Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS Collision and Derailment in Cincinnati

25A rear ended 143 in Cincinnati this morning

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/10/08/trains-collide-northern-cincinnati-suburbs/3905921002/

I realize it is early but I am wondering about PTC in this incident

holiwood Wrote:
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> I realize it is early but I am wondering about PTC
> in this incident

As long as a following train is complying with the maximum speed portion of the restricted speed rule, and there are no intervening absolute signals, PTC won't do anything to prevent a rear end collision. It doesn't see obstructions or trains ahead.

Posted from Android

bioyans Wrote:
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> holiwood Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I realize it is early but I am wondering about
> PTC
> > in this incident
>
> As long as a following train is complying with the
> maximum speed portion of the restricted speed
> rule, and there are no intervening absolute
> signals, PTC won't do anything to prevent a rear
> end collision. It doesn't see obstructions or
> trains ahead.
>
> Posted from Android

I love our clowns in Congress mandating something they know nothing about....

Don't blame Congress. The actual law passed by Congress -- and signed by President G W Bush, who was no fan of regulation in general -- is the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. It defines PTC simply as "a system designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits, and the movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position." That's all it says, and I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with that definition. As far as I can tell, the NS wreck we're discussing was one kind of a "train-to-train collsion".

Congress didn't say how PTC should work, just what it should prevent. The devils are in the details, and the details were left to the DOT/FRA. Blame them, the ARR, and the Class I's. 

My hunch: some Representatives and Senators who voted for this law in 2008 are now scratching their heads wondering how and why the implementation of PTC jumped the track, so to speak.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/19 11:50 by ctillnc.

ctillnc Wrote:
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> Don't blame Congress
~~
~~
> Congress didn't say how PTC should work, just what
> it should prevent.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,4876151,4876151#msg-4876151

TAW

PTC is not 100% active. No system perfoms well when off (although I am sure there are some here who would argue that PTC works better when off).

And nobody got photos of this accident?

Txtrainman60 Wrote:
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> And nobody got photos of this accident?

I live about 10 miles away from where this happened. It happened in the wee hours, and only 3 cars derailed. Likely righted by daylight. It must have happened in the woods because even the local media couldn't get a shot of the scene. The only photo I have seen was the lead unit with bent up hand rails.

Posted from Android