Federal board won't probe train crash

Union to protest in Canton accident

A freight car crashed into an MBTA commuter train last week in Canton, injuring 150 people. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Just about everyone involved with last week's commuter train crash in Canton that injured 150 passengers and crew members has said it could have been far more disastrous.

A runaway freight car barreling down the tracks slammed into an MBTA commuter train on the Northeast Corridor, the heavily traveled route used by Amtrak's high-speed Acela trains.

But unlike some other recent train crashes, this one will not be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, which uses its investigations to make broader safety recommendations for the industry. The board handles about a dozen train crashes a year - among about 3,000 annually, according to the NTSB and federal administration statistics.

The head of the local train engineers union said he will protest, with the help of his national union, the NTSB's decision to decline the Canton crash investigation.

"NTSB is the federal entity with the real expertise," said George Newman, chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Local 57.

Newman also prefers an NTSB review, he said, because the agency lets union members participate in its fact-finding.

The NTSB acts like the US Supreme Court in selecting the train accidents it reviews. It reviews all air crashes, but only a select number of train, pipeline, marine, and highway crashes. The agency looks for events in which the potential safety recommendations will have the broadest impact, said NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson.

"Outside of aviation, we always have to make a determination of what our resources are and what the safety payback is," Knudson said.

When the NTSB declines a case, the Federal Railroad Administration becomes the lead investigator. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police are also participating in the investigation. Knudson said the NTSB would continue to monitor the investigation, and may use its findings in recommendations.

Tuesday's collision happened during rush hour, when a 112-ton runaway freight car traveled an estimated 3 miles from a Stoughton lumber yard and hit a southbound commuter train, which had been stopped by the engineer moments before impact. The freight car picked up speed as it declined about 100 feet.

Newman said the crash raises safety questions about private yards used to store freight cars. "This could have been a real disaster," he said. "It was bad enough as it was."

Newman said he would be joined in his protest by the head of the local conductors' union, who could not be reached yesterday.

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.