The San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad’s operations on 154 miles of track in south-central Colorado have been beset by a series of accidents in recent months that have the owners and federal regulators evaluating the line’s equipment and personnel.
The railroad, which hauls San Luis Valley freight such as farm chemicals, potatoes, barley, pearlite and lava rock, last month launched a new mountain excursion service, the first passenger line between Alamosa and La Veta in more than 50 years.
The line, which climbs to 9,249 feet, sold out over Memorial Day weekend and hit May ridership goals of more than 1,500. Passenger complaints focused on malfunctioning air conditioning and a shortage of working toilets, but the recent string of mishaps involving the railroad has raised safety issues, federal regulators acknowledge.
On April 22, a runaway event occurred with a freight train en route to Walsenburg. The brake system malfunctioned, and the engineer failed to keep his train in control after the braking failure. There was no derailment or injury.
On May 25, seven of 70 freight cars derailed 3 miles east of La Veta after the train picked up another railway’s cars, including one with a wheel defect that caused the derailment, said SL&RG president Ed Ellis. There were no injuries.
In late May, a wheel of an engine for the passenger line came off the rail while the engine was being turned around at the La Veta station.
On Sunday, a train exceeded the speed limit, and an engineer, anticipating a runaway train, suffered a broken finger and bruised arm when he jumped off. The train came to rest a short distance later.
Warren Flatau, spokesman for the Washington-based Federal Railroad Administration, said the agency was looking into the incidents.
“While no one event (at the SL&RG) has caused extensive property damage or serious injury, we do look for emerging trends and patterns.”
Flatau said that administration inspectors were still in the field talking with managers and checking equipment late Wednesday, but the preliminary indication is that there are no serious defects or deficiencies posing a threat to public safety.
“If we do feel there are legitimate concerns, we would not hesitate to take equipment or personnel out of service,” he said.
Federal regulators follow a 200-page guide as to what constitutes events that must be reported to the agency, but generally derailments, collisions, injuries, hazardous material spills or close calls, trigger reports and inspections.
Some states have railroad safety inspectors who participate with federal regulators, but Colorado does not.
Before the launch of the passenger rail, federal inspectors examined SL&RG equipment and found some defects, Flatau said.
But federal regulators do not follow up after inspections to ensure repairs are made unless there is a reason to believe that a railroad will not fulfill its obligations, Flatau said.
Ellis said he recently brought in one of his company’s most highly experienced supervisors to oversee work in Alamosa and provide training for crews that work both on freight and passenger trains.
“We’ve had some incidents we don’t like. We have had a series of them,” Ellis said. “We will evaluate procedures, personnel, track and equipment and make whatever changes we need to make.”
But, Ellis said, overall, things are going well for the railroad.
“Our freight business is up. Our passenger business is doing well, and the passenger train is running safely,” said Ellis, who is also president of Chicago-based Permian Basin Railways. Permian has owned SL&RG since December and also owns three other Western railroads.
“In 2005, we had three of our four railroads, including the San Luis & Rio Grande, win safety awards,” Ellis said.
“Our goal is to get the railroad back where it was.”
Staff writer Electa Draper can be reached at 970-385-0917 or edraper@denverpost.com.
