NTSB grade-crossing accident investigation in Elgin, Illinois

The NTSB grade-crossing accident investigation focuses on a fatal crash in Elgin, Illinois. In this incident, a Union Pacific Railroad train struck a Ford pickup truck at the South State Street crossing on the UP Belvidere Subdivision, killing the driver and injuring two passengers.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Details of the Union Pacific train-truck collision

According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report, the collision occurred on Oct. 23. Inside the Ford pickup and its trailer were the driver and two passengers; both the vehicle and the trailer belonged to Cornerstone Partners, a landscaping company. The driver was killed, while the two passengers were transported to hospitals with injuries. No other injuries were recorded in connection with the Elgin, Illinois rail crossing crash, a summary that is consistent with coverage by Progressive Railroading.

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At the time of the crash, the Union Pacific train was heading back to the railroad’s Belvidere Yard after completing work in the Proviso and West Chicago yards. Data from the event recorder show that, as it approached the South State Street rail crossing, the train was traveling at about 27 mph — a key element in the NTSB investigation into the Elgin, Illinois train accident.

How the collision unfolded at the South State Street rail crossing?

Footage from the locomotive’s outward-facing image recorder shows highway traffic moving over the South State Street rail crossing in the seconds before the impact. When investigators combined the image and event recorder data, they concluded that the train’s whistle sounded for the first time and the crossing’s warning devices activated when the train was already close to the edge of the crossing during this fatal grade-crossing collision at South State Street. This sequence of events is also described in local reporting by CBS News Chicago.

The Ford pickup entered the crossing from the train’s right side immediately before the collision and was still moving as the Union Pacific train struck it. The preliminary report notes that the engineer applied the brakes shortly after impact and eventually brought the train to a stop north of the crossing. These details form part of the broader picture of the Union Pacific train-truck collision that federal investigators are now analyzing.

Focus on train detection technology and operating rules

The NTSB stresses that its work remains ongoing. Further investigative steps will focus on Union Pacific’s operating rules, training and related policies, along with the performance of the train detection technology used by the grade crossing’s warning systems.

In particular, investigators intend to examine how this train detection technology supports grade crossing safety and how the warning devices behaved in the moments before the Union Pacific train hits a truck at a rail crossing. The preliminary report referenced in the article is available for readers who want to review the official findings in more detail.

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