"Bomb Train" in Ohio Sickens Residents: Railroad Cutbacks, Corporate Greed Led to Toxic Disaster

[Hiawatha Pete]

2. Still misses the elephant in the room. In all likelihood brakes not the root cause.

Last edited Thu Feb 16, 2023, 11:09 PM - Edit history (3)

Thu Feb 16 From: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/norfolk-southern-eliminated-key-maintenance-role-in-derailment-region-union-says

"A device that can play a role in preventing derailments is the wayside hot-box detector. It uses infrared sensors to detect bearings, axles or other components of a rail car that are overheating, then uses radio signals to flag rail crews of any overheated components.

The rail car that initiated the derailment had an overheated wheel bearing, according to a Tuesday report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB is still investigating the cause of the derailment and will publish a preliminary report in two weeks.

Wayside hot-box detectors are typically placed every 25 miles along a railroad, according to a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) report. Their use has contributed to a 59% decrease in train accidents caused by axle- and bearing-related factors since 1990, according to a 2017 Association of American Railroads study.

Declining head counts have led to these mechanisms receiving less preventative maintenance, according to an official from the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen union"


Also, FWIW, the EP brake rule as proposed in 2015 was applicable to unit trains, ie trains with 70+ hazmat cars and would not have been applicable to this train (source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-05-08/pdf/2015-10670.pdf )