What Happened
What Happened
On January 31, 2024, about 4:15 p.m., the engineer of Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) yard job A08AA31 (crew 1) was fatally injured while performing switching operations when the locomotive he was operating was struck by a rolling block of railcars from yard job A80AA31 (crew 2) in Decatur Yard in Decatur, Alabama. The locomotive was occupying the lead track at the west end of the yard and shoving railcars onto track 10 when 35 railcars rolled west on track 7 from the east end of the yard where crew 2 was working. The 35 railcars fouled the lead track and impacted the rear of crew 1’s locomotive, raking along the side of the locomotive, and ultimately striking the operating cab where the engineer was located. The engineer was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
What We Found
What We Found
We determined that the probable cause of the Norfolk Southern Railway employee fatality was the conductor’s failure to properly verify the handbrakes were applied on the block of railcars, as required, which allowed them to roll free and strike a locomotive.
What We Recommended
On February 14, 2024, the Federal Railroad Administration issued “Safety Bulletin 2024-01 (Revised): Employee Fatality—Securement of Rolling Equipment,” in reference to this accident. In this bulletin, the Federal Railroad Administration “remind railroads and railroad employees of the importance of ensuring rolling equipment is properly secured at all times.”
On February 2, 2024, Norfolk Southern issued a Serious Incident Notice informing employees about the incident, rules to discuss regarding switching operations, and included a rules clarification packet on securement of equipment. NS cited this event in recurrent rules training and during safety interactions with employees to ensure employees are following established securement rules.
