As a result of that accident, the NTSB issued safety recommendations to the Norfolk Southern Corporation (R-99-22), the FRA (R-99-13), all Class 1 railroads including Amtrak (R-99-25), the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (R-99-26), the BLET (R-99 27), and the United Transportation Union (now the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers [SMART]) (R-99-28), recommending that they—
In cooperation with [each other] …, develop, for all train crewmembers, train crew resource management training that addresses, at a minimum: crewmember proficiency, situational awareness, effective communication and teamwork, strategies for appropriately challenging and questioning authority.
These recommendations have been classified "Closed—Acceptable Action."
More recently, as a result of the collision of two freight trains near Two Harbors, Minnesota, the NTSB issued Safety Recommendation R-13-7 asking the FRA to "require railroads to implement initial and recurrent crew resource management training for train crews."[1] The recommendation was reiterated as a result of the 2013 collision of two freight trains in Chaffee, Missouri.[2] Because the FRA has not yet mandated CRM training, Safety Recommendation R-13-7 is classified "Open—Unacceptable Response."
1.6 Train Information
Amtrak train 188 consisted of one locomotive, six passenger cars, and one café car. The train weighed about 955,000 pounds and was about 663 feet long. The train makeup and orientation are shown in the following table.
| Sequence | Car Type | Car Number | Number of Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Locomotive | 601 | 3[a 1] |
| 2 | Business (Car 1) | 81528 | 62 |
| 3 | Passenger (Car 2) | 82776 | 72 |
| 4 | Passenger (Car 3) | 82644 | 72 |
| 5 | Café (Car 4) | 43346 | 48 |
| 6 | Passenger (Car 5) | 82761 | 72 |
| 7 | Passenger (Car 6) | 82797 | 72 |
| 8 | Passenger (Car 7) | 8298 | 72 |
- ↑ Each cab is equipped with a jump seat to allow for three crewmembers.
- ↑ National Transportation Safety Board, Head-on Collision Between Two Canadian National Freight Trains Near Two Harbors, Minnesota, September 30, 2010, Railroad Accident Report RAR-13/01 (Washington, DC: NTSB, 2013).
- ↑ National Transportation Safety Board, Collison of Union Pacific Railroad Freight Train with BNSF Railroad Freight Train Near Chaffee, Missouri, May 25, 2013, Railroad Accident Report RAR-14/02 (Washington, DC: NTSB, 2014).
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