School project involving train derailment scenario...?

Question

We're working on a school project involving disaster scenarios from a business perspective. Our project is a train derailment and we need to calculate how much our total loss will be. We have the specifics on how much our actual cargo loss will be based on the value of good and the number of train cars but is there anything else we're leaving out? Our scenario says it is a cargo train with no passengers that has derailed in a country setting. Would we need to figure in some type of settlement for the conductors? And wouldn't there be some type of cleanup cost? Would the railroad have it's own personnel for that or do they contract it out? If so at what cost? And if the derailment is in the country do we need to pay the property owners for derailing on their ground? Or is it a payment to the county or state, and how much is this payment? If there's anything else I'm leaving out please let me know. Due next week so any help is appreciated!!

Answer 1

Most railroads hire out for clean up.  If there is a need for a crane or dozers outfitted with cranes it can be as much as fifty thousand dollars just to clean up the main wreckage (on a one day small job).  The Railroads track crew will repair their own track with around the clock labor costs of fifteen or so men.  Many areas that are in the "country" have no roads, so one will have to be carved with a dozer to get equipment in and out.  If the derailment was on a frequently used main line, then you have to factor in the cost of all the delaid shipments of other trains that will be sitting idle while the track is repaired.  Some main lines have a train going through every half hour around the clock so this can get real expensive.  Most railroads are self insured so there won't be any financial help from an insurance company.  If farm land or private fences were destroyed they will have to be reimbursed etc.  I was the conductor of a train that derailed in the middle of no where and it was a relatively small derailment on a local small railroad and the cost was right at a million dollars, so I can imagine that the big derailments on the 70 mph main line railroads could be in the millions.  And that is just the cost of business to the railroad, not considering the individual costs of every business that is effected by late or destroyed shipments etc.  Then if the train was carrying and hazardous material you have all of the costs of HazMat cleanup and government officials.

Answer 2

You have to decide if there is hazardous materials in teh deraliment, if there is any type of chemical release and evacuation that will cause the costs to skyrocket and will never be settled for years and years.

For small deralimjents the railroads will be able to handle it themselves, they keep equipment on hand for  that.

If it is large they call in a specialized company like Hulcher to help, that costs them several thousand dollars an hour.

If the crew is injured there will be settlement costs, as well as property damage to surrounding residents if there is any sort of chemical release or damage.

Sometimes there is not good access and the railroad pays neighboring property owners for permission to drive across thier land.

YOu will not need to pay the property owners directly for derailing because most places the right-of-way is wide enough.

Is there a bridge or waterway involved? Containment and rebuilding a damaged bridge is horrendously expensive, how many feet of track was damaged? Was there adjoining tracks involved? The state will not get involved except to send some around to watch over the environmental aspect.

Do the rail cars involved belong to the operating railroad or someone else? Are they repairable or demolished?

Are there locomotives involved or was the derailment strictly in the train?

It can be quite complicated, if you wish to e-mail me I dont mind.

good Luck on your project.

Answer 3

The others have given you great information and thoughts, now let me put forth a few thoughts:

Are YOU the railroad operator, or the owner of materials/goods being transported by that railroad ??

What ARE the materials / goods ? Are they Hazardous ? Perishable ? Fragile ?

You'd want to look under Transportation Law for both the US and the State for liablilities.

GOOD LUCK