" wrote:
But one striking thing here is that 20 secs is all the time
there was from the lights and bells at the crossing first
going off to impact. Apparently that is the minimum
allowed? Seems mighty short to me..... I don't think
I've ever been at a grade crossing where the train came
by within 20 secs of the lights activating. Usually you
sit there, waiting, waiting......
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With nearly 15,000 grade crossings throughout the state, Texas has the
largest number of railroad-vehicle intersections in the country.
Federal regulations already require warning lights and sounds to
activate at least 20 seconds before a train rolls through them.
Depending on the topography and normal speed of passing trains, that
interval can stretch to 40 seconds of more. Gates are required to swing
down completely at least five seconds before a train enters a crossing.
Typically, engineers are required to blow a train's whistle—two long
blasts followed by a short one—at least a quarter of a mile before
reaching a grade crossing. The signals must be repeated until the lead
locomotive enters the crossing. But the stretch of track where the
accident occurred in Midland is designated a "quiet zone," according to
Mark Rosekind, the NTSB member on site, meaning there are restrictions
on horn blowing.
Mr. Rosekind said the speed limit was 70 miles per hour along the
stretch of track, but he didn't say whether trains routinely slow down
at grade crossings. Additional issues expected to be examined by the
board's experts include reports of a power outage during part of
Thursday, and whether that had any bearing on the accident.
Speed is not as big a factor in train-vehicle collisions as might be
expected, according to Federal Railroad Administration data. That's
because a train moving at "almost any reasonable operating speed" can't
stop in time to avoid hitting an object on the tracks, according to
agency's data. In more than 37% of train-motor vehicle collisions at
public crossings, the train is moving less than 20 miles an hour.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...503417342.html