Letter: Railroad accident raises questions

I have had an interest in railroading since I received my first Lionel Train set in 1936. It is a hobby that I continue to expand and enjoy to this day, along with a few friends. Therefore, I follow news of railroad construction, expansion and train wrecks with great interest. The Wall Street Journal has picked up on the recent Pennsylvania accident that killed two track workers, but left unanswered several pertinent questions. Why?

There were no flagmen on the job? On the highways, we are accustomed to seeing men (or women) stopping you during repairs on the simplest of culvert jobs.

1. There were none on this bit of track work. The danger zone is only 5 feet wide (track plus 12 inches on each side). Didn’t they hear the train coming and or a whistle blowing?

2. What was the engineer doing? The Journal reported that the emergency brakes were applied only 5 seconds before impact. He didn’t see? Sooner? A motorist could be charged with manslaughter. What was the “fireman” doing? Has he been removed to save money? The airlines still have co-plots.

3. Was the engineer notified of any construction before his run? A future partial solution might be to include the union in the loop of responsibility, by officially notifying the union of any track work and requiring them to also personally notify the engineer before his shift.

In Philadelphia, there seems to be a particularly bad relationship between the union and management. Where is their pride of professionalism?

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Letter: Railroad accident raises questions."