NTSB Issues RIR 25-07 for CSX MoW Accident
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
An aerial view of the accident location that occurred on Feb. 13, 2024.
Courtesy of NTSB
ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. - The NTSB issued Railroad Investigation Report 25-07 for an incident that occurred on February 13, 2024.
On December 13th, RT&S reported that the NTSB had opened up a public docket for the CSX MoW accident. The docket included 29 items including a preliminary report, interview transcripts, employee histories, and test results among others.
Now, the NTSB has issued Railroad Investigation Report 25-07 into the CSX Transportation employee fatality. On February 13, 2024, a foreman for a CSX crosstie replacement team was struck and killed after a ballast regulator reversed direction and hit the employee in the gage of the track. The team was working to perform track resurfacing and crosstie replacement on the CSX North End Subdivision.
The analysis found that members of the flagging crew did not hear the horn or CDA before the accident. The NTSB conducted post accident tests and found that “the ballast regulator’s rear CDA was not operational.” Because of this, the foreman did not receive an alert because there was no sound from the rear CDA or the horn. The NTSB found that probable cause was the ballast regulator operator’s lack of awareness of the foreman in the gage of the track and the foreman’s lack of awareness that the regulator was moving toward him. Additionally, the lack of sound from the horn and a change-of-direction alarm that did not sound played a factor.
Afterward, the report states that CSX issued a safety alert that described the incident and placed emphasis on being aware of one’s surroundings. This includes conducting “what if” scenarios to identify potential risks. Additionally, CSX has made changes to some of its rules that include “increasing the red zone distance around roadway maintenance machines from 15 feet to 25 feet.” The Class 1 also requires its employees to “conduct additional job briefings midway through shifts, to alert employees to changes in work plans, and instructs MOW machine operators to sound the machine’s horns if the CDA becomes inoperative.”
