NTSB/RAB-08/04 

E PLURIBUS UNUM

NATIONAL TRA SPORTATIO

N

B OARD

SAFE T Y

N

National Transportation Safety Board 

Washington, D.C. 20594 

Railroad Accident Brief

Accident No.: DCA-08-FR-002 

Location: Bertram, California 

Date: November 10, 2007 

Time: 12:03 p.m., Pacific standard time1

Railroad: Union Pacific Railroad 

Property Damage: $2 million 

Injuries: 0 

Fatalities: 2 

Type of Accident: Rear-end collision 

Synopsis 

On Saturday, November 10, 2007, about 12:03 p.m., eastbound Union Pacific 

Railroad (UP) freight train RVVCGC-07 struck the rear end of stopped eastbound UP 

freight train IGSMN-10 in Bertram, California. The striking train consisted of 6 

locomotives and 60 loaded cars and was traveling about 28 mph when it collided with the 

stopped train, which consisted of 5 locomotives and 111 loaded cars. The stopped train 

was awaiting a scheduled meet with a westbound UP freight train when the accident 

occurred. As a result of the collision, the striking train’s three lead locomotives derailed; 

they also caught fire due to a fuel tank that ruptured on impact. The local fire department 

extinguished the fire. The two crewmembers on board the striking train were killed. The 

weather was clear, and the temperature was about 74° F. Total estimated damage was $2 

million. 

The Accident 

The accident occurred on the UP’s Los Angeles Service Unit, Yuma Subdivision, 

at milepost (MP) 646.3, in Bertram, California. Train movements were governed by 

wayside signal indications of a traffic control system controlled by a UP train dispatcher 

located at the BNSF Railway/UP joint train dispatcher’s office in San Bernardino, 

California. 

 1

 All times in this brief are Pacific standard time. 
2

UP train IGSMN-10 was stopped on the main track for a stop signal indication at 

the east end of Bertram siding control point to meet a westbound UP train entering into 

the siding at Bertram. Before the striking train struck the stopped train, it traveled past a 

mainline advanced approach signal, an approach signal, and a stop signal. The 

maximum authorized speed near the accident was 65 mph for freight trains. The train 

failed to comply with the approach signals and passed the stop signal at 37 mph. The 

striking train was about 1,037 feet beyond the stop signal, traveling about 28 mph, when 

it struck the stopped train. (See figure 1.) 

Investigation 

The investigation revealed that the signal system was functioning properly at the 

time of the accident. No evidence was found to indicate that the track structure either 

caused or contributed to the accident. In addition, postaccident sight-distance tests, 

weather records, interviews with local witnesses, and train crew statements showed that 

weather and sight distance to the signals were not factors. Postaccident equipment 

inspections and airbrake tests did not indicate any defects that would have caused or 

contributed to the collision. 

 

Figure 1. Lead locomotive of striking train. 
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Both train crews were properly trained to perform their duties. They were 

qualified, and they had been tested on carrier rules in 2007. The crewmembers of the 

stopped train stated that their trip was routine before the collision. 

The crew of the striking train had been conversing with the train dispatcher and 

taking operating orders, with clear radio communication. They had not reported any 

problems to the train dispatcher. The traffic control system signal records, wayside defect 

detector, and the event recorder data showed that they had experienced neither equipment 

failure nor unusual operating conditions before the accident. 

The leading locomotive had an alerter that requires an engineer to reset an alert by 

pushing a button on the control panel. This type of alerter is not connected to the 

locomotive event recorder. No evidence was found to indicate that the alerter was not 

working properly before the accident. 

While traveling from Mecca to the point of the collision, the conductor did not 

contact anyone or record any information. At Mecca, MP 627, the conductor made his 

last signal log entry for a defect detector. Subsequently, the conductor failed to make four 

required log entries, which included not noting an additional defect detector and three 

separate signal restrictions. 

The train passed an advanced approach signal at MP 643.4. The operating rules 

for an advanced approach signal required that the engineer proceed prepared to stop at 

the second signal and that freight trains exceeding 40 mph immediately reduce their 

speed to 40 mph. However, the event recorder indicated that the train was traveling about 

47 mph. After passing the advanced approach signal, the train’s lead locomotive passed a 

wayside defect detector at MP 643.8. 

