RAILROAD NEWS AND COMMENTARY FROM WASHINGTON BY WES VERNON Mixed Bag On Rail Fortunes
AMTRAK IS EFFECTIVELY CONCEDING it is liable for most of the damages (or will not contest the liability) caused by the May 12 derailment in Philadelphia that killed eight and injured dozens of others. The passenger railroad says it will pay for “wrongful deaths” in response to two lawsuits. That includes medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages. And, yes, Amtrak admits the already
widely publicized allegation the train bar- reled ahead on a sharp curve at 106 m.p.h. when the speed limit was about half that. Bloomberg News figures that when you con- sider that 238 passengers are involved who potentially could claim to “deserve damages,” Amtrak’s admission might clear the way for other (contested) litigation. But How Quickly? Even so, considering
that the case involves 26 lawsuits filed by 36 passengers plus two Amtrak employees, we could conceivably be near or into the next decade before the case finally wraps up. One attorney says Amtrak’s admission of liability is “a very significant development. . . tanta- mount to an admission of negligence,” and that “all of those who were injured and lost loved ones are entitled to be compensated.” The lawyers say that in order to prove puni-
tive damages, a plaintiff must present “clear and convincing evidence” that the railroad acted “with conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others.” What About the Engineer? The most in- triguing questions left not fully answered to the satisfaction of some attorneys is exactly what happened to engineer Brandon Bostian during the time leading up to the moment the train went off the track for its deadly halt. The explanation out there is that he was knocked out in the accident. “Knocked out?” That leaves a demand for
a more specific explanation. You’re talking about roughly a minute and 15 seconds. Did the train hit a rough bump as a precursor to the final stoppage? While a minute and 15 seconds is no eternity, it’s imperative that we know exactly when within that brief time frame Bostian was or was not conscious. That way, investigators can determine whether the engineer had absolutely no time to hit the brake before the halt. It is for circumstances like this that engineers are trained to react with the split-second accuracy that can make all the difference between life and death. Small wonder that NTSB investigators
want to reconstruct the employee’s actions during those crucial seconds and learn why the train was traveling at twice the speed limit. Until we know that, says attorney Paul Brandes (representing one of the pas- sengers), “The families won’t get the justice they deserve.” Mr. Brandes raises questions about Mr. Bostian’s “habits or lack of sleep” or “some inattention on his part?”
One Aftermath
Herewith, the story of one life seriously dis- rupted by the accident: On July 16, there was a fund raiser held in
New York involving “hundreds of food lovers and dozens of chefs” (according to the Phila- delphia Inquirer) to help offset expenses for
what was (and hopefully still will be) “an up and coming” chef, Eli Kulp, who was para- lyzed in the Train 188 disaster. Two months after the accident, Eli was still in an inpatient rehabilitation facility in New York City. His career was soaring. Food & Wine magazine named him Best New Chef of 2014. Bon Ap- pétit last year cited Eli’s flagship restaurant, High Street in Philadelphia, as the “No. 2 Best New Restaurant in America.” Eli’s business partner had made the ar- rangements for the New York fund-raiser in a town where the injured honoree/budding celebrity chef has been spreading his culinary talents beyond his home base in Philly. The attendees — some of whom were teary-eyed — were addressed by Eli’s wife, Marissa, who said it was “bittersweet” that her husband could not be there “to feel the love in this room.”
Kulp’s career was soaring like a rocket
when the derailment fractured his spine. For example, he had been on a schedule to open a new restaurant in New York City that would build on a reputation of his original Philadel- phia property. That determination and passion, said Ma-
rissa Kulp, “is what’s going to get [Eli] “back in the kitchen and back to the things he loves, like his son and myself, and everybody in the community of Philadelphia.” We are spotlighting this story because we
believe, sometimes, it serves a positive pur- pose to put a face on a horrible disaster and tell a human side to the monumental personal tragedy that can result many times over from just one transportation calamity — behind the raw numbers/statistics.
So Now What?
Beyond those human elements of the accident lie several questions: How does this affect the centerpiece of Amtrak’s operation — i.e., the prized Northeast Corridor, which operates on most of the trackage that Amtrak actual- ly owns? Start with the fact that the NTSB’s estimated one-year investigation is going to test the patience of many stakeholders — not just Amtrak management, but also regular and would-be NEC riders who do not wish to trade in their convenient downtown-to-down- town train service for business day trips to New York, Washington, or Boston only to go back to the air shuttle; but also politicians who support Amtrak; safety officials, many of whom would like to deal with whatever re- form measures are recommended (yea, nay, or in-between) and then move on; and planners who hope someday to make the NEC a Euro- pean-style HSR. Already Amtrak has been ordered by the
FRA to “control” speed and make “other mod- ifications” to improve safety. Among these would be inward-looking cameras by year’s end on ACS-64 locomotives already in use on the corridor (the newer locos already will have them when they arrive). And then there is the ongoing dispute on whether the industry as a whole is acting quickly enough on installation of Positive Train Control (PTC). The deadline is still December 31, 2015. AAR President Ed Ham-
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