ONE person, 79 single hull tanker cars of crude oil. How crazy is that?

[cali]

We don't know if the engineer, Tom Harding, who the railway company is trying to blame for the whole disaster, had been engineering the train since the point of departure- somewhere in the Bakken oil fields. But that's likely exactly the case. One man driving dangerous cargo in unsafe tanker cars, across sometime dilapidated tracks on long shifts.

Ed Burkhardt, the U.S. chairman of the parent co of MM&A, says that this one man per cargo train company policy is the industry standard in Europe, that it's perfectly safe. It's not. It's just a way to suck more out of labor and save money.

It's also insane. What if the engineer has an accident? What about a heart attack? What if something goes wrong? Anything.

One man crews are used more and more in Canada and the U.S. It's a practice that should stop. It should be illegal to operate cargo trains with just a one man crew.

[Lifelong Protester]

1. We are not gettting enough

coverage of this here-I have to really dig to find it. And it is a BIG story. If there was only one man in the entire crew, I'd certainly agree that it is a practice that must stop. Any emergency can happen to take out one person-then you have 79 full rail cars careening about?

[cali]

4. these trains are pretty automated, but yeah, even so, one person crews are nutty.

Whatever you want to know about Lac Megantic, just ask me. For whatever reason, I've been obsessive about this disaster.

[Sunlei]

5. the brakes, speed of cars and the cars disconnected from engine were not automated

When that happened the 'automated system' (whatever it is) should have went ballistic!

[bluedigger]

7. You have been a little obsessive.

But you're not wrong.

[cali]

15. well, thanks. always nice to have one's obsessive qualities applauded

it's because this is about so much more than the destruction of one town and the terrible deaths there- not that I'm making light of that.

[bluedigger]

19. Sometimes that's what it takes.

Hell, most of the time that's what it takes. I think we tend to make an unfairly negative value judgment on the word "obsessive" when it should really be neutral. Edison was obsessive. Cesar Chavez was obsessive. One person's obsession is another's passion.

[HardTimes99]

26. His many flaws notwithstanding, Barry Goldwater did sometimes have a way of nailing it:

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!

Acceptance speech at the 1964 Republican Convention

If ever there were a justification for obsession (extremism), this incident must surely qualify. You have my profound admiration and gratitude for sticking to this story.

[ConcernedCanuk]

9. Railways have a non-disclosure attitude

.
.
.

As a previous CP Rail employee - I was made well aware of their policy/rule of TALK TO NOONE if there is an incident.

Yup - incident, they don't have accidents . . .

That simple

CC

[Gore1FL]

27. On the UP it was "send it to legal"

it wasn't ignored or hidden, it was just handled by a specific process.

[ConcernedCanuk]

37. Well, at CP Rail you'd get fired if you talked to anyone.

.
.
.

I did.

talked

got fired.

CC

[Autumn]

2. But cali... think of the money saved. Profit is what counts.

Recommended. That's just fucking crazy.

[sulphurdunn]

21. That's right.

Reduced labor cost means more profit. Besides, it's unlikely any those burned alive were investors.

[Are_grits_groceries]

3. Parking it on a hill was nuts too.

An accident waiting to happen.

[cali]

20. oil by rail, in it's current state is many accidents waiting to happen

not just possible human error but transport in unsafe tanker cars on trains manned by one person with terrible rail infrastructure in many places, on tracks that go through densely populated towns and cities.

[Jackpine Radical]

23. There is no ultimately safe way to transport oil.

Pipelines rupture, tanker ships hit things and break apart, trucks crash and burn…

If we're going to keep using the stuff (and come Hell or and high water--both pretty literally--we're obviously going to), the most we can hope for is policies that lead to harm reduction.

All the stupid and tragic things that happened in this case might have been prevented if the 1% spent a little more on the obvious safety issues.

[cali]

24. absolutely.

and it's not policies we need as much as regulations. regulations for rail transport of not just oil but other dangerous substances is seriously lacking.

[Jackpine Radical]

28. And extraction, and storage, and use.

Sorta like manning your fleet of dynamite trucks with drunk drivers.

[ConcernedCanuk]

40. What? are you crazy?

.
.
.

You expect the Billionaires to live on a million or two a year?

And keep us peons safe?

Ain't gonna happen

(sigh)

CC

[Jackpine Radical]

53. Well, let me put it this way--

The Dinosaurs aren't going to VOLUNTEER to redistribute the world's resources.

The question is, can the little mammals eat the dinosaurs' eggs faster than the dinosaurs can eat little mammals?

