(The following article by Eric Anderson was posted on the Albany Times-Union website on March 15.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — Monday morning’s spectacular crash and explosion of a propane-laden CSX freight train in Oneida has triggered calls for tighter rules governing track and rail car maintenance, and the number of hours rail crews work.
Joseph H. Boardman, the former transportation commissioner in New York who now heads the Federal Railroad Administration, said late Tuesday he has met with CSX senior executives to discuss safety issues following an FRA inspection of CSX property.
And U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., called Wednesday for the creation of a task force consisting of the FRA, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate recent CSX accidents in upstate New York and determine whether the railroad is doing enough to prevent future accidents.
He also called for tougher regulations, including annual inspections of tank cars and steeper fines for violations.
Schumer’s Rail Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Act “would finally give the FRA the teeth to go after” railroads that violate safety standards, he said.
Schumer, in a conference call with reporters, said 572 rail accidents since 2000 across upstate New York have caused nearly $34 million in damage. In the Capital Region, 148 accidents over the period resulted in $7.7 million in damage.
“The worry I have is that, God forbid, we’ll have a really terrible accident before the FRA gets its act together,” he said.
The Oneida wreck was the fourth major train accident in four months in upstate New York, Schumer said. “Lately, we’ve had an accident every other week,” he added.
A CSX spokesman said the railroad’s safety record systemwide has actually been improving.
Spokesman Bob Sullivan said the company is focused on safety and spends a lot of money on tracks and equipment.
CSX invests $1.4 billion annually in infrastructure, including bridges, signals and tracks, he said; tracks are inspected visually twice a week.
Sullivan said accidents on CSX lines decreased by 24 percent between 2005 and 2006, and are down another 28 percent so far this year.
The FRA is seeking greater authority to regulate the hours railroad workers spend on the job, much as the hours of pilots and truck drivers already are federally regulated.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the Oneida crash continues.
“We are planning on expediting the completion of the ongoing accident investigation,” FRA spokesman Warren Flatau said. The NTSB is leading the probe.
Sullivan said CSX was “cooperating fully” with investigators. “Our focus is on the safety of the community and taking care of the residents who are out of their homes,” he said.
The wreck has blocked Amtrak service — passengers are being bused between Albany and either Syracuse or Buffalo. About 50 freight trains a day also use the line.
Sullivan said those trains are being rerouted, some traveling as far south as West Virginia and Maryland.