Weary railroad crews have caused deadly train wrecks

In 2001, a Union Pacific engineer who had only a short nap over 24 hours triggered a chain-reaction crash involving two other trains outside St. Louis, injuring four. A year later, in Des Plaines, Ill., a Union Pacific engineer who went more than 22 hours without sleep missed warning signals and hit another train, severely injuring two crew members.

Federal regulators believe exhaustion contributes to train accidents, though the exact number caused by fatigue is unknown. The government doesn't track fatigue-related crashes, but accidents caused by human error have increased 60 percent since 1996, the Times reported.

"We have been talking about the same issues for more than 20 years," said William Keppen of Annapolis, Md., a retired engineer. "We made some progress in the 1990s, but the whole thing is starting to go to hell. People are dying out there."

However, the Association of American Railroads, the industry's trade organization and lobbying arm, notes deaths and injuries of railroad workers from accidents are at record lows.

Fatigue "is not what I'd consider a major safety issue at this point, but it is an issue we take seriously," said Robert C. VanderClute, the association's senior vice president of safety and operations.

Critics argue part of the problem is a 98-year-old federal law requiring at least eight hours off after each shift, a rule some train crews say doesn't allow for adequate sleep. Legislation that would require fatigue management plans and amend the law have failed in Congress since 1998.

Meanwhile, hiring has not kept pace with increases in rail freight volumes, which have averaged nearly 4.4 percent a year since 1991, federal data show.

Concern about fatigue escalated in the 1980s after the NTSB concluded weary crews contributed to three collisions involving Burlington Northern trains that left 12 dead.

Measures to reduce fatigue are being taken or under consideration by the country's largest railroads, including Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. Some have started voluntary work-rest cycles, though they are not available to most of their freight crews. Educational materials are available, crew lodgings at hotels have been upgraded and most major railroads allow short naps for workers.

Meanwhile, some company executives say they are moving to more regularly scheduled freight service. That can make crew members' hours more predictable.