Freight trains were not speeding before fatal crash

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Two freight trains which collided in Oklahoma killing three crew members were not speeding, according to a preliminary accident report.

On June 24, two Union Pacific freight trains travelling eastbound and westbound near Goodwell collided, sparking a diesel-fed fire.

Three of the four crew members onboard received fatal injuries.

The other crew member survived after jumping from the locomotive just before the collision.

The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) found that event recorders from the lead locomotives of both trains were severely damaged during the collision and could not indicate whether the trains were travelling within the 70mph speed limit.

However, the initial data retrieved from the the rear locomotives of both trains, as well as recorded data from the signal system, indicated that the eastbound train was travelling about 64 mph and the westbound train was travelling about 38 mph at the time of the collision.

On the eastbound train the three lead locomotives and first 24 cars derailed along with the two lead locomotives and first fix cars of the westbound train.

The damage is estimated at $14.79 million.

 

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