal Railroad Administration • Amtrak • BNSF Railway Company • Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
Home Valley Investigation Focused on rail seat abrasion of concrete crossties • Limited Federal regulations for concrete crossties in Classes of Track 1 through 5 • The amount of time available for track inspections
Previous Reports of Rough Riding Track Conditions • March 23, 2005, by a FRA inspector riding in an Amtrak locomotive • March 28, 2005, by an Amtrak train crew • March 30, 2005, by another Amtrak train crew • April 1, 2005, by a BNSF train crew
Rail Seat Abrasion • What is it? • What does it look like? • What is the problem with it?
What does Rail seat Abrasion look like Abraded Area
Abrasion Depth Clip
Clip Rail Seat
Problems Associated with Rail Seat Abrasion • Loss of toeload pressure by the fasteners • Rail cant is lost • Derailments
Rail Head Rail Clip Insulator Tie Pad Concrete Crosstie
Concrete Crosstie Inspection Requirements • Classes of Track 6 and higher • Operating speeds of 110 mph to 200 mph • Specific concrete crosstie inspection requirements • Classes of Track 1 through 5 • Operating speeds of 10 mph to 90 mph • No specific concrete crosstie inspection requirements
Post Accident Developments • Multiple reports of track problems flagged • Concrete Crosstie Handbook
Track Inspection Requirements • Federal regulations require twice weekly inspections for Class 4 track • BNSF inspected three times weekly • High traffic volume reduced the amount of “on-track” inspection time • Approximately 57 train per day, equates to an average of 1 train every 25 minutes