[Gore1FL]

30. You should see the stuff coming through the chemical corridor on the gulf.

Oil looks like water in comparison to some of the stuff transported.

http://domino.bnsf.com/website/stcc.nsf/searchResults?openagent&STCC=48&Commodity=&Contact=&Mode=normal
and
http://domino.bnsf.com/website/stcc.nsf/searchResults?openagent&STCC=49&Commodity=&Contact=&Mode=normal

[cali]

43. that too is part of the equation

[pinboy3niner]

54. Accidents there and elsewhere led to tank car safety and other improvements in the past

I worked for NTSB many years ago--including doing studies of hazmat tank car accidents and advocating retrofit of certain tank cars with separation-resistant couplers (shelf couplers) and tank head protection (head shields). We'd seen a history of major hazmat accidents involving release of things like LPG and anhydrous ammonia in derailments when couplers separated and punctured tank heads.

What boggles my mind is seeing issues that were raised long ago--like tank head protection and tank car valves and fittings--continue to pose safety issues today, all these years later.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. It's all in the name of saving a buck, cali.

The carriers roll the dice, usually they win, but sometimes (like here) they lose.

The Burkhardts of the world snap up these marginal lines and get all sorts of labor concessions in the package.

I seriously doubt this will have any repercussions in this country. The media is barely covering the story, for some strange reason.

[TheCowsCameHome]

16. I'm surprised that Burkhardt is talking so much

Usually when something like this happens there is a brief statement issued by a company spokesman, but this guy is yapping his head off.

I don't understand his strategy.

[hatrack]

8. Free-dumb, Gaw-duh and the 'Murican flag say otherwise, hater of Job-Creators!

BTW, did you happen to hear Burkhardt on the news this morning?

You couldn't find a better caricature of a callous sociopathic asshole this side of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire - flat affect, lousy half-assed PR talking points. And he's what we're supposed to aspire to?

[cali]

13. you really couldn't. I hate this guy

and it makes me crazy that he's blaming Tom Harding and that media outlets are echoing it.

According to the manager for transportation at Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, Mr. Harding had a safe record.

“Mr. Harding has had a good record with the company previous to this accident,” she said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lac-megantic-engineer-involved-in-derailment-last-summer/article13133329/

I'm going to stand by Tom Harding's side until I have a real strong reason not to.

[hootinholler]

10. One man is not a Crew.

crew
/kro͞o/
Noun
A group of people who operate a vessel, aircraft, spacecraft, or train.

[cali]

14. true, true, true, but that's what the industry calls one man staffing a train.

[CanonRay]

11. They make stupid policy "industry standard"

and so it is now defensible on that ground?

[xtraxritical]

25. "They do it that way in Europe"!

Apples and oranges, Europe's railroads are light years more advanced than in the USA (like everything else too).

[cali]

29. the asswipe chairman of rail world, ed burkhardt thinks it is. I certainly don't

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. Found this tiny blip

.
.
.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/07/09/lac_megantic_explosion_engineer_tom_harding_beside_himself_after_disaster.html

Lac Megantic explosion: Engineer Tom Harding ‘beside himself’ after disaster

The engineer who was the last person to conduct the train that rolled into Lac-Megantic is experiencing some tough times.
___________________________________________________________________________

Hints that he was not the only engineer that ran that train

So, who was the other engineer?

I have a friend in this wee town of 2000 that drives ambulance - they spend 5-10 minutes doing a "circle check" around their vehicles before moving them - lights, tires, doors, etc.

Know damm well engineers do not do this - they rely on others

Works good don't it?

CC

[ConcernedCanuk]

17. Remote Control screwed up methinks

.
.
.

Coulda been a signal from a garage door opener, remote start for a car, nearby WiFi - whatever

read on

http://bangordailynews.com/2010/05/28/news/mma-railway-using-remote-control/

MMA Railway using remote control

May 28, 2010, at 10:30 p.m.
Last modified Jan. 29, 2011, at 11:34 a.m.

A desire to stem annual losses of $4.5 million, embrace newer technology and improve safety and efficiency is pushing Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway to halve its locomotive crews by replacing workers with remote-control devices, railroad officials said Friday.

Over the last six months, MMA has almost doubled its number of freight trains carrying the remote controls so that almost half now have one crewmember instead of two. Within three years, the Hermon-based railroad will likely have one engineer or conductor on virtually all of its trains, President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Grindrod said.

/snip/

The move isn’t winning universal acclaim. One Pan Am Railways engineer, Jarod Briggs of Millinocket, said he was among several former MMA workers who left the rail service over the last few years because of the changeover, which they believe is unsafe.

