California Delays

[stan]

Glad that everybody, self included, made it safe and sound even if there were inconveniences involved. Of course when I got off at PDX - two hours late - there was somebody who didn't get off if K Falls who thought she was entitled to a hotel room and passage on tomorrow's Builder; "she's on her own" is what I overheard - and rightly so.

What's really troublesome is the seriousness of the Surfliner's running the red. If we and they ended up in the same block going opposite directions, what's to keep something awful from happening? Fortunately some backup system or something kept us safe. Is this area under some sort of positive train control?

At any rate, I'm sure the engineer and conductor - regardless of the drug test results - are in deep trouble. And the fact that it worked out makes me more confident that I'll never awake to find my sleeper a pile of twisted metal.

Indeed we are are thankful this stupid action by an Amtrak crew did not result in serious accident. Had 14 not been ao late at that point, the results may have been much different.

In all at least 3 trains were significantly affected and three train loads of passengers were inconvienineced by this "incident". And yet I have seen nothing on the Amtrak page appologing or taking responsibility. This was a serious incident and Amtrak owes all of its customers an explanation of what happened and what actions were taken as a result. Once folks are back from the new year holiday I will contact customer relations and likely write Mr. Boardman. This was a serious incident and will likely be swept under the rug.

Stan

 

[AlanB]

What's really troublesome is the seriousness of the Surfliner's running the red. If we and they ended up in the same block going opposite directions, what's to keep something awful from happening? Fortunately some backup system or something kept us safe. Is this area under some sort of positive train control?

Not yet. Positive Train Control is currently being worked on for the Metrolink track area and soon UP will have to get it installed on the rest of the run. But right now it was either the engineer realizing that he made a mistake, the conductor catching the error, or perhaps some alert dispatcher who saw the violation of the signal and radioed the train to STOP!

At any rate, I'm sure the engineer and conductor - regardless of the drug test results - are in deep trouble. And the fact that it worked out makes me more confident that I'll never awake to find my sleeper a pile of twisted metal.

At a minimum the engineer is looking at a long suspension, if not being terminated. The final action could well be determined by the host RR however, and not Amtrak. The host RR has the right to bar any operating personnel they want from their tracks and Amtrak has no say in the matter.

The conductor's fate will probably not be as severe, especially if he's the one who realized that the engineer blew the signal and ordered him to stop. If the conductor didn't notice the violation, then things could be more severe for him. But I rather suspect that he'd still manage to hang onto his job no matter what.

 

[AlanB]

In all at least 3 trains were significantly affected and three train loads of passengers were inconvienineced by this "incident". And yet I have seen nothing on the Amtrak page appologing or taking responsibility. This was a serious incident and Amtrak owes all of its customers an explanation of what happened and what actions were taken as a result. Once folks are back from the new year holiday I will contact customer relations and likely write Mr. Boardman. This was a serious incident and will likely be swept under the rug.
Stan

Swept under the rug? NO. This is not to suggest that Amtrak will publicize this incident. Airlines don't publish all the near misses that happen while taxiing.

But you can rest assured that severe actions will be taken against the engineer, unless he can somehow prove that the signal was broken or that it got taken away from him without warning and even then he'd still have some explaining to do. As I noted in my post above, baring some scenario like I just mentioned, he's probably going to be looking for a new job. This incident also must be reported to the FRA which may well investigate things on its own and for sure the host RR will have a major say in things here too.