Thirdrail7
Engineer
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
- Messages
- 4,542
Precision railroading may not be as precise as hoped and may be taking a toll. Particularly without the originator of the vision at the helm.
Please allow a brief "fair use" quote from Amtrak Crash Adds to CSX’s Rising Accident Toll:
Please allow a brief "fair use" quote from Amtrak Crash Adds to CSX’s Rising Accident Toll:
I wonder how they're classifying an accident.The weekend’s fatal crash of Amtrak and CSX Inc. trains raises concerns about whether the freight railroad’s massive operations overhaul might have compromised safety and contributed to a rise in accidents.
An aggressive turnaround plan at CSX has disrupted service, angered customers and drawn scrutiny from regulators during the past year. The company saw more upheaval in December when its chief executive officer and architect of the strategy died suddenly.
“If this happens again anytime soon, there will begin to be questions asked whether there is something more systemic in play here,” said Rick Paterson, an analyst with Loop Capital Markets. But he cautioned that it’s too early to make a judgment about what happened until an official investigation is completed.CSX’s accident rate, based on train miles traveled, has been rising the past three years, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. The rate jumped 13 percent in the first eleven months of 2017, the second-worst record among the seven largest railroads in North America.
There should be no connection made between Sunday’s accident and CSX’s operations overhaul, spokesman Bryan Tucker said Monday