(The following story by Amy V. Talit appeared on The Bristol Press website on November 23.)
BRISTOL, Conn. — Federal law states when there is no imminent danger, a railroad company need not notify local authorities of a derailment, said fire Chief Jon Pose.
However, the rail company that serves Bristol has agreed to immediately alert the city when one of its trains derails, said Mayor Gerard Couture.
At the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting Monday night at City Hall, several commissioners questioned Pose about the derailment Wednesday of two cars carrying hazardous materials for the Firestone plant on James P. Casey Road.
Pose said there were no breaches in the containers and no leaks of the contents.
According to Couture, the derailment, which occurred shortly before noon on a section of track owned by the city, was not reported for more than five hours. When city and fire officials first learned of the derailment, they said they had several questions for officials of the former Boston & Maine Railroad (a part of the Guilford Rail System), including how the derailment happened, why there was a delay in notification and how it planned to get the cars back on track.
Couture told commissioners that rail company officials determined the train’s weight shifted as it rounded a bend in the tracks and a probable loose spike in a rail caused the track to roll from that weight and the train to derail. Rail officials also told Couture this is not uncommon, he said.
The speed limit for trains on that section of rail is 5 mph, and rail officials said they don’t believe speed was a factor.
Couture said he told representatives of the rail company that because the tracks are city-owned he would like them to notify police, fire and city officials immediately if there are any future problems, notwithstanding lack of severity. The rail company agreed, he said.
Commissioners also discussed possible plans to renovate or relocate fire headquarters, currently at 181 N. Main St., to another downtown location.
In other business, commissioners passed a motion to create a position for a third fire marshal and to request funding for the job in the budget from the finance committee.