“So much could happen in a 12-hour shift on one of these trains, such as a washed-out track, downed trees or mechanical failure,” Briggs said Friday. “What if the engineer onboard were to encounter a medical problem? Who is going to know about it?
______________________________________________________________________________

much more at link

CC

[Brickbat]

18. There's a lot of crazy shit that goes on at the railroad.

Ridiculous scheduling is a big one. Fatigue is a huge issue that no company wants to address because it means more crews and less control. Micromanaging to the point of paranoia makes some workers almost afraid to move a train, which makes them unsafe.

[ConcernedCanuk]

42. +1

.
.
.

CC

[SCVDem]

22. Aircraft have ground support personnel

They set the chocks and do safety checks.

Why should trains be any different?

My favorite beer bar is located next to a 90 degree turn in the train tracks. The trains run on a 20 ft hillside.

The same thing could happen to us.

[DCBob]

31. That is rediculous.. I had no idea.

Its totally about cost savings and nothing to do with safety. It should be illegal.

[cali]

32. It is and it should be. Don't hold your breath. Even as we speak

the MM&A (the company responsible for Lac Megantic) is running trains hauling crude from ND to New Brunswick and Maine and other places in the Northeast. So are other companies. All the MM&A transports operate with but one person aboard. Many other companies do as well.

[BlueToTheBone]

33. Not crazy...it's CRIMINAL!

That they didn't take precautions to at least DOUBLE HULL the tankers is the criminal act.

[cali]

34. The vast majority of oil transported in the U.S. and Canada is transported

in DOT111 tanker cars that we've known are dangerous for over 20 years. In 2009, after the Cherry Hill, Illinois accident that resulted in over 300,000 gallons of ethanol being dumped into the Rock River, new construction standards were mandated for new cars. No requirement was made for retrofitting and most DOT111s in use are the older, unsafer models- and man, are they unsafe. That's what most oil transported by rail is transported in.

[BlueToTheBone]

38. Life on this planet is doomed. n/t

[ConcernedCanuk]

44. Unless we expire first . . .

.
.
.

CC

[BlueToTheBone]

45. I hope that will be the case.

That humans are wiped from the face of the earth before we kill ALL life everywhere.

[ConcernedCanuk]

46. me too

.
.
.

CC

[CrispyQ]

35. It's insane.

For all the 'concern' about terrorism, we allow trains with one-man crews?

C-level officers & Board members need to start going to jail. The corporate class hide behind their artificial entities, destroying individuals & communities, with no consequences or repercussions to them or their estates.

[cali]

36. Yesterday the Premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois excoriated Ed Burkhardt, that pig

She didn't meet with him and neither did the Mayor of Lac Megantic. Ed finally got around to going to Lac Megantic, four days after the disaster. He's the chair of rail world, the parent company of MM&A rail. Rail World is based in Chicago. It's an American company.

[pinboy3niner]

39. Did you catch what Burkhardt said about 1-man crews being "safer"?

He actualy said this:

“We think the one-man crews are safer than two-men crews because there’s less exposure for employee injuries, less distraction," he said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/07/10/lac-megantic-quebec-train-explosion-investigation.html

[cali]

41. oh yeah, I heard shit stain burkhardt say that.

have I mentioned that I hate this guy.

I stand in support of Tom Harding.

[Lifelong Protester]

49. I know you know this, but what a load, eh?

Has this Burkhardt dude ever seen someone scrolling through their smartphone? One person=less distractions, is a ridiculous cover up for saving dough by cutting the crews.

(I am in no way suggesting the engineer was looking at any smartphone or whatever, I'm just pointing out how crazy Burkhardt's words are.)

[Egalitarian Thug]

47. Check me on this, but I believe that it was unlawful before we took a hard right turn to stupid. n/t

[cali]

48. I don't think it's ever been unlawful, ET, but I could be wrong

In any case, I can't find anything that indicates that it was once illegal.

[cali]

50. Lac Megantic: Railway's history of cost-cutting

A freight train derailment and explosion in Wisconsin in 1996 foreshadowed the Quebec inferno.


A freight train with dozens of cars carrying flammable material derails in a quiet rural community.

Sixteen tankers jump the tracks and explode into flames.

An entire town is evacuated.

That was not Lac-Mégantic in 2013 but the town of Weyauwega, Wisconsin, in 1996.

The founder and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Central railway involved in the crash was Edward Burkhardt, the same CEO who runs the Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway at the centre of the Quebec disaster.

<snip>

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/07/11/lac_megantic_railways_history_of_costcutting.html

[Brickbat]

51. So really, that headline should be more like this:

Edward Burkhardt: One man's history of shit management

[cali]

52. you're hired. n/t