The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating three incidents over the summer involving problems with dispatching systems used to direct trains in the Chicago area.
In one incident, dispatching software issued a signal that could have allowed a train to travel on tracks where maintenance workers had been cleared to work, according to the union that reported the incident to the feds.
None of the incidents resulted in injuries or accidents, but the union, the American Train Dispatchers Association, said the issues could lead to serious consequences if not addressed.
In an email, FRA spokesperson Alex Murglin said the federal agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is investigating the incidents.
“Once these investigations are complete, FRA will determine appropriate next steps,” Murglin said.
A spokesperson for Wabtec, the company that makes the dispatching technology, said its systems had “undergone extensive testing” and “have a strong track record in revenue service.”
The ATDA made formal complaints to the FRA about the incidents, which occurred on several midwestern railroads.
Ed Dowell, the president of the ATDA, thinks the feds should have broader authority to regulate the development and usage of dispatching software.
“In our view, the primary problem is there’s no federal government oversight,” Dowell told the Tribune.
“The train dispatchers are continually having to find errors in the system and protect the trains and workers and general public when they shouldn’t have to do that,” he said.
Representatives for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters, which represents track maintenance and construction workers, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, which represents rail workers that deal with signal systems, also said they had concerns about the use of automated dispatching technology.
“These are not minor mistakes,” said Clark Ballew, communications director for the BMWED.
A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year would require federal oversight of dispatching software. The FRA didn’t comment on the proposed legislation.
U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, a Chicago Democrat who is one of the sponsors of the bill, said in a statement that he has “been very concerned about the software problems that train dispatchers have been facing.”
García said the bill he cosponsored would give the FRA “authority to conduct oversight of rail dispatching systems and to hold vendors accountable for their products’ safety and reliability.”
In a formal complaint about one of the dispatching incidents this summer, Dowell said he wanted the FRA to “take immediate action and investigate this critical safety issue that could have been tragic and fatal.”
In that incident, which occurred in August on the Belt Railway of Chicago, dispatching software issued a signal that could have allowed a train to travel onto an area of track where maintenance workers had been given a green light to work. “Fortunately, the train dispatcher noticed the erroneous signal right away and took down the signal,” Dowell wrote to the FRA.
A representative for the Belt did not comment.
In a separate incident this summer, the ATDA said, a Chicago-area train dispatcher for the Canadian National railroad tried to issue one type of order but the software system generated a different one instead, the union said in its complaint to the FRA.
The issue occurred at a rail crossing in Wisconsin, according to the union. “This failure could result in inadequate protection at a malfunctioning grade crossing,” the union said in its complaint to the FRA.
CN spokesperson Ashley Michnowski said the railroad was aware of the incident and said a worker had “identified a discrepancy in a crossing-protection instruction.”
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“The grade crossing remained protected and affected train movements were halted until the discrepancy was resolved, in accordance with our multilayer safety and security protocols,” Michnowski said. “CN immediately addressed the discrepancy with Wabtec and is continuing its review of this matter.”
And in a third incident, the union said Metra dispatch screens went dark, causing brief periods in which dispatchers could not see trains or equipment on the track.
Metra said it was only aware of one incident on that day this summer, but said that it was not caused by a software issue, but rather by a surge protector overheating and shutting down.
Power was “quickly” restored, said spokesperson Michael Gillis, who added there “was no safety risk” while screens were dark.
“There is a failsafe that turns all signals to ‘stop’ if a dispatcher workstation goes dark. No trains were impacted because no trains approached a signal during the brief interruption,” Gillis said.
The ATDA said it is “difficult to pinpoint the root cause of these failures” without evaluation by a third-party IT specialist and added that the Metra incident is “consistent” with past issues involving Wabtec software.
Wabtec spokesperson Tim Bader added the company works “with customers and regulators.”
Wabtec technology is “implemented within a customer’s broader operating framework that include human expertise and oversight, operating procedures, safety requirements and regulatory obligations,” Bader said, adding that humans and technology “work together to support safe and efficient operations.”