This public hearing has been convened by the National Transportation Safety Board under the authority of 49 U.S.C. Section 1113(a). This hearing is part of the Safety Board's investigation of the accident involving the collision of Union Pacific Railroad freight train MHOTU-23 and BNSF Railway Company freight train MEAPTUL-126D in Macdona, Texas, on June 28, 2004.

I am Richard F. Healing, a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board, and Chairman of the Board of Inquiry for these proceedings. The other Safety Board employees comprising the Board of Inquiry are:

• Mr. Robert J. Chipkevich, Director, Office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Investigations;
• Dr. Vernon S. Ellingstad, Director, Office of Research and Engineering; and
• Mr. James Rosenberg, Deputy Director, Office of Safety Recommendations and Accomplishments.

Mr. Robert H. Trainor, Associate Director for Hazardous Materials, is the Hearing Officer.

This hearing is part of the Safety Board's investigation of the accident involving the collision of the Union Pacific Railroad Freight Train MHOTU-23 and BNSF Railway Company Freight Train MEAPTUL-126D, in Macdona, Texas, on June 28, 2004.

At about 5:03 a.m. (CDT), June 28, 2004, the westbound Union Pacific freight train, traveling about 45 mph, struck the side of the 63rd head railcar of the eastbound BNSF freight train that was entering the west end of "Macdona Siding", near Macdona, Texas. The collision occurred at milepost (MP) 225.36 of the Union Pacific's San Antonio Service Unit. The BNSF train consisted of two locomotive units pulling 123 empty cars. The Union Pacific train consisted of four locomotives pulling 74 loaded cars. Each train crew consisted of an engineer and conductor.

On the Union Pacific train, 4 locomotives and 19 cars were derailed. Sixteen cars of the BNSF train derailed. The collision resulted in the breach of a tank car, the 16th head car of the Union Pacific consist, resulting in a release of chlorine, a poisonous gas. The release prompted an evacuation, which covered a two-mile radius. The UP conductor and two residents in a nearby house were fatally injured by the inhalation of chlorine. The UP train's engineer and more than 40 people were transported to local hospitals for treatment. Property damage and environmental clean-up costs exceeded $7 million.

In the vicinity of the collision, the railroad is single track mainline, with a siding, controlled by centralized traffic control (CTC) wayside signal system operated by a UP dispatcher in Spring, Texas.

This accident has been investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. We have been assisted in the investigation of this accident by representatives of the parties to this hearing. The purpose of this hearing is to:

1. Go beyond our field investigation, tests, and interviews to develop a factual record for the determining the probable cause of this accident;
2. Report the facts, conditions, and circumstances relating to this accident; and
3. Assist the National Transportation Safety Board in making recommendations to prevent similar accidents.

We plan on concluding this hearing on Wednesday, after taking testimony for two (2) days. This hearing is an administrative, fact-finding proceeding with no adverse interests and no adverse parties. It is not our purpose to assign blame or to determine the legal rights and/or liabilities of persons or organizations, and the Safety Board will not make any attempt to do so. Matters directly related to such rights and liabilities will be excluded from these proceedings.

Pursuant to Safety Board rules, a pre-hearing conference was held April 21, 2005, in Washington, D.C. The pre-hearing conference was attended by the members of the Board of Inquiry, the members of the technical panel, and the parties to the hearing. The witnesses for the hearing, the areas in which they are to be questioned, and the issues to be addressed were discussed and agreed upon by the participants. In addition, exhibits to be introduced in evidence were identified and agreed upon by the participants.

Copies of the witness list developed for this hearing have been made available. Mr. Terry Williams, a Safety Board Public Affairs Officer, is here to assist the press and the public, furnish a copy of the witness list, and provide access to the exhibits.

The docket, containing the exhibits, and any other related materials is available for inspection at the Board's Washington, D.C. office. The transcript of the testimony that will be taken during the hearing will be entered into the docket as soon as practicable. Copies of the transcript, exhibits, and photographs introduced during this hearing may be obtained for a fee from the court reporter.

The conduct of this hearing will be governed by the Safety Board's rules of practice. Under these rules, the witness will be questioned first by the technical panel, then by the spokesperson for each party, and finally by the Board of Inquiry. Questions, and answers, should be clear and concise. Cross-examination in the legal sense will not be permitted. After one round of questions, I may go around a second time for follow-up questions and/or clarifications. However, I expect follow-up questions to be limited to those necessary to clarify the record, or to address some new matter that has been raised. Be careful not to repeat questions which have already been asked and answered.

The formal issues that will be addressed in this hearing and to which testimony and questioning will be limited, are as follows:

1. Carrier and employee participation in fatigue management,
2. Crew management systems,
3. Assessing employees reporting for duty,
4. Supervising employee performance on duty, and
5. Drug and alcohol testing programs.

Following the close of this hearing, parties to the hearing will have the opportunity to submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations to the Board of Inquiry. I encourage the parties to make use of this opportunity. If you decide to submit proposed findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations, please send them to Mr. Robert H. Trainor, Hearing Officer, the National Transportation Safety Board within 60 calendar days after the close of this hearing. You should also send copies of any submissions to each of the other parties. Any proposals will be made part of the public docket of the investigation and will receive careful consideration during the Safety Board's analysis of evidence and preparation of the final report.

At this time I would like to introduce the members of the Safety Board's technical Panel.

Mr. James Remines
Investigator-in-Charge
Railroad Division

Mr. Ronald Hynes
Associate Director for Railroad

Mr. George Cochran
Accident Investigator
Railroad Division

Dr. Gerald Weeks
Chief, Human Performance and Survival Factors Division

Dr. Eric Sager
Accident Investigator
Human Performance and Survival Factors Division

Dr. Jana Price
Transportation Research Analyst
Office Of Research And Engineering

Also present is Ms. Evelyn Hemingway for administrative assistance.

I will now call upon the parties to the hearing, and ask each spokesperson to stand, identify themselves, their affiliation with the party they represent, and introduce those other persons at their party's table.

1. Federal Railroad Administration
2. Union Pacific Railroad
3. BNSF Railway Company
4. United Transportation Union
5. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

The City of San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas, are observers to the hearing.

Thank you. At this time I will call on the hearing officer to describe the exhibits to be used during the hearing. Mr. Trainor.

(Bob Trainor to introduce the exhibits.)

Thank you, Mr. Trainor.

At this point, we will have a brief description of the accident by the Investigator-in-Charge, Mr. Jim Remines.

(Jim Remines gives opening presentation.)

Thank you, Mr. Remines.

Now, I will call on the hearing officer to call and qualify the first witness. Mr. Trainor.