After crash, signal at crossing retimed

— Union Pacific is adjusting the timing of the West Texas railroad crossing signal where a collision last month killed four military veterans riding in a parade, a company spokesman said Friday.

Raquel Espinoza-Williams said the railroad was doing work that will “improve buffer time” so the Midland crossing is “over and above” the minimum 20 seconds warning time required by federal regulations.

The four men died when the flatbed truck they were riding on was struck by a train traveling 62 mph.

The truck was the second float in a Nov. 15 parade organized to honor wounded veterans and their wives.

Sixteen people also were injured in the accident, which remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

In an e-mail, Espinoza-Williams said review and testing of the signal prompted Union Pacific to tweak the device to add an unspecified amount of warning time. The work was being done Friday, she said.

The safety board has said the device activated 20 seconds before the arrival of the eastbound train and that the driver ventured onto the track after the warning signals started flashing and before the arms had descended.

However, documents on file with the Texas Department of Transportation indicate the crossing was designed to activate at 30 seconds and that the railroad never asked to make the timing any different.

Bob Pottroff, an attorney who has filed suit on behalf of two injured veterans and their wives, said Union Pacific’s statement doesn’t address the essential fact that the crossing should have given at least a 30-second warning.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 12/22/2012

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