The Hinton train disaster

In February of 1986 a head-on collision occurred between a freight train and a passenger train in western Canada killing 23 people and causing over $30 million of damage. A Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Canadian government concluded that human error was the major reason for the collision. This report discusses the factors contributing to the human error: mainly poor work-rest schedules, the monotonous nature of the train driving task, insufficient information about train movements, and the inadequate backup systems in case of human error.