WASHINGTON — A conductor’s use of an emergency door release to open a car door while her train was operating at 40 mph, and Amtrak’s accepted practice of allowing such doors to be opened to monitor platforms while approaching a station, contributed to the death of the conductor in a January 2022 accident in Westerly, R.I., the National Transportation Safety Board says in its final investigation report.
The conductor, later identified as 26-year-old Emily Herrera of Plainville, Mass., fell from Northeast Regional train No. 163 as it approached the station in Westerly, the NTSB had determined in its preliminary report on the Jan. 15, 2022, fatality [see “NTSB: Amtrak train was going 40 mph …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 16, 2022].
The emergency door release had been used to open the side door on the Amfleet I car to override the safety interlock which prevents the door from opening at speed greater than 3 mph. The open door created a fall hazard, the report notes. After the accident, Amtrak issued a rule and amended special instructions to prohibit employees on the Northeast Corridor from opening side passenger doors while a train is in motion.
The report also indicates that a review of the conductor’s cell phone records indicates data usage before the accident, including a call of more than 2 minutes, in violation of Amtrak and Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee operating rules. The NTSB says it “cannot exclude the possibility that the conductor’s personal cell phone usage contributed to the accident.”
It is/was a common practice for the conductor or ac to open the door on Amfleet cars and spot the train. But I imagine a vast majority did not open it until they were very near the platform.
What kind of hand holds were available?
If I’m not mistaken, Amfleet 2s have what amounts to a Dutch Door; The window can be unlatched and slid down into a door pocket. Of course, other than the LDs New York to south of DC Amfleet 2s do not operate on the NEC.
The NTSB says it cannot exclude the possibility that the conductor personal cell phone usage contributed to the accident. Just like the nit-wits driving down the highway at 65 mph talking or texting on there phones. I got rear ended by someone on there phone an did not want to let the cop see there phone. when I got hit I checked my clock and gave the officer the time of the accident. Guess what they were on there phone an ticketed for same.
Good show, Walter.
Few working today understand how things worked in the past & how they got that way. New generation comes in with minimal knowledge & decides they’re going to reinvent the wheel, except this time they’ve got a better idea. Square wheels! Of course it will work you old fogies. You old farts with your institutional knowledge & experience don’t know a thing compared to us.
Read your World War II history. Replacement troops inserted into a unit at the front usually were the first to die in the next skirmish.
Mr. Landley is right. You can instruct people as long as you want but some jobs require learning with boots on the ground. Line Infantry is one; RR Brakeman is another.
The question never asked and never answered is why Amtrak bought cars without Dutch doors. Or never installed Dutch doors in a retrofit.
Reading and CNJ cars did not have Dutch Doors either. Receiving Form 19 train orders while moving was interesting.
An Amfleet car has curved sides and curved doors that slide into a pocket. Making a Dutch Door would be possible but not simple. The upper half would have to slide on the lower half. On the NEC, the engineer usually spotted the train anyway. They had the brake valve and should know the braking points along the RR.
Amfleet has a long history. When they were new, Form 19 orders were still in use and dispatchers were not afraid to use them. .