I-Team: Wilmington Officials Not Confident MBTA Rail Crossings Are Safe
WILMINGTON (CBS) - An I-Team investigation uncovered a series of incidents involving the safety gates at a Wilmington railroad crossing where a woman was killed last month.
In January, Roberta Sausville Devine had no warning a train was coming and was killed driving across the tracks. Since then, the I-Team has found there have been several other incidents involving the gates at that crossing and others.
Judy O'Connell sits on the Board of Selectmen, she tells the I-Team, "To have safety issues moving forward just speaks to the level of severity that we have a problem here."
The MBTA and Keolis, the company that operates the commuter rail, are eyeing human error as the cause of the fatal crash at the Middlesex Ave crossing in January.
As for a couple of the other crossing gate incidents, the MBTA says the system worked the way it was supposed to. After sensors detected ponding from snow and salt on the tracks, it shut the gates even though a train was not approaching the intersection.
At a recent meeting, T General Manager Steve Poftak told the MBTA board that mechanics have been retrained to make sure safety systems are operational after testing and dispatchers are notified.
"I'm aghast. I would have expected those to be in place already," railroad safety expert Carl Berkowitz told the I-Team. "What they did was the bare minimum – when you have a standard that's the minimum… you have to do more than the minimum. If you know you have a hazard – you create a diagnostic team you go out and look at every crossing to make sure they are 100% safe."
Wilmington officials say at this point they are not confident the rail crossings are safe. Judy O'Connell says she is frustrated with the lack of communication and response from the MBTA and Keolis. "We need some accountability at the MBTA level," O'Connell said. "We need some communication and it needs to be consistent and we need an action plan."
State and federal agencies are investigating the fatal crash. The Federal Railroad Administration tells the I-Team it is also investigating several other incidents involving gates at Massachusetts railroad crossings.
Statement from Keolis:
"The safety of commuter rail passengers, crews, and the communities we serve is the first priority for Keolis and our partners at the MBTA. The MBTA and Keolis have confirmed that the crossing protection systems for all crossings in Wilmington are operating as designed and have already implemented several additional safety measures systemwide that exceed standard operating procedures. We will continue to work with the MBTA to be responsive to the Wilmington community and to ensure safe operation of the commuter rail system."