RAILROAD ACCIDENT REPORT - REAR-END COLLISION ON CONRAIL COMMUTER TRAINS, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, OCTOBER 16, 1979

On October 16, 1979, about 8:19 a.m., northbound Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) train No. 1718 collided with the rear end of standing Conrail train No. 0714 and caused it to move forward and collide with standing Conrail train No. 716 on track No. 1 of Conrail's West Chester Branch, just north of the Angora station at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of the 525 persons who were injured, one crewmember of train No. 0714 died 6 days after the accident. Equipment damage was estimated at $1,940,312. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the engineer of train No. 1718 operating at a speed above that authorized by the block signal indication which did not allow for his stopping the train before it collided with a standing train. Contributing to the accident was the engineer's improper operation of the train brakes and the failure of a supervisor and traincrew personnel in the operating compartment of the locomotive to monitor the train's operation adequately and to take action to insure that the train's speed was reduced or that it was stopped when its speed exceeded that authorized for the signal block.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Bureau of Accident Investigation, 800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1980-5-12

Media Info

• Pagination: 39 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic train control; Brakes; Braking performance; Cab signals; Casualties; Commuter cars; Crash investigation; Crashes; Crashworthiness; Disasters and emergency operations; Locomotive engineers; Locomotive operation; Loss and damage; Operating rules; Passenger transportation; Radio; Railroad trains; Rear end crashes; Signalization; Vigilance
• Identifier Terms: Conrail
• Uncontrolled Terms: Damage assessment; Emergency procedures
• Geographic Terms: Pennsylvania
• Old TRIS Terms: Brake applications; Locomotive engineer's tasks; Signal aspects; Train radio
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00318336
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-RAR-80-5
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 16 1980 12:00AM