1. Report No.
NTSB—RAR-73-5
2.Government Accession No.
3.Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Railroad Accident Report - Collision of Illinois
Central Gulf Railroad Commuter Trains, Chicago,
Illinois, October 30, 1972
5.Report Date
June 28, 1973
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)
8.Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
National Transportation Safety Board
Bureau of Surface Transportation Safety
Washington, D.C. 20591
10.Work Unit No.
993—E
11. Contract or Grant No.
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
Washington, D. C. 20591
13.Type of Report and Period Covered
Railroad Accident Report
October 30, 1972
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
This report contains Railroad Safety Recommendations R-73-28 through R-73—32.
16. Abstract.
This report describes and analyzes the collision of two Illinois Central Gulf Railroad commuter trains in Chicago, Ill., on the morning of October 30, 1972. A train consisting of four new Highliner cars overran a station stop, attempted to back up to the platform, and was struck from the rear by another train operating on the same track. The first car of the following train overrode the under-frame of the last car of the lead train and telescoped the car.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the reverse movement of train 416 (the lead train) without flag protection into a previously vacated signal block and the failure of the engineer of train 720 (the following train), while operating faster than the prescribed speed, to perceive the train ahead in time to avoid the collision. Ambiguous rules which caused confusion among employees regarding the necessity to flag within automatic-block signal system limits and the reduced importance of flagging in suburban service implied by the management's failure to enforce Rules 7, 35, 99, 896, and 1003 also contributed to the accident.
The report contains recommendations to the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, the Chicago South Suburban Mass Transit District, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Urban Mass Transportation Administration.
17.Key Words
Railroad Accident, Rear-end Collision, Mass Transportation, Rapid-transit Safety, Human Factors in Transportation Accidents, Crashworthiness
18.Distribution Statement
This document is available to the Public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield,
Va., 22151.
19. Security Classification (of this report)
UNCLASSIFIED
20. Security Classification (of this page)
UNCLASSIFIED
21.No. of Pages
61
22.Price
NTSB Form 1765.2 (11/70)
ii
