Part of the union dues that are collected and used at the National Level go towards ensuring that we are present when legislation affecting Signalmen is being proposed. The BRS Legislative Representative works directly for the BRS President and spends much of his time working on Capitol Hill. This video highlights some of the work our Legislative Representative does. This video also outlines the Cayce, South Carolina, accident where an Amtrak train derailed over an improperly lined switch during a signal suspension. As background information, CSX sent its signal crew home overnight and planned on finishing a cutover in the morning. During the signal suspension, CSX permitted the use of track warrant authority which allowed Amtrak trains to travel at 50 mph without any form of protection for a switch in the wrong position.    While the conductor errored in not lining the switch for the main line, the NTSB found that CSX was at fault by its “failure . . . to assess and mitigate the risk associated with operating through a signal suspension, which eliminated system redundancy for detecting a switch in the wrong position.” The NTSB also found that “the Federal Railroad Administration’s failure to implement effective regulation to mitigate the risk of misaligned switch accidents” as a contributing factor. This accident killed the engineer and conductor of the Amtrak Train, and 91 others were transported to medical facilities for treatment. The damage costs were estimated at over 25 million dollars.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS ACCIDENT:
Cayce South Carolina Accident