Bourbonnais train accident

The Bourbonnais train accident occurred March 15 1999 at 9:47pm Central (local) time in Bourbonnais, Illinois in the United States. The southbound Amtrak train 59, the City of New Orleans, hit a semi truck, loaded with steel, that was blocking a grade crossing. The accident resulted in the deaths of 11 of the train's passengers, 122 injuries and over US$14 million in damages.

Upon impact, both of the train's locomotives and 11 of the train's 14 passenger cars derailed; the derailed cars hit two of the 10 freight cars on a siding next to the mainline. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributes the cause of the accident to the truck driver's reaction to the grade crossing signals. Thinking he could beat the train across the tracks, the driver chose to proceed onto the tracks in front of the train. The driver reported that the crossing signal didn't activate until his vehicle was "right on top of the track", but he also stated that he did not want to brake quickly to avoid a shifting load that could hit the back of the truck's cab. Witnesses stated that the gates came down after the truck had entered the grade crossing. One witness stated that the gate clipped the truck's trailer and that part of the gate may have broken off as a result.

NTSB recommendations

As a result of the accident, the NTSB made several recommendations:

To the highway maintainers:

• Review the effectiveness of current railroad grade crossing signals and the use of traffic division islands in deterring motorists from trying to drive around crossing gates.

To the United States Secretary of Transportation:

• Provide further grants and incentives to increase enforcement of grade crossing signals.

To the United States Federal Railroad Administration:

• Require the installation of event recorders to monitor gate position at new or improved grade crossings.

To the railroads:

• Initiate procedures to get accurate passenger and crew lists to emergency responders.
• Implement improved crew accountability procedures on reserved passenger trains.
• Install event recorders on all new or improved grade crossings.

References

• United States National Transportation Safety Board (August 5 1999), NTSB to hold public hearing on Bourbonnais train accident. Retrieved January 27 2005.
• United States National Transportation Safety Board (February 5 2002), Railroad accident report: Collision of National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) train 59 with a loaded truck-semitrailer combination at a highway/rail grade crossing in Bourbonnais, Illinois, March 15, 1999 (PDF). Retrieved January 27 2005.