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Re: Railroad Investigator Comments on Train 501
Author: Max Wyss
Date: 12-24-2017 - 04:38
Under consideration of OPRRMS' comments, that investigator is biased (must be biased, because he represents a party).
I may have overread it, but that article, and Amtrak's answer for the training/certification program says what is tested and trained for operation of locomotive and trains. I did, however, not stumble over anything about familiarization of a line (the Swiss-German term I have in mind is "Streckenkunde", and if I remember correctly, that involves 4 or 6 times running on the line with an engine being certified for, per direction, with the presence of an instructor.
Personal memory: back in the era when "my" line was still operated with RBe4/4 railcars, I very often stood in the vestibule behind the cab, and I do remember one time when there was actually a familiarization run, and the instructor gave specific hints, such as "keep the speed for switch over deviation until you have covered this particular switch, then accelerate to line speed".
This is in addition to the operator timetable where speeds, signal positions, switches, etc. are clearly printed. There are cases where due to problems, trains get deviated. It may be that the driver is not familarized with that deviation, and in such a situation, he may decide to just follow the information from the timetable, or to refuse, and call for a pilot. If he does run and follow the timetable's information, and some @#$%& happens, he would not be prosecuted for that, considering that it was in an emergency situation.
So, in short, according to that article, there seemed to be some familiarization issues for the new route.
I may have overread it, but that article, and Amtrak's answer for the training/certification program says what is tested and trained for operation of locomotive and trains. I did, however, not stumble over anything about familiarization of a line (the Swiss-German term I have in mind is "Streckenkunde", and if I remember correctly, that involves 4 or 6 times running on the line with an engine being certified for, per direction, with the presence of an instructor.
Personal memory: back in the era when "my" line was still operated with RBe4/4 railcars, I very often stood in the vestibule behind the cab, and I do remember one time when there was actually a familiarization run, and the instructor gave specific hints, such as "keep the speed for switch over deviation until you have covered this particular switch, then accelerate to line speed".
This is in addition to the operator timetable where speeds, signal positions, switches, etc. are clearly printed. There are cases where due to problems, trains get deviated. It may be that the driver is not familarized with that deviation, and in such a situation, he may decide to just follow the information from the timetable, or to refuse, and call for a pilot. If he does run and follow the timetable's information, and some @#$%& happens, he would not be prosecuted for that, considering that it was in an emergency situation.
So, in short, according to that article, there seemed to be some familiarization issues for the new route.
