NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-95-032

Page 1Official PDFTr tkm Safety Washington, D. C. 20594 Safety ~ e c Q ~ e ~ ~ a ~ Q n Date: 1 . i ~ ; 3 0 iysj In Reply Refer To: P-95-32 Jeiald V Halvorsen Piesident Interstate Natmal Gas Association of America 555 13th. Suite 300 West Washington, DC 20004 On November 30, 1993, a 184-foot-long vehicle operated by Rountree Transport and Rigging (Rountree), Inc., was en route to deliver an 8240x1 turbine to a Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) electricity generating plant under construction near Intercession City, Florida. The private access road to the plant facility crosses over a single railroad track owned by CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT). Because of the configuration of the truck and the profile of the roadway, the cargo deck of the vehicle began to bottom out on the roadway surface as it moved across the tracks. The Rountree crew proceeded to adjust the height of cargo deck to gain greater clearance while the vehicle straddled the track. They had finished raising the cargo deck and were preparing to move the vehicle when the lights and bells at the grade crossing activated. Seconds later, National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) train number 88, the Silver Meteor, carrying 89 passengers, struck the side of the cargo deck and the turbine. The locomotive and the first four cars of the eight-car consist derailed.' No deaths resulted from this accident. Six persons sustained serious injuries and 53 persons suffered minor injuries, and had to be evacuated to area hospitals., The Rountree vehicle and the turbine were destroyed, and the locomotive and the first three railcars were damaged extensively. Total damage from the accident exceeded $14 million. ' For additional information, read Highway Accident Report--Collisio~i of Antmak Train No. 88 tvirli Rountree Tia~t~spo~r and Rigging, Iiic , Velticle 011 CSX T~oiirportorion, I I I C . , Railroad tieor 1iiterces.rioii City, Flotido, Noseriiber .30, 199.3 (NTSBIHAR-95I01). 65.58 7 ,#

Page 22 From its investigation of this accident, the Safety Board identified several safety issues, including hazard identification and avoidance and timely pipeline operator notification. When the train derailed, the locomotive and several other cars came to rest above and/or near two high-pressure hazardous liquid pipelines owned by Central Florida Pipeline Corporation (CFPL). Within minutes of the derailment, an Amtrak employee notified the CSXT dispatcher, who in turn, alerted the appropriate county and CSXT officials indicated on his emergency notification telephone list. The dispatcher did not notify CFPL. At the accident site, no one noted the pipeline markers and reported the presence of the pipelines to the incident commander. Consequently, responders did not take any measures to protect themselves or the accident victims from a potential pipeline breach., The earliest notification that CFPL received was at 1:50 p.m. from an off-duty CFPL employee who happened to see a news broadcast about the accident,. The CFPL inmediately shutdown of its pumping operations and dispatched personnel from Tampa, Florida, to the scene. By the time that the CFPL employees arIived at the accident site, CSXT had already contacted clean-up contractors who were bringing in bulldozers, cranes, and otber heavy equipment that could potentially damage the pipelines. The Safety Board received conflicting accounts from CSXT and CFPL regarding the potential hazard to the pipeline during wreckage-clearing operations. For example, the CFPL manager stated that when using a crane to move a railcar, CSXT crews set it down on the ground above the IO-inch-diameter pipeline. 'The CSXT contractor said that he had 14 years experience in operating heavy equipment and in installing pipelines and that his crews did not move the railcar in such a way as to endanger the pipeline. When CFPL excavated the pipelines, it found no visible indications of damage to the exterior of the pipe. Because of the costs and problems involved in performing an internal inspection of the two pipelines, CFPL elected to replace the sections of pipe in the accident area as a precautionary measure. As a result of its investigation of this accident, the Safety Board concluded that the lack of cooperative action plan between CSXT and CFPL contributed to a break-down in com- munications 'The Safety Board notes that before the Intercession City accident occurred, the Federal Railroad Association identified the need for all railroads and pipelines to actively coordinate their emergency response activities in a Match 1993 FRA special notice. The Office of Pipeline Safety subsequently issued a similar recommendation to the pipeline industry in a March 1993 advisory, which was printed in the Federal Register. 'The Safety Board is concerned about efforts by both members of the pipeline and the iailroad industries to maintain the safety of emergency response, railroad, and pipeline personnel and property following a train derailment. A pipeline breach during an evacuation effort or during wreckage recovery operations would result in the release of a flammable product, which, if ignited could injure nearby workers and destroy or damage nearby property. Even if not ignited, a release would delay the safe resumption of railroad and pipeline operations through an affected area for days or even weeks while the environment is restoied. The Safety Board 7#

Page 33 believes that industry associations, such as the Interstate Natural Gas Association of Anierica, should take an active role in promoting better postaccident emergency coordination between pipeline companies and railroad companies. The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the Interstate Natural Gas Association of Anierica- Advise your members of the pipeline safety issues identified in the Intercession City, Florida, accident report, and urge them to work with railroad operators in developing plans for handling emergencies involving both rail and pipeline. (Class 11, Priority Action) (P-95-32) Also, the Safety Board issued Safety Recommendations H-95-7 to the American Associ- ation of State Highway and Transportation Officials, H-95-8 and -9 to the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association, H-95-10 to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, H-95-11 to the National Sheriffs' Association, H-95-12 to the National Committee on IJniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances, P-95-31 to the American Gas Association, P-95-33 to the American Public Gas Association, P-95-34 to the American Petroleum Institute, P-95-35 to the Central Florida Pipeline Corporation, P-95-36 to the State of Florida Division of Emergency Manage- ment, R-95-24 and -25 to the Association of American Railroads, R-95-26 and -27 to the American Short Line Railroad Association, R-95-28 to the National Railroad Passenger Corpor- ation, R-95-29 to the Osceola County (Florida) Emergency Management Division, and R-95-30 through -32 to the CSX Transporntion Corporation, The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency with the statutory responsibility "to promote transportation safety by conducting independent accident investigations and by formulating safety improvement reconmendations" (Public Law 93-633) The Safety Board is interested in any action taken as a result of its safety reconmendations, Therefore, it would appreciate a response from you regarding action taken or contemplated with respect to the recommendation in this letter. Please refer to Safety Recommendation P-95-32 Chairman HALL, Vice Chairman FRANCIS, and Member HAMMERSCHMIDT concurred in this recommendation.#