13Investigates: Questions remain about how a train derailed over I-25
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Crews are clearing the train cars and coals from Interstate 25 after the National Transportation Safety Board completed its initial accident investigation Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told 13 Investigates that a broken rail caused the deadly coal train derailment on I-25 north of Pueblo. Investigators believe “the broken rail preceded the derailment and the bridge collapse occurred after the derailment.”
13 Investigates spoke with Russell Quimby, a railroad accident expert with nearly 25 years of experience as an investigator with NTSB, about the accident and how a rail breaks.
“Rails over time will get stressed,” Quimby said. “If there's any kind of internal flaw or just over a period of years, it may develop a flaw and break.”
NTSB also found that warning systems failed to alert the train crew of the condition of the track. Quimby said all trains have a safety system called Positive Train Control. He said the system uses technology like satellite imagery and low electricity current to avoid train collisions and accidents like this one.
“If you have a rail break before the train comes along, that circuit is broken,” Quimby said. “So it will automatically throw the signals to bring the train to a safe stop prior to the rail break.”
However, the NTSB said the train crew was never notified of the track defect and the train failed to stop.
Quimby said railroad companies that own the track, in this case BNSF, are responsible for inspecting and maintaining it. He said the frequency of inspections depends on how often trains use that particular track. He said this track would likely be inspected at least once a year. 13 Investigates reached out to BNSF about their track inspections but they never responded.
“(Investigators) will be looking at the records, make sure they weren't falsified, and they'll also be interviewing the track people who take care of the section in this area of track to see when it was last inspected,” Quimby said.
Following NTSB’s initial investigation, a preliminary report is expected to come out within the next month, but it will take at least a year for the final report to be released which will explain how the rail broke and why the safety system didn’t notify the train crew.
NTSB is not a regulatory agency so they will only make safety recommendations depending on the final report. For example, Quimby said if the investigators determine the rail break was due to a manufacturing flaw, NTSB will recommend train companies replace any railroad tracks that would have the supposed flaw.
As NTSB continues to look into what caused the rail break, the bridge that collapsed after the train derailed remains in question too.
BNSF, the company that owns the railroad track on top of the bridge that collapsed, told 13 Investigates the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) owns the bridge. But CDOT said its records going back to the 1950s don’t mention who is responsible for the bridge. However, they told 13 Investigates they inspected the bridge just last year.
Once the roadway is clear of train cars, bridge debris, and coal, CDOT said it will have to assess the damage to I-25 before it can open it back up.
“When you have the several tons of weight of coal and rail cars slamming down onto a roadway, you can imagine that there could be some pretty significant dents into that roadway and tear up the pavement structure,” said Amber Shipley, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Transportation. “Until we actually can see what's underneath all that, we won't know (when I-25 will open).”
