(The following editorial was posted on the San Antonio Express-News website on April 28.)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Whatever their actual cargoes, freight trains have carried a load of trouble for the San Antonio area.
The worst incident came in June, when two trains collided in rural Bexar County, ripping open a tank car and spewing chlorine in an accident that killed four people and injured 50.
Last month, a freight train derailed near the Quarry Market — 15 miles from an event where Gov. Rick Perry and a Union Pacific official were announcing a plan to avoid such accidents.
Against this backdrop, the Texas House on Wednesday passed a bill giving the state the go-ahead to seek funding to relocate dangerous freight rail lines that run through densely populated areas, including San Antonio.
Earlier this week, the House passed a joint resolution allowing the proposal to go before voters as a constitutional amendment in November.
The measures are just the first step in what will be a long process, but one that is necessary to prevent future tragedies.
If the bill passes the Senate and voters approve a constitutional amendment in November, the Legislature could begin tackling the funding issue in 2007.
Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, who sponsored the bill and the resolution, said the project could take decades to complete.
“It may not be finished in our lifetimes, but it has to start somewhere,” McClendon said. “This is a monumental task.”
Texas Transportation Department officials have estimated the project could cost $1 billion, McClendon said. “We have to find a way to address this,” she added.
While the legislation targets major urban areas throughout Texas, the representative was especially sensitive to her home district, where derailments have become disturbingly common.
“People are dying, and they’re dying in our neighborhoods,” she said.