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American Morning

Interview with Carol Carmody

Aired July 30, 2002 - 07:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back to that train derailment outside of Maryland yesterday, the "Washington Post" reporting this morning that the engineer of that train told officials he saw a piece of track turned towards its side just moments before the derailment, a condition called a "heat kink."

Joining us now from Montgomery County, Maryland, NTSB Vice Chairwoman Carol Carmody -- good morning -- welcome.

CAROL CARMODY, VICE CHAIRWOMAN, NTSB: Good morning -- thank you.

ZAHN: Can you confirm that report what the engineer told the "Washington Post" about actually seeing a buckle in the track shortly before the crash?

CARMODY: We interviewed the engineer late last night, as well as the conductors. We have not got the results of those interviews yet. When we do, we will release that information.

ZAHN: All right, so you can't say whether this report in the "Washington Post" is true or not.

CARMODY: At this time, I can't confirm it.

ZAHN: It also suggests in that same report that the engineer hit the brakes when he saw the kink, and a number of reports suggest he was going 56 miles per hour at the time. Are you able to say whether that was the case or not at this point?

CARMODY: Well, we are able to say the event recorders told us the train was going about 60 miles an hour at the time of the derailment. The position of the controls after derailment were normal. We saw what we expected to see. The brake had been engaged. There was nothing that we saw out of the ordinary.

ZAHN: Can you also confirm or deny that a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit had been in place at the site of this crash for several days, and that it was lifted on Sunday?

CARMODY: That's one of the issues our track specialists and our signal people will be looking at.

ZAHN: And tell me what their suspicion is, because there is a suggestion this morning that perhaps this area of track had had some maintenance work done on it over the weekend.

CARMODY: Well, part of our investigation is to look at the maintenance that was done, and what was done, and who did it. And that's one of the track specialists' specific investigations. We are conducting a wide investigation on all areas. This is only one of many.

ZAHN: So is it clear yet to you this morning and your investigators whether this stretch of track had, in fact, had some routine maintenance work done it?

CARMODY: We haven't confirmed that yet. We -- our process is to look at all of these issues, and as we get information, we make that public. So within the next day or so, we may well have more information on this subject. At this time, I simply can't confirm it. We are still looking at things.

ZAHN: What can you tell us about the most inspections that had been done on this particular stretch of track?

CARMODY: I can't tell you anything about the inspections on the track. We know the locomotives were inspected before they left Chicago the night before last.

ZAHN: And isn't there a standard procedure by which tracks are inspected on a routine basis?

CARMODY: Oh, yes, there is. Yes, part of the investigation is to see was the standard procedure followed? Were the inspections done? As I said earlier, who did them, what they did, what they saw, what they noted.

ZAHN: Yes, just to give folks an idea, who travel routinely by rail, is that something done on a monthly basis, a weekly basis?

CARMODY: I think the answer is it depends, but there is a set of regulations that the FRA enforces with respect to track inspections. We will be looking at all of those issues.

I do want to underscore, even though our investigation will take a number of months to complete before we determine the probable cause, if we find anything in the course of the investigation that makes us think the public is at risk, or there is some danger, we would make an immediate recommendation.

ZAHN: Finally, Ms. Carmody, the track is owned by CSX, and they reported...

CARMODY: That's right.

ZAHN: ... that a freight train had come through there about 45 minutes before without any incident. Does that make any sense to you that even given the heat yesterday, the track could buckle in that period of time? You know, why wouldn't it have affected the freight train when, in fact, it affected the passenger train? CARMODY: I couldn't answer that question today. Certainly, heat does affect tracks, just as extreme cold does. So we are evaluating that as well.

ZAHN: Well, we wish you luck with the investigation, and we know how busy you are this morning -- appreciate your spending some time with us here...

CARMODY: Thank you.

ZAHN: ... this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.

CARMODY: Thank you.

ZAHN: Carol Carmody, the vice chairwoman of the NTSB -- appreciate it.

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