Rail Agency to Seek Fines From Amtrak

The Federal Railroad Administration said Wednesday it will seek civil penalties against Amtrak because the railroad failed to test all surviving crew members for drugs and alcohol after Sunday’s collision near Baltimore.

The agency said drug and alcohol tests are vital to rail accident investigations, although in the Amtrak collision the consequences of not testing everyone are expected to be minimal since the crew members involved were not operating the train.

The maximum penalty for violating the federal testing regulations is $2,500 per violation for each of the three crew members not tested.

Conrail Crew Tested

Drug and alcohol tests were conducted on the two crewmen aboard the Conrail locomotive, which rolled into the path of the passenger train, and on the remains of the Amtrak train engineer, an Amtrak employee controlling track switches and an assistant conductor, officials said.

John Riley, the federal railroad administrator, said the agency has issued a civil citation against Amtrak for failing to conduct the tests “and will seek maximum civil penalties for each instance of non-compliance.”

Amtrak spokeswoman Sue Martin said the fines would not be challenged.

The three crew members were not tested “for humane reasons” because one was seriously injured and the others in shock and because “they had no role in the cause of the accident,” she said.

The accident Sunday killed 15 people and injured more than 170. Investigators are trying to determine why the three Conrail locomotives, linked together, went through a stop signal into the path of the 12-car Amtrak train.

Trains Are Operating

Amtrak spokesman Clifford Black said all trains between Washington and New York were operating as of Wednesday morning but were still being held to 30 m.p.h. through the crash area at a switching point where four tracks converge into two for the crossing over the Gunpowder River.

In a related development, the railroad agency issued a “compliance advisory” to all train operators in the busy Northeast corridor reminding them to not tamper with locomotives’ cab signal systems and make certain they are working properly before departure.

Investigators have determined that a whistle, which automatically sounds in the cab of a locomotive when there is a track signal change, was taped over in the Conrail locomotive involved in Sunday’s collision. One light on the cab signal system also was not working, sources have said.

‘Critical Safety Device’

Calling the whistle device “a critical safety device” that should not be tampered with by train operators, the agency said all locomotives must undergo inspections before departure to make certain the system is working properly.

Meanwhile, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) announced plans to hold a hearing on the Amtrak-Conrail accident to determine whether safety improvements are needed along the Northeast corridor.