Head-On Collision

1
Head-On Collision

• Portsmouth, VA
• September 22, 2005
• 300am
• Train IDs
• K95921(Lead Engine 9011) K96021(Lead Engine
  471)
• Authority for movement
• DTC

2
Dispatcher Recording 216 am
Dispatcher gave block to CSXT 471

• Dispatcher. Hello K960.
• A train crew. K960 over.
• Dispatcher. K960 engine number 471 absolute north
  and south Boykins and Branchville blocks 2
  blocks JCC over.
• Crew. 9011 absolute both directions Branchville
  and Boykins blocks 2 blocks over.
• Dispatcher. Boykins and Branchville, Boykins and
  Branchville 0217 over.
• Crew. Boykins and Branchville, Boykins and
  Branchville.
• Dispatcher, That is correct over.
• Crew. What's that time over?
• Dispatcher. Show that at 0217 over.
• Crew. 217, where is that other train er other
  Rock train over?
• Dispatcher. Waiting for you at Branchville over.
• Crew. OK alright.

CSXT 9011 copied the block in error
3
Dispatcher Recording 257 am

• Dispatcher. Jax. dispatcher answering over.
• Crew. K960 JCC over.
• Dispatcher. Be right back to you over Jax.
  dispatcher to 447 can you clear that Seaboard
  block over?

4
Dispatcher Recording 258 am

• Dispatcher. Jax. dispatcher to 447 over.
• Crew. Yea Jimmy we can clear the Seaboard block
  but not the Weldon over, uh 8658 clear the
  Seaboard block one block.
• Dispatcher. One block 8658 clearing the Sea what
  the Seaboard Seaboard block on one block 258
  over.
• Dispatcher. 258 one block Seaboard over.
• Crew. You talking to 447 Jimmy over?
• Dispatcher. Yea 258 one block over.
• Crew. Yea understand 258 on that one block, we
  got about 2 hours to work.
• Dispatcher. Yea straight run no pick up all the
  way to Delmar to meet Amtrak over.
• Crew. Understand over.

5
Dispatcher Recording 259 am

• Dispatcher. Hello K960 over.
• Crew. K960 over.
• Dispatcher. Engine number 471 absolute north and
  south Seaboard block, 1 block only JCC over.

6
Dispatcher Recording 259 am

• Crew. K960 --------------- engine 471 permission
  to occupy the Seaboard block absolute block 1
  block JCC over.
• Dispatcher. That's right 259 over.
• Crew. OK what about the uh Boykins and
  Branchville blocks over.
• Dispatcher. What about them over.
• Crew. We never got those over.
• Dispatcher. Show giving them to you at 217 over.

7
Dispatcher Recording 300 am

• Crew. Uh we don't we don't recall getting uh at
  217 JCC over.
• Dispatcher. I got um in the computer 217 I
  remember giving them to you but will do it
  again. 471 absolute north and south Boykins
  Branchville and Seaboard blocks 3 blocks JCC
  over.
• Crew. Alright ------------ on the engine 471 has
  permission to occupy absolute north and south
  Boykins, Branchville, Seaboard, that's 3 blocks
  JCC over.
• Dispatcher. Show that at 0259 over.
• Crew. OK 0259 thank you JCC over.
• Dispatcher. Alright.

8
Dispatcher Recording 317 am

• Crew. AE this is the uh K960 we just hit we had
  a head on collision at MP just past the Hand
  siding.
• Dispatcher. Who did you hit?
• Crew. I'm not sure I don't know who the other
  train was hold on.
• Another crew member. AE.
• Dispatcher. Yea
• Crew. Yea we got a fire going down here, and
  everything I pitched in we need to get some
  help right now to get the fire out we (garbled)
  pass train.
• Dispatcher OK getting people right now.
• Crew. What's that again, get somebody out here
  ASAP.
• Dispatcher. Doing it right now, what's the MP.
• Crew. We're just south of Hand siding we just
  went by the southend of the Hand siding.
• Dispatcher. Alright getting somebody right now.
• Crew. OK I don't know it don't look good here
  AE.
• Dispatcher. OK alright getting people right now.
• Crew. Thank you very much.
• Dispatcher. Alright.

9
The Aftermath
10
The Aftermath

• 6 CSX employees injured
• 6 potential fatalities
• Damage to equipment
• Who is affected by this?
• Everyone!
• Train crews
• Dispatchers
• The general public!

11
Rules to LIVE by!

• 420 Mandatory Directive Procedures
• 424 Repeat Oral Instructions
• 171 DTC Track Authority Crew on CSXT 9011
  acted upon authority given to CSXT 471
• 34A - Announce entrance to DTC block or block
  signal