An engine failure has no bearing on the train rolling from a stopped position.
That night, the engineer carried out the hand brake effectiveness test with the locomotive air brakes still applied. As a result, the test did not identify that an insufficient amount of hand brake force had been applied to secure the train.Quote
You can't do a proper tug test with the air brakes applied, so this means nothing.
All 72 tanks cars were Class 111, manufactured between 1980 and 2012. Although they met requirements in effect at the time, they were built to an older standard, and they lacked enhancements such as a jacket, a full head shield, and thermal protectionQuote
The single hulled DOT 111 were the standard until recently.
Although MMA had some safety processes in place and had developed a safety management system in 2002, the company did not begin to implement this safety management system until 2010—and by 2013, it was still not functioning effectively.Quote
I don't understand this at all. MMA was subject to the rules of CROR as they apply to short line operators. The engineer knew the rules or he would not have been qualified in the hog head's chair. As an engineer, this is drilled into my brain.
Transport Canada's regional office in Quebec had identified MMA as a company with an elevated level of riskQuote
Do you know what this means? A roadmaster sent in a report to Transport Canada about joints on 100 pound rail with missing bolts. Or broken rails with slow orders that must also be sent to Transport Canada. These are also sent to section crews or contractors who do the repairs.
Transport Canada Headquarters in Ottawa, meanwhile, did not effectively monitor the Region's activitiesQuote
Transport Canada doesn't monitor trains or tracks(which causes most derailments). They come out, see if we are wearing our vests and we have our paperwork. For track maintenance, they get all their information from the roadmasters. They are completely useless if you expect them to keep you safe.
the investigation was not able to conclude that having another crew member would have prevented the accident.Quote
I disagree with this. Had a conductor been with the hog head, he might have been less likely to cut corners when applying handbrakes. Besides, it's the conductor's job on a two man operation.
The petroleum crude oil in the tank cars was more volatile than described on the shipping documents.Quote
We have different levels of dangerous goods we haul. I can tell as soon as I see a car what level of risk it poses without even looking at the conductor's paperwork on the consist.
Wrong, it's almost always caused by one factor. We had two trains derail due to washouts recently. The local roadmaster did not put out slow order GBO's to train crews over the affected areas and we lost millions of dollars worth of equipment and potash because one person did not do their job.
From reading this, I wonder if the people who wrote it know anything about railway operations.
