WASHINGTON — The Union Pacific conductor struck and killed by a Metra train in Kenosha, Wis., on Sept. 4 had left the locomotive of his freight train to address a hot-wheel report from a wayside detector, the National Transportation Safety Board says in am preliminary investigation report issued today (Tuesday, Oct. 1).
The incident occurred about 12:11 p.m. local time at milepost 50.5 of UP’s Kenosha Subdivision, about a half-mile south of the Metra station in Kenosha [see “Union Pacific worker struck, killed …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 4, 2024]. News reports identified the worker killed as 34-year-old Austin Scott Raysby of Burlington, Wis.
A detector had indicated a problem with the 51st car of UP train MCHAL-04, leading to the train being stopped on Main Track 1. The conductor walked across Main Track 2 and had the engineer move the train forward so he could inspect the car in question. While he waited to examine the suspected hot wheel, Metra train 338, with its cab car leading, rounded the curve and struck the conductor.
Union Pacific issued a safety alert the next day to brief employees on the accident and review relevant operating and safety rules. The ongoing NTSB investigation will focus on adjacent track protection rules where changes may possibly mitigate the risk for train crews on the ground.
Two things bother me about this. The big one is was there no communication between him and the engineer? His engineer should have warned him of an approaching train. And what about the engineer contacting the Metra train? In my career I always warned my conductor of a hot rail and let the crew of the approaching train know my conductor was on the ground. Whenever I was alerted by a stopped train that their conductor was on the ground I would slow down, ring the bell and frequently sound the horn. Often that conductor would contact me via radio and let me know they were in the clear. Situational awareness and crew communication appear to be lacking here.
JAMES — Normaly I never comment on incidents, as I haven’t read the incident reports nor have I any training in rail safety. That’s normally. This one isn’t normal. It doesn’t pass the smell test. Rail employees know to expect a train at any time on any track in either direction, scheduled or otherwise. So the conductor knew better than to occupy the envelope unless explicitly told it was safe. So he must have been told it was safe — though it wasn’t.