----For anyone who hasn't read this; from a local AZ paper----
Amtrak safety push follows derailments and terror attacks
By PAUL DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
09/15/2001
PHOENIX -- Amtrak has launched a safety push after a major freight railroad imposed restrictions on operations of Amtrak trains in the wake of the East Coast terrorist attacks and two train accidents.
Amtrak on Friday said it will conduct new testing and evaluations of crew members, increase safety briefings and launch joint reviews with freight railroads on whose tracks Amtrak operates its trains.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. on Tuesday had imposed a 70 mph speed limit for Amtrak trains operating on BNSF tracks and, with the exception of some routes in Southern California, ordered that two Amtrak employees be in the operating cab of all Amtrak trains.
The restrictions imposed by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. were described variously as caused by concern about the New York and Washington terrorism or about two train collisions on another railroad's tracks.
A BNSF document released by Arizona railroad-safety regulators indicated that BNSF imposed the restrictions on Thursday in the wake of "alleged stop signal violations" involved in two rail accidents involving Amtrak trains on Union Pacific tracks in Texas and Utah on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
Representatives of Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF acknowledged Friday the railroad imposed the speed and crew restrictions on Amtrak trains. However, they said the speed restrictions also applied to BNSF's own trains and that both restrictions were imposed Tuesday because of concerns stemming from the terrorism attacks that day in New York and Washington, not by the accidents.
"Those were just a temporary requirement of this week as events unfolded and basically it all comes back to our concerns with fatigue and distractions out there," said BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent. She said the restrictions would be lifted Saturday.
Trains normally are allowed to travel as fast as 90 mph on some wide-open stretches of BNSF track in Arizona, the railroad said.
Amtrak spokeswoman Cheryle Jackson denied that the safety push was forced by the BNSF restrictions. She said Amtrak acted on its own because of the terrorist actions and the Texas derailment the same day.
"Everyone is distraught and impacted by the tragedies," Jackson said from Chicago. "To make certain that our employees are focused on their jobs, this is an opportunity to pound home they have a job to do and the need to do it safely."
Amtrak owns its own track on the Northeast corridor between Boston and Washington but elsewhere in the country generally uses tracks belonging to BNSF and other railroads.
BNSF operates 33,500 miles of track covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF track is used by Amtrak trains serving such cities as Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago and Albuquerque, N.M.
Arizona Corporation Commission officials considered BNSF's restrictions "vindication" for the regulatory agency efforts to enforce a state rule requiring that a train's lead locomotive carry two crew members, commission spokeswoman Heather Murphy said.
Most Amtrak trains generally operate with one crew member, the train's engineer, in the cab of the lead engine, while other train personnel, including the conductor, ride in passenger cars.
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On the Net:
Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com
Burlington Northern Santa Fe: http://www.bnsf.com
Union Pacific Railroad: http://www.uprr.com
Arizona Corporation Commission: http://www.cc.state.az.us
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