NIPSCO safety

January 24, 2008

On January 23, 2008, a call out took place in the Gary LOA at midnight, for a hit 34kv pole on 5th Ave., east of Tennessee St. along the South Shore Railroad right-of-way. Three spans of static wire (Copper weld 3 #8’s) and one span of 34 kv conductor (336.9 mcm) were down, the pole was not broken. The South Shore equipment attached to the pole consisted of a #6 copper 2300 volt DC signal conductor, and a 1500 volt DC main conductor. Three spans of the #6 copper 2300 volt South Shore conductor were on the ground. The 1500 volt conductor was intact.

The original repair crew consisted of six members, four journeymen and two apprentices. Another journeyman and an apprentice joined in later. The South Shore repair crew was already on-site when the NIPSCO crew arrived, and they informed the NIPSCO crew that the South Shore lines were cleared.

The NIPSCO crew was informed that because of the heavy volume of commuter traffic, they would have to clear off the South Shore right-of-way from 4:30 am until 7:10 am. This would allow South Shore trains to travel safely through the work area.

After the 7:10 am train passed through the work area, the NIPSCO crew pulled in the new static conductor, using stringing blocks at the pole locations. A NIPSCO lineman was attempting to “land” the new static conductor tail into the back-to-back dead-end shoe when a ball of fire was created. At various contact points along the three spans, the new static conductor was in contact with the South Shore cantenary wire (1500 volts) and several electrical contacts occurred. All of the linemen working with the static conductor were wearing their rubber gloves.

The on-site South Shore supervisor continued to believe that both South Shore lines were cleared and de-energized. This was verified through his dispatcher. The South Shore supervisor told the NIPSCO crew that the contact was nothing more than five miles of static induced electricity. Eventually, a South Shore lineman performed a voltage test on the 1500 volt line and determined that it was energized.

It was later determined that switching equipment at the South Shore substation had failed. It must be noted that the South Shore crew did not ground their lines. At various times, NIPSCO linemen throughout the territory work on the South Shore right-of-way. Please keep this incident in mind as a safety reminder!
Source: Local 12775