(Video updated) The Transportation Safety Board says a collision like the fatal VIA Rail derailment in Burlington could happen again, unless there is a fail-safe way of stopping trains when signals are missed, and video cameras in the lead locomotive.
The TSB issued its report on the crash during a media conference in Burlington this morning.
The crash happened near King Road on February 26, 2012 at around 3:30 in the afternoon. VIA train 92, traveling from Niagara Falls to Toronto switched tracks abruptly and slammed into a nearby building. Three crew members were killed when the train jumped the tracks: Ken Simmonds, 56, and Peter Snarr, 52, both experienced engineers; and trainee Patrick Robinson, 40.
In addition, 45 passengers were hurt. Their injuries ranged from minor scrapes to a broken leg, and a heart attack. In the days after the derailment, the TSB recovered the train’s “black box”, which showed that the train was travelling about 108 kilometres an hour: about four times the permitted speed for switching tracks. The box also indicated that brakes were not used before the crash.
District manager Rob Johnston says the signals along the track did not malfunction, instead that from what they could gather, the signals were ‘misperceived.’ A red light on the signal stack was apparently missed, with the crew thinking they could stay at regular speed on the same track. However that light was a warning to slow down, before being switched to another track.
While there was a data recorder on VIA train 92, there was no voice recorder to capture what the two engineers and trainee said. Investigators say that would have helped determine who was driving; why the train was speeding; and why no brakes were applied. TSB chair Wendy Tadros recommends video cameras record actions by the crew in the lead locomotive.
In February the safety board recommended that all trains should install voice recorders. But just a few days ago, Transport Canada announced it wouldn’t make them mandatory as they do for airplanes.
She also called for an automatic fail-safe way of stopping trains, saying the incident could have happened anywhere. Tadros said once a month, there is a ‘disconnect’ between what the signal indicates, and what the crew does.
A class action lawsuit in connection with the derailment was approved last November.
Melissa Raftis reports:
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Morning Live coverage of the media conference:
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