Probe Finds Crew Error Possible in Train Collision

SILVER SPRING, Md. —  Investigators picked through mangled wreckage Sunday to determine why a commuter train was moving more than twice as fast as it should have been just before slamming into an Amtrak passenger liner. Eleven people died in the ensuing fireball.

Evidence turned up so far appears to point toward error by the engineer of the MARC commuter train, said John Goglia, a National Transportation Safety Board member who is heading the investigation. The engineer was among those killed.

“It’s far too early for us to come to a conclusion . . . but based on the facts, we are moving in that direction,” Goglia told reporters after the second full day of the federal investigation into Friday’s deadly collision just outside the nation’s capital.

Investigators found no mechanical problems with either train and the signal system is in working order, though more tests are needed to determine whether it was operating when the trains collided, Goglia said.

“To date, with about 50% of the testing done, we can find nothing wrong with the signals,” he said.

Investigators want to find out whether a yellow caution light was on to warn the MARC train to slow to 30 mph after it left the Kensington, Md., station a few miles from the crash. They said it was clocked at 63 mph before the engineer applied emergency brakes in a futile attempt to avoid the collision.

“We haven’t determined yet if the Kensington signal was yellow at the time. . . . Now, when we test that circuit, the light turns yellow,” Goglia said.

Investigators also found evidence that emergency doors and windows that should have allowed passengers to escape the smoke-filled commuter car were not working properly.

Work crews have removed most of the wreckage from the track and service was expected to be restored by Tuesday, Goglia said.

A nearby train crew heard a radio transmission in which the MARC engineer acknowledged seeing the Kensington signal, but did not remember whether he indicated the light was green or yellow, Goglia said.

The signals are operated by radio from CSX Transportation’s central offices in Jacksonville, Fla. The dispatcher on duty was in Washington, to be interviewed today.