Judge grants Cascades train 501 engineer partial summary judgment in suit against Amtrak
A judge in Washington state has ruled that Amtrak is strictly liable for the fatal 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in DuPont, Wash., meaning a trial later this year over a claim by the train’s engineer will only be to determine damages, not fault. The Tacoma News Tribune reports the suit by engineer Steven Brown alleges he was not properly trained and that positive train control equipment that could have stopped the train had not yet been installed. Brown was the engineer when Cascades train 501, making its first trip on the Point Defiance Bypass, derailed at a low-speed curve, killing three. Amtrak had claimed Brown’s negligence caused the derailment. But Superior Court Judge Karena Kirkendall granted Brown’s motion for partial summary judgment, which asked her to find Amtrak “strictly liable” and argued that the only defense to Amtrak’s absolute liability would be to prove that Brown “was the sole cause of his own injuries.”
Preservation group meets deadline, can continue to seek partners for effort to preserve BNSF bridge
A group seeking to preserve BNSF Railway’s Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge across the Missouri River has met a key deadline, the Bismarck Tribune reports, meaning it can continue to seek public partners for its effort to save the 138-year-old bridge. BNSF wants to demolish the bridge to make way for a new structure, but the group Friends of the Rail Bridge wants to save it and convert it into a pedestrian bridge. It had until March 15 to establish a public-private partnership that would eventually take ownership of the current structure; on the last day, the Burleigh County Commission voted to allow the group access to liability insurance through the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund, which meets the partnership requirement. A 2019 study estimated the cost of converting the bridge to pedestrian use at $7 million. The preservation effort has slowed BNSF’s work to replace the bridge, which because of its age had a 25-mph speed restriction [see “BNSF focuses on regulatory challenges …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 8, 2019].
CN workers hit by COVID-19 outbreak in Winnipeg
Canadian National has experienced a COVID-19 outbreak at a facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, health officials have said. CTV News reports that Unifor, the union representing CN workers, said there are 16 confirmed cases and 60 people isolating as of Tuesday. CN said in a statement that employees have followed a COVID-19 protocol since March 2020 that includes restrictions on employee travel, increased physical distancing, and self-isolation for those with signs or symptoms of the virus.
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