As the train proceeded, it passed an approach signal at MP 644.8. The operating 

rules for an approach signal required that the engineer immediately reduce the train 

speed to 30 mph and be prepared to stop the train before the next signal. However, the 

event recorder indicated that no control inputs were made to reduce the train’s speed. 

The train’s lead locomotive had passed the approach signal when the rear of the 

train, traveling at 47 mph, cleared the wayside defect detector. At that time, the defect 

detector made an audible radio announcement, and the event recorder data showed that 

the locomotive engineer made his first throttle movement, after 10 minutes 49 seconds of 

inactivity, by reducing the locomotive throttle from position 3 to position 2. Four seconds 

later, the engineer moved the throttle to position 0. Eight seconds later, the engineer 

placed the train into emergency braking. 

The train had slowed to about 37 mph as it passed a stop signal at MP 646.1, and 

it was still moving about 28 mph when it struck the stopped train at MP 646.3. (See 

figures 2 and 3.) The striking train was placed into emergency braking about 32 seconds 

before the collision. 
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Train Crew Performance 

Postaccident toxicological test samples were taken from the striking train’s 

crewmembers. The results were negative for drugs and alcohol. 

According to an interview with a family member of the deceased engineer, the 

engineer went to bed about 7:00 p.m. on November 9, 2007. He stayed in bed until he 

received a call for duty about 12:30 a.m. on November 10, 2007. He then arose, prepared 

for work, and departed his home. He reported on duty at 2:45 a.m. on 

November 10, 2007. 

Figure 2. Collision of freight trains. 

According to an interview with a family member of the deceased conductor, the 

family member called the conductor about 4:30 p.m. on November 9, 2007. During that 

conversation, the conductor said that he knew he was going to work early the next 

morning and mentioned that he was going to get some more rest before going to work. It 

could not be determined how much sleep the conductor may have obtained before 

receiving his call for duty at 12:44 a.m. and reporting on duty at 2:45 a.m. on 

November 10, 2007. At the time of the accident, the crewmembers had been on duty for 9 

hours 18 minutes.
5

Figure 3. Wreckage of freight trains.

The UP rules require a conductor to record in a logbook the defect detector 

information and all signals other than clear. Postaccident examination of the conductor’s 

logbook revealed that he made his last entry for the defect detector at Mecca, MP 627. 

The striking train passed Mecca about 27 minutes before the collision. Although required 

to do so by rules, the conductor did not record the following information in his logbook 

as his train approached Bertram: the status of a defect detector, an advanced approach

signal, an approach signal, and a stop signal. 

The UP operating rules require the conductor to be alert and to supervise the 

operation and administration of the train. UP rules also require that when an engineer 

does not respond appropriately to signal indications, others in the cab must immediately 

take action to ensure safety (that is, using the emergency brake valve to stop the train, if 

necessary). Crewmembers in the cab must communicate clearly to each other the speed of 

the train as it passes a signal with an indication other than clear; they must immediately 

remind the engineer of the rule if the engineer does not comply with a signal. 

The train crew’s lack of activity before the collision suggests that as the train 

approached the accident site, the crew had diminished alertness and was not complying 

with applicable carrier operating rules. Both crewmembers had failed to comply with the 

advanced approach signal and the approach signal instructions. The conductor failed to 
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enter the required signal log information and failed to alert the engineer of restricting 

operating conditions. The locomotive event recorder indicated that when the train passed 

the audible defect detector, the engineer responded after more than 10 minutes of 

inactivity by making an emergency brake application at which point the stop signal at MP 

646.1 and the stopped train would have been clearly visible. The emergency braking 

slowed the train to 28 mph, and the collision occurred at MP 646.3. The multiple failures 

of both crewmembers, combined with the engineer’s limited sleep (that is, 5 1/2 hours) 

and the conductor’s indeterminate amount of sleep during the previous night, provide 

strong evidence that they were likely asleep. 

Probable Cause 

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the 

November 10, 2007, collision of two Union Pacific Railroad freight trains in Bertram, 

California, was the failure of the train crewmembers on eastbound train RVVCGC-07 to 

comply with wayside signal indications because they were likely asleep. Contributing to 

the accident was the lack of a positive train control system. 

Adopted: September 8, 2008