(The following story by Mark Weiner appeared at Syracuse.com on January 4.)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — CSX Transportation will have to pay about $350,000 in penalties for federal rail safety violations uncovered, in part, because of an investigation launched after a fatal train accident in DeWitt.
The Federal Railroad Administration announced the civil penalties Thursday against the Northeast’s largest railroad to settle federal charges of 141 serious safety violations.
Federal inspectors found 3,518 safety defects during a four-day inspection in January 2007 of CSX Transportation’s operations in 23 states. The defects included 199 serious cases of noncompliance, including 13 in New York state.
The government decided to pursue civil penalties in 166 of the cases, including two in New York, said Steve Kulm, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman in Washington, D.C.
The $349,265 in penalties disclosed Thursday settled 141 of the violations.
Kulm said a special inspection of CSX operations was prompted by a series of rail safety accidents, including one on Dec. 14, 2006, when a CSX worker was struck and killed by a train at the DeWitt rail yard.
Before the results of the inspection were made public, a CSX freight train derailed and tanker cars carrying propane exploded in Oneida on March 12. No one was hurt in the Oneida explosion, which produced a fireball visible from miles away.
The Oneida case was the fifth serious accident in Upstate New York involving CSX rail cars in a matter of four months. At the time, federal rail safety officials said the company was not doing enough to address its safety problems.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who has called for Congress to hold hearings on CSX and its safety problems, said the company was allowed off the hook with a low penalty.
“With nearly 200 violations of federal safety and hazardous material regulations, a mere $350,000 in fines for CSX Corp. is a slap in the face to the communities who suffered from these dangerous derailments,” Schumer said Thursday.
“It is unacceptable that in a three-month period the company was responsible for eight serious accidents, including the derailment in Syracuse that resulted in the death of a CSX employee,” Schumer said. “Rail companies must be held fully accountable for these deadly lapses in oversight and safety. The FRA must stop playing the paper tiger and
crack down with more force on these egregious violations to ensure the safety and viability of our rail system.”
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman said Thursday that CSX has made “significant strides” in the past few months.
“But CSX cannot make this a one-time fix,” Boardman warned. “The railroad must stay focused and not be distracted from making the necessary long-term investments in infrastructure, technology and employees that will strengthen its safety culture and performance.”
Rep. John McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, whose district includes the site of the March explosion, also has suggested holding congressional hearings about CSX’s safety problems.
McHugh, when told of the federal penalties Thursday, said he hopes it is only the beginning of increased federal oversight of the railroad company.
“I think it’s positive that the FRA will continue to aggressively pursue this,” McHugh said. “I would hope this is not the end.”
The penalties announced Thursday included two serious violations found in the Buffalo region, but no other cases in New York state and none related to the accidents that prompted the inspections.
“These fines that we released today are not in response to any specific accident,” Kulm said. “There were a series of accidents, so we decided to look at CSX in a number of states.”
CSX, which operates an average of 1,200 trains and 20,000 car loads per day, declined through a spokesman to answer questions about the federal penalties.
The company issued this statement: “CSXT appreciates the important work performed by the FRA and was pleased to cooperate fully with the effort. CSXT is committed to continuing its strong safety improvements through prudent, long-term investments in infrastructure and technology, as well as through diligent inspections and training.”
The fines closed 141 of 166 cases of serious safety violations found in every area of CSX Transportation’s operations, including track, hazardous materials and equipment on the tracks.
“There are 25 that are still open and we will take care of those at the next annual settlement conference,” Kulm said, explaining that federal rules mandate an annual conference to review proposed penalties. The next conference will occur at the end of the summer.
Kulm said he did not know if the remaining 11 cases of serious violations found in New York were dropped by federal officials due to insufficient legal grounds, or if they are among the 25 cases that will be settled this summer.