significant transportation-related accidents, launched an investigation immediately after the Chatsworth
collision, and 16 months later on Jan. 21, 2010, it released its findings. The NTSB attributed the collision
to the negligence of the Connex/Veolia engineer, who failed to heed a red signal; Connex/Veolia was the
company that Metrolink had contracted with to operate Metrolink trains.
sent 21 text messages, received 20 text messages and made four outgoing phone calls. He sent his last
text message 22 seconds before the collision. The engineer's actions were in violation of the General
Code of Operating Rules, which forbids operating crew members' use of cell phones while on duty. When
analyzing the engineer's cell phone records, it was also discovered that on separate occasions he had
allowed unauthorized persons to accompany him in the cab car as well as operate the train, yet another
violation of the operating rules. In addition, the NTSB found that the engineer and conductor did not follow
operating rules for announcing and repeating back signals. Operating rules require engineers to make
radio announcements of all signals encountered, and conductors must repeat back the engineer's radio
announcements for signals other than green.
privacy the locomotive cab affords engineers makes it difficult to discover operating rules violations through
ordinary management supervision or efficiency testing. It made two recommendations to the Federal
Railroad Administration to make crew member oversight more efficient. The first was to install crash- and
fire-protected inward- and outward-facing cameras in all controlling locomotives and cab car operating
compartments to verify that train crew actions meet necessary operating and safety rules and procedures.
It was recommended that the cameras record for a minimum of 12 hours and that the recordings be
easily accessible for review to assist in accident investigations or for efficiency testing and systemwide
performance review conducted by management. The other was to require railroad agencies to regularly
review the recordings in conjunction with performance data to verify that crews meet safety rules.
inward- and outward-facing cameras in its locomotives and review the recordings to verify crews were in
compliance with rules that ensure the safe operation of the trains. The NTSB's endorsement of the cameras
further validated Metrolink's move to install the cameras to enhance safety.