Passenger Trains > Amtrak employee killed on duty in New York

An Amtrak employee was struck by a train and killed yesterday near Clermont, New York.

http://www.news10.com/story/27156938/amtrak-employee-killed-while-on-duty

Anyone have further details on this horrible accident?

A little more in yesterday's thread below

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3562494

The Times-Union has some background on this sad situation.

Train 280 hit the unidentified signals employee near the Dutchess-Columbia border. I believe this in the high speed zone on the Hudson Line.

Condolences to the employee's family and friends


http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Amtrak-worker-killed-by-train-5856305.php

comments below the article have the employee as a female ... under federal RWP(Roadway Worker Protection) rules the only type of employee to work alone on live main line tracks MUST be qualified on RWP rules ... the only situation where an employee is allowed to be on the tracks alone is when doing track inspection and with that said the employee is required to have a job briefing with their supv and they are to have in their posession a lone worker permit which is filled out on site completed with the job breifing ...

there are 3 scenario requirements of protection for track bridge & signal inspectors ... walking track outside interlocking limits with more than 15 seconds of warning to clear the track ... walking alone or with watchman protection with less than 15 seconds to clear under track Foul Time or with track Out Of Service ... THAT'S IT ... it's forbidden for ANY employee to walk within interlocking limits alone without the use of a watchman foul time or track out of service ... in this situation there was a breakdown in employee protection whether it was self inflicted or miscommunication will be determined by the investigation ...

by self inflicted i'm not implying suicide just a breakdown in judgement ... i noted this before in previous threads ... i lost a few co-workers in 38 years of railroad service with the worst one being losing 2 close GOOD FRIEND co-workers in a incident in '79 just a few years into my employment at Amtrak ... it sickens me terribly everytime i hear of an in incident of this nature ... it surely opens the wound from decades ago having to relive that horrible tragedy ... i hope her family can heal after this ...

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Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/14 08:12 by Out_Of_Service.

Thanks "Out-of-service" for providing those details. Those of us that have never worked on the rails. We often wonder about why or how something happens or why some rules seem silly but when it comes to safety it's hard to argue with some of them.

John

wa4umr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks "Out-of-service" for providing those
> details. Those of us that have never worked on
> the rails. We often wonder about why or how
> something happens or why some rules seem silly but
> when it comes to safety it's hard to argue with
> some of them.
>
> John


Yes, thanks O-o-S for the background to the rules. Even with best rules, and good understanding of them, sometimes bad results occur. I'm sure everyone (family, co-workers, crew on 280 etc) is ripped up over this.

Condolences to all.

wa4umr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks "Out-of-service" for providing those
> details. Those of us that have never worked on
> the rails. We often wonder about why or how
> something happens or why some rules seem silly but
> when it comes to safety it's hard to argue with
> some of them.
>
> John

John these rules were fought hard by the rail unions that barraged the feds(FRA) after a series of incidents some fatal and came out of need for mandatory on track protection with the biggest item being RIGHT OF REFUSAL without retribution for any employee who doesnt agree or feels the safety protection is inadequate ... thats what the job briefing does ... it defines the work ... the work location ... on track protection ... employee in charge ... after the briefing all employees who agree sign the job briefing form ... if someone disagrees feeling its unsafe they stay off to the side and a formal committee fom management and/or supervision and union rep to meet onsite and review the employees concerns ... if its ageeed by the committee and found the safety protection is adequate the employee is required to resume work ... if its agreed and the protection is found to be inadequate the work is halted until the proper and adequate is provided

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Having railfanned (and also having done geologic mapping) along that stretch of track, it is amazing how little audible warning you really get. The margin for error at 100 mph is so, so small.

march_hare Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Having railfanned (and also having done geologic
> mapping) along that stretch of track, it is
> amazing how little audible warning you really get.
> The margin for error at 100 mph is so, so small.


Yes.

and although parts of the line can be eerily quiet, other parts have a lot of ambient noise. Ships on the nearby Hudson River, traffic on 9-D, etc. Even with heightened awareness, you can be caught.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> march_hare Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Having railfanned (and also having done
> geologic
> > mapping) along that stretch of track, it is
> > amazing how little audible warning you really
> get.
> > The margin for error at 100 mph is so, so
> small.
>
>
> Yes.
>
> and although parts of the line can be eerily
> quiet, other parts have a lot of ambient noise.
> Ships on the nearby Hudson River, traffic on 9-D,
> etc. Even with heightened awareness, you can be
> caught.

not if the safety protection rules are followed and not circumvented or ignored

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/14 12:10 by Out_Of_Service.

i hear ya Out of Service, it sucks when stuff like this happens, hopefully it's a good investigation and not all hell breaking loose because of it!

Safety is quite a bit about the general culture in an organization than just the rules. Everything cannot be written down in rules. There needs to be a culture built of safety consciousness and erring towards safety rather than away from it.

I have no idea what the situation in Amtrak is. I noticed that recently Boardman made a statement about prioritizing safety over all else, and also an executive got fired due to significant safety related lapses. Maybe they are working at fixing some existing problems. But as I said, I don't know anything specific beyond what is visible outside, and usually that is a tip of an iceberg..

Working alone, as this worker apparently was, has its own problems. Which is why there are unique rules for those jobs.

And, if one or more of your senses are dulled (ambient traffic noise from a highway, diesel engine noise from the river, maybe some low hanging fog, etc) you're even more exposed to serious harm.

Amtrak victim was Coxsackie woman
Albany Times-Union
October 30, 2014

> An Amtrak worker killed Wednesday after being hit by a train was
> identified Thursday as Minwella Nicole Kline Hagen, Columbia County
> Coroner James Bertram said.
>
> Minwella, also known as "Nikki," 41, of Coxsackie, was an Amtrak
> signal maintainer, wife and mother of two young daughters, according
> to Facebook and authorities.
>
> She was working on a section of track between Germantown and the town
> of Clermont near the border of Columbia and Dutchess counties when
> she was struck by a southbound passenger train traveling to Penn
> Station in New York City from Niagara Falls...

(Comments in a previous news article had identified her as "Nikki")

Full story:

Amtrak victim was Coxsackie woman

altho it seems the scenario so far has her working and walking alone no articles state if she was on duty alone or troubleshooting a problem alone ... a maintainer has no reason to be out on the RofW walking tracks unless a problem arose and usually if a problem does arise if necessary another maintainer might be sent to assist ...

a few years ago an Amtrak maintainer was killed working in an interlocking on the south end ... he was a fairly new employee working with another more senior maintainer who for whatever reason wasnt with the newer guy ...

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