Passenger/Freight train collision September 12, 2008, Chatsworth, CA

Details

• Creators:
  Jeong, David ; Severson, Kristine ; Jacobsen, Karina ; Carolan, Michael ; Lapre, Pete ; Whelan, Charlie ; Schuster, Jennifer ; Sandler, Marc ; Marceau, Phillip
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and Development
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Railroad safety
  • Railroad transportation
  • Crash investigation
  • Freight trains
  • Passenger trains
  • Collisions
  • Locomotives
  • Behavior
  • Crashworthiness
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FRA/ORD-17/20
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  California
• Edition:
  Final report
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and Development ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology
• Abstract:
  On September 12, 2008, a passenger train and freight train collided head-on in the Chatsworth district of Los Angeles, CA. Each train was initially travelling at more than 40 mph. Twenty-five people were killed and approximately 138 were injured, many severely. With assistance from emergency responders, local authorities, and accident survivors, both the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rail Accident Forensic Team and the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident. This report on the Chatsworth accident by the Forensic Team presents the estimated sequence of events of the collision, the behavior (dynamics) and specific structures of the trains, passenger injuries, the performance of emergency preparedness and crashworthiness features, and recommendations for enhanced protections to improve passenger safety in the future. The appendices include greater technical detail on the train structures and dynamics, and passenger experiences.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DTFR53-15-X-00042;RR28A4/QJ2C6, QJ2C7
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/35576/dot_35576_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 19.73 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center ; Federal Railroad Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:255a3dafb92af25327e79ce9882ee01531acd70ebbb20d9a057991ca56b953a3308259a3af6bc1f7670a492face7b55948c9f2df6cac2eb93fee7d21ce19d6d2