(The following story by Jon Fox appeared on the Times Leader website on May 5.)
LAFLIN TWP., Pa. — Local officials met with representatives of the Federal Railroad Administration Tuesday to discuss the township’s options in addressing a stretch of track that has been the site of multiple derailments.
The meeting, held at the Municipal Building and later moved to the site of the most recent derailment, included emergency and municipal officials from Pittston Township, Jenkins Township and Laflin, Laflin Mayor Marc Malvizzi said.
The question of the track’s safety needs to be addressed, Malvizzi said.
“(The area) has had three derailments in the past 15 months,” he said, adding that none had involved a hazardous material situation.
But the township can’t just hope for the best in the future, he said. “If number four creates that problem, and we as elected officials didn’t act what would people say.”
Representatives of the FRA, created in 1966 to enforce the nation’s rail safety regulations, met with representatives from the three communities to discuss track inspections and the lack of response Laflin Township has received from Canadian Pacific Railway following an April 11 derailment, Malvizzi said.
A 10-car derailment dumped tons of powdered clay onto the tracks at Laflin Road behind Offset Paperback warehouses.
The cars are still at the site resting on their side, Malvizzi said.
A team of Federal Railroad Administration surveyors conducted a study of the track before the meeting and discovered “some deficiencies in the track,” said U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, who helped to facilitate the meeting. Speed limits have been decreased as a result.
A more detailed report on track conditions at the site are expected, he said. “We had the top experts both federally and locally on the site.”
Malvizzi said the response to the informational meeting was greater than he had expected. About 40 people attended.
“It was kind of surprising,” he said. “There is a lot of interest. People are very concerned.”
The rail cars may still be lying in the gravel, but Malvizzi said he was happy to make contact with FRA. “We feel better that we at least got the ear of the government and the agency that represents us.”