CLEVELAND, August 5 — On July 23, the city of Montebello, Calif., became the 33rd U.S. community to enact a remote control safety resolution.
Similar to the 32 other city and county resolutions, the Montebello resolutions asks the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to conduct a comprehensive review of the safety of remote control trains and to develop comprehensive regulations for the use of remote control trains to ensure that the safety and well-being of Montebello’s citizens will not be jeopardized.
California State Legislative Board Chairman Tim Smith praised the efforts of Eric Johnson, Division 662 (Los Angeles) Legislative Representative, and Raymond Enriquez, Division 660 (Los Angeles) Legislative Representative. Chairman Smith also thanked Mayor Kathy Salazar for her kindness and consideration.
Montebello is near Commerce, Calif., a city that enacted a similar remote control resolution in mid-July. Commerce was the site of a June 28 Union Pacific derailment that spilled lumber, destroyed two houses and injured 13 people. While the accident was not attributed to remote control, it served to heighten awareness of railroad operations in the community and the need for City Council to take steps to protect the safety of their citizens.
In addition to Montebello, 23 U.S. cities have adopted similar resolutions: Baton Rouge, La.; Detroit, Mich.; Shreveport, La.; Marysville, Mich.; Boston, Mass.; Cleveland, Ohio; Pine Bluff, Ark.; North Little Rock, Ark.; Beardstown, Ill.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Woodbridge, N.J.; Belen, N.M.; Maple Heights, Ohio; Alliance, Neb.; Evansville, Ind.; Dupo, Ill.; Durand, Mich; Flat Rock, Mich.; Woodhaven, Mich; Flint, Mich.; Sparks, Nev.; Commerce, Calif.; and Clinton, Iowa.
Also, nine counties have passed similar remote control resolutions. They are: Douglas County, Wisc.; West Baton Rouge Parish, La.; Point Coupee Parish, La.; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Huron County, Ohio; Erie County, Ohio; Whitley County, Ky.; Unicoi County, Tenn.; and Contra Costa County, Calif.
A copy of the resolution is available at:
http://www.ble.org/pr/pdf/montebello.pdf