Union Pacific: A derailed train report
Corn lies on the bank of Interstate 84 in Weber Canyon Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014, after a train derailment. According to Aaron Hunt, spokesman for Union Pacific, one train ran into the back end of the other train, causing three locomotives and five railcars to derail. (DYlAN BROWN/Standard-Examiner)
A train derailment occurred in Weber Canyon Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 at roughly 9:30 a.m. The photo to the right, taken on Tuesday, Oct. 7, is after 10 months of reclamation on the hillside near Interstate 84. According to Aaron Hunt, spokesman for Union Pacific, one train ran into the back end of the other train, causing three locomotives and five rail cars to derail.
A safety personnel worker inspects a train derailment in Weber Canyon Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. According to Aaron Hunt, spokesman for Union Pacific, one train ran into the back end of the other train, causing three locomotives and five railcars to derail.(DYlAN BROWN/Standard-Examiner)
A long-delayed report on the derailment of two Union Pacific freight trains in Weber Canyon is as big a mess as that left by the accident.
Nine months after the Jan. 8 incident that caused more than $1.3 million in damage, the Federal Railroad Administration has released its findings that say the accident was human caused. But that report is being disputed by the former Union Pacific locomotive engineer found responsible for the accident.
The Standard-Examiner made a Freedom of Information Act records request for details to the federal agency on the day of the accident. We received the report Monday.
So why did it take so long? According to the federal agency it was experiencing a backlog of requests. That is either a reflection on the number of train accidents that are happening, or the inability of the federal agency to handle such investigations.
The train wreck on a snowy morning in Weber Canyon near Interstate 84 took several days to clean up. It was caused when a Union Pacific train rear-ended another. Only two people working for the railroad suffered minor injuries, but it could have been worse if the rail cars that derailed had spilled over onto the major interstate.
According to the FRA report, one train was traveling 17 mph on a “restricted track” when it struck the rear of the other train, causing both trains to derail and spill more than 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel and cargo of animal feed. The fuel soaked into the hillside and had to be reclaimed.
The report says no employees were terminated as a result of the accident. However, engineer Jeff Miller told the Standard-Examiner Friday he was ordered to resign or be fired one month after the accident.
So why the discrepancy?
Union Pacific officials say they had their own internal investigation independent of the FRA investigation that resulted in disciplinary action against the conductor and the engineer..
Miller quit in February, shortly after filing his account of the crash with Union Pacific, his former employer of 25 years. He said the railroad giant purposely misplaced his report because it was damning to the railroad’s safety protocol.
When such incidents occur, the public has a right to know in a timely manner what happened. Nine months is way too long for such a report to be completed. It doesn’t appear there was much coordination of investigations by the federal agency and Union Pacific.
And the report has left just as big a mess as the accident.
