BOSTON - A train conductor facing scrutiny for his role in last year's runaway freight crash that left about 100 people injured had been cited previously for leaving rail cars on a steep hill without applying the brakes, according to a disciplinary report filed as part of a lawsuit, according to Noah Bierman of the Boston Globe.
(See, at the end of this item, a response to this article by UTU New England States Legislative Director George Casey.)
Despite that 2002 rules violation and at least eight other mostly safety-related citations, the conductor was left in charge of delivering and securing a 112-ton freight car that came loose from a lumber yard on March 25 and barreled down 3 miles of track before ramming an MBTA commuter train and injuring about 100 passengers in Canton.
The conductor's disciplinary history, over a 15-year career, was included in court documents filed Friday as part of an ongoing lawsuit between the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and several other parties, including CSX Transportation, which was in charge of the freight car and employed its conductor.
The attorney for CSX conductor James M. Collins denied his client had ever failed to set handbrakes on freight cars, and blamed the MBTA for trying to smear Collins as part of the lawsuit over the Canton accident. "There's overwhelming evidence in this case that he set that handbrake," he said yesterday.
(Collins is a member of UTU Local 1473, Boston.)
The lawyer pointed out that the rail car sat at the Cohenno lumber yard for five or six hours on the day of the crash before it rolled away.
Collins, 61, and the engineer on the job, Lawrence O'Neil, wrote in sworn statements the day after the crash that they had set the Canton freight car properly. Collins has not been disciplined by CSX for any rules violations since 2004, according to court documents.
The MBTA and the private company that runs its commuter rail service blame CSX for the crash and are trying to build a case that the company has a history of recklessness in securing freight cars. CSX says in court documents that the MBTA is trying to create a sideshow, presenting information out of context in court filings, and "grandstanding" to deflect blame.
CSX asserts in court papers that MBTA equipment could have prevented the crash by derailing the runaway car, but failed, and that the MBTA's contractor may not have taken enough action to protect passengers as the freight car rambled off the lumber yard.
Officials on both sides declined to comment on the suit.
A day after Collins was cited in 2002 for "leaving cars unattended with no handbrakes on a steep grade," he was cited for a more technical violation and told his supervisor that "no work would get done if safety rules were obeyed," according to CSX reports included in the MBTA's court filing.
The MBTA memo filed Friday also says CSX, which operates in 23 states and Canada, has admitted to between 300 and 350 documented instances in which its employees have failed to set handbrakes. CSX says in its response that those incidents represent allegations made over the course of eight years, when its employees set handbrakes thousands of times per day.
The Federal Railroad Administration mentioned the company's problems securing cars in a 2007 safety audit. Over a three-day period, safety inspectors found seven instances of failing to apply handbrakes sufficiently.
"Safety is always our primary focus and when the FRA comes to us with something, we work very closely with them and always in the interest of trying to improve what is already a very good safety record," said Bob Sullivan, CSX spokesman.
The federal agency also cited handbrake problems as the cause of 25 accidents involving CSX between January 2006 and November 2008.
Agency spokesman Rob Kulat said in September that officials would file no criminal charges related to the Canton crash because there were neither fatalities nor any apparent motive. Kulat said yesterday the agency had not concluded its investigation.
Collins, and the engineer working with him the day of the Canton crash, refused in civil court depositions to answer questions about how they set the brakes on the freight car that eventually came loose last year, according to court documents. Both men cited their right against self-incrimination.
CSX and the lawyer for Collins contend the MBTA forced them into that response by conducting a parallel criminal investigation of the crash through its police department.
"They're trying to put my guy under the cloud of a criminal investigation," said the lawyer, who has filed suit against the MBTA over what he said is its refusal to hand over the findings of its investigation.
The MBTA finished its investigation last year, turning it over to the Norfolk district attorney's office, which has yet to finish its review, according to spokesman David Traub.
All parties involved in the lawsuit, including Cohenno lumber and the MBTA's contractor, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company of Boston, set aside money last year to settle passenger claims for injuries and property damage. So far, 37 claims have been settled. Another 180 are pending.
George Casey's response:
"Dear Noah:
"I was disappointed that you disregarded any of the points I made concerning the accusations made against Conductor James Collins, and that I felt he was being scapegoated by the other defendants, MBTA & MBCR in the Canton Junction accident. I think I called it the deep pocketed defendant campaign.
"Please allow me to paint a more accurate picture for you to investigate.
"There has been nothing more than innuendo focused against the freight train crew. They have testified that the car was secured. I think the "reasonable man" scenario would concur that if the car sat motionless for nearly six (6) hours, that something other than gravity set the car in motion.
"Therefore, why isn't the MBTA-owned, MBCR-maintained derail on the Coheno siding called into question as failing to perform it's safety related function?
"Why isn't the Coheno crew considered persons of interest as having set the car off on it's way down the hill to collide with the commuter train?
"Why isn't the fact that the original split derail at Coheno's siding, which was replaced by MBCR, and returned almost immediately after the accident, replaced?
"Why wasn't the NTSB brought into investigate the accident?
"Why hasn't the Federal Railroad Administration been asked to explain why railroad customers are allowed to move cars around on their sidings without any safety requirements?
"I would suggest it's analogous to the FAA allowing Sky Chef to move planes around to accommodate food loading.
"It seems that a great deal is being conveniently overlooked in your article.
"I guess the convenient scapegoat is an individual who was just doing his job on the day in question, who has been threatened with criminal prosecution and now vilified and embarrassed in public.
"It appears to me, that there are numerous targets for the Boston Globe to get answers from, who are in the public domain, but instead is unwittingly assisting defendant MBTA in conducting a media campaign to deflect their responsibility in the instant case.
Very truly yours,
George T. Casey
General Chairman
United Transportation Union
(This item appeared Feb. 18, 2009, in the Boston Globe. Additional information added by UTU editors.)
