Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety Headquarters Assigned Accident Investigation Report HQ-2006-83, Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company, Franklin, Massachusetts, October 23, 2006

摘要

A eastbound MBTA passenger train collided with a tractor trailer truck at the Fisher Street crossing on October 23, 2006, at 7:48 a.m. The trailer was a low bed type which was carrying a portable rock- crushing machine that weighed approximately 53 tons. The trailer was hung up on the crossing and the truck driver was attempting to raise the trailer at the time of the collision. The collision occurred in Franklin, Massachusetts, at MBTA Milepost 28.4, on the MBTA Franklin Branch. The truck driver was not injured, but two railroad employees and 26 passengers sustained various types of injuries. The low boy trailer was slightly damaged. The rock crusher machine was knocked off of the trailer with the conveyor belt of the machine slicing through the roof of the control car and coming to rest against the car. The control car sustained approximately $500,000 worth of damage. The lead truck of the control car did derail and the entire passenger car was severely leaning towards the firemans side. Because of this, the two wheels on the engineers side of the rear truck were raised up off of the rail. The FRAs investigation concluded the probable cause was the low boy trailer loaded with the rock crushing machine was fouling the track. According to the MBTA police report, the area of the collision was thickly settled residential and commercial in nature. The roadway was poor in condition due to recent construction and had been patched with asphalt. Several potholes were present in the roadway on the day of the collision. Both of these conditions played a significant role on the clearance of the trailer. Because of these findings, it was determined that the truck driver was not responsible for the collision. The FRAs investigation also concurs with the findings of the MBTA police.