Railroad Emergency Response Manual
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National Capital Region Council of Governments RAILROAD EMERGENCY RES PONS E MANUAL Not to be reproduced without written consent of NCR COG Passenger Rail Safety Sub-Committee First Edition May 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This manual could not have been written without the assistance of many dedicated people. Members of the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department, namely BFC Damian A. Wilk, that have spent many hours providing the material for the creation of this manual. We thank the emergency responders from other jurisdictions and federal agencies that shared their first hand experiences of recent commuter railroad incidents. Many of their experiences were incorporated into sections of this manual. Railroad representatives provided their invaluable technical assistance. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) CSX Transportation, Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) provided the specific diagrams and illustrations. Representatives from many Federal Agencies also provided information on the technical accounts of railroad equipment and their integrity on past railroad incidents. The members of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Passenger Rail Safety Subcommittee gratefully presents this manual to both Fire and Rescue Service and Railroad organizations in an effort to instill readiness within our own personnel that they might effectively respond to a railroad incident. SCOPE AND UPDATES This Manual provides specific information on rail equipment and procedures. Due to the size and diversity of the National Capital Area, only general information on tracks and facilities is provided. Each jurisdiction should create appendices to this manual covering the unique rail lines, stations, yards, tunnels, and bridges, in their area. Each jurisdiction should also develop a working relationship with the rail representative in their area. This working relationship is most beneficial if it is done prior to an emergency. Updates will be made to this manual every three years. Any suggestions for updates or corrections should be submitted to the COG Passenger Rail Safety Subcommittee. Intro -1 Table of Contents _____________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER 1 RAILROAD FACILITIES and TRACK RIGHT-OF-WAY A. Train Stations ...............................................................................................1-1 B. Railroad Right-of-Way Components .............................................................1-2 C. Hazards of Dark Territory .............................................................................1-5 D. Amtrak’s Electrified Territory.........................................................................1-7 E. Railroad Yards ..............................................................................................1-12 F. Railroad Tunnels ..........................................................................................1-12 G. Railroad Bridges ...........................................................................................1-14 H. Preplanning the Railroad Infrastructure ........................................................1-16 CHAPTER 2 LOCOMOTIVES A. Electric Locomotives .....................................................................................2-1 B. Diesel-Electric Locomotives .........................................................................2-3 C. General Locomotive Information ...................................................................2-4 D. Emergency Shut Down .................................................................................2-5 1. Electric Locomotives .........................................................................2-5 2. Diesel-Electrical Locomotives ...........................................................2-6 E. Locomotive Batteries ....................................................................................2-7 F. Locomotive Doors and Windows ..................................................................2-7 G. Locomotive Fires ..........................................................................................2-8 CHAPTER 3 PASSENGER TRAINS A. Passenger Rail Service Overview ................................................................3-1 1. MARC Commuter Rail Service .........................................................3-1 2. VRE Commuter Rail Service ............................................................3-2 3. Amtrak Regional and National Passenger Rail Service ....................3-2 B. Features Common to all Passenger Trains ..................................................3-3 1. Head-End Power (HEP) ...................................................................3-3 2. Air and Hand Brake Systems ...........................................................3-5 3. Keys ..........................................................................................3-6 C. Cab Cars ......................................................................................................3-6 D. Passenger Cars (Trailer Cars) ......................................................................3-8 E. General Information on All Passenger Car Doors .........................................3-10 1. Outside End Doors (Collision Post) ...................................................3-11 2. Inside End-Doors (Vestibule Side) .....................................................3-11 3. Exterior Side Entrance Doors (Vestibule Side) ..................................3-12 4. Other Exterior Side Doors – Middle of the Car ...................................3-12 Intro -2 F. Specific Information on Passenger Rail Cars ...............................................3-13 1. MARC II Car Information and Car Door Configurations .....................3-14 2. MARC III (Kawasaki) Car Information and Car Door Configurations 3-16 3. MARC Gallery Car Information and Car Door Configurations ............3-19 4. VRE II Car Information and Car Door Configurations ........................3-21 5. VRE Kawasaki Car Information and Car Door Configurations ...........3-23 6. VRE Gallery Car Information and Car Door Configurations ...............3-25 7. Sounder Car Information and Car Door Configurations .....................3-27 8. Amtrak AMFLEET I Car Information and Car Door Configurations ....3-29 9. Amtrak AMFLEET II Car Information and Car Door Configurations ...3-31 10. Amtrak Superliner Car Information and Car Door Configurations ......3-32 11. Amtrak High-Speed Train Set Info and Car Door Configurations .....3-34 G. Utilizing Emergency Windows on All Passenger Cars ..................................3-35 1. Opening All Types of Emergency Windows from Inside the Car ........3-36 2. Opening Amtrak Windows from the Outside ......................................3-36 3. Opening MARC and VRE Windows from the Outside .......................3-37 4. Last Resort Methods to Remove Lexan Polycarbonate Windows .....3-38 H. Cutting into the Car Body .............................................................................3-39 I. Other Emergency Equipment .......................................................................3-39 J. Freight Cars on Amtrak Passenger Train .....................................................3-39 CHAPTER 4 FREIGHT TRAINS A. Train Consist (Shipping Papers) ...................................................................4-1 B. Brake Systems .............................................................................................4-7 C. General Information on Freight Cars ............................................................4-7 D. Types of Freight Cars ...................................................................................4-8 1. Flat Car ..............................................................................................4-8 2. Intermodal Service .............................................................................4-9 3. Auto Rack ..........................................................................................4-10 4. Box Car ..............................................................................................4-11 5. Refrigerated Car (Reefer) ..................................................................4-12 6. Gondola Car (Gon) ...........................................................................4-12 7. Hopper Car (Covered and Uncovered) .............................................4-13 8. Tank Car ...........................................................................................4-14 9. Coil Cars ............................................................................................4-15 10. Spine Cars .........................................................................................4-16 11. Caboose Car ......................................................................................4-17 12. Hi-Rail Vehicle ...................................................................................4-17 CHAPTER 5 SAFETY A. Working on the Right-of-Way ......................................................................5-1 B. Working Around Rolling Stock .....................................................................5-2 C. Working at Railroad Incidents .....................................................................5-3 D. Electrified Territory ......................................................................................5-5 E. Flagging and Lookout Protection .................................................................5-7