Runaway SEPTA trolley’s brakes were disabled before crash, NTSB says
The trolley's air compressor was being repaired, the report said. A mechanic moving the trolley told investigators he did not know the brakes were not working.
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A SEPTA maintenance technician told National Transportation Safety Board investigators he had no warning that a trolley’s air brakes had been disabled for repairs before it derailed and crashed last month in Southwest Philadelphia, the agency said Monday in a preliminary report.
The worker was unable to brake the vehicle as it picked up speed on Island Avenue while he was moving it from the Elwood repair facility into an adjoining rail yard on July 27, the NTSB said. After it derailed, trolley 9107 struck an SUV at the intersection of Island and Woodland Avenues and then smashed into the historic Blue Bell Inn.
Two people in the SUV suffered minor injuries in the 10:18 p.m. crash. The maintenance technician jumped off the runaway trolley and was taken to a hospital with injuries. An artist who was living at the inn as its caretaker was not hurt.
It was one of eight major crashes involving SEPTA buses and trolleys in the span of 20 days, beginning July 21. The crashes killed one person and injured at least 40 and brought scrutiny of SEPTA’s safety record from federal and state regulators.
In a statement issued the day after the trolley crash, SEPTA’s board wrote that it is “extremely concerned and troubled by the series of recent accidents involving SEPTA buses and trolleys.”
“We know that incidents like these shake the public’s confidence in SEPTA,” the board wrote. “We have stressed to executive staff that they need to be transparent with the public about the findings of these investigations.”
Last week, SEPTA began mandatory training for all employees to review safety procedures, starting with bus and trolley operators. On Aug. 10, the Federal Transit Administration launched an investigation into SEPTA’s maintenance records and safety protocols, it said in a letter to the transit authority and PennDot.
In the Southwest Philadelphia accident, the trolley was undergoing an “air compressor replacement” over multiple shifts, and workers disabled the air brakes so the vehicle could be “manually relocated” in the Elmwood repair facility, the NTSB said.
The investigation is continuing. “Future investigative activity will focus on SEPTA’s trolley repair and maintenance practices, including pre-movement procedures for maintenance personnel, as well as maintenance personnel training and supervision, and railroad oversight,” the NTSB report said.