(The Associated Press circulated the following article on February 2.)
WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham wants tougher regulations for the railroad industry after a Graniteville train wreck last month spilled toxic chlorine, killed nine people and injured hundreds more.
Graham, R-S.C., co-sponsored legislation Tuesday that would mandate a review of railroad lines still using manual switches like the one suspected of causing the train carrying chlorine gas to crash into parked railroad cars. The bill also would increase fines for violations involving hazardous materials and gross negligence in those cases.
Investigators looking into the Graniteville crash have preliminarily determined that a three-man crew that parked a two-car train on a spur rail failed to switch the tracks back to the main rail, which sent an oncoming train into the parked train.
When the train slammed into the parked train, a railcar carrying chlorine ruptured, causing a toxic vapor cloud that made it difficult to breath and forced some 5,4000 residents from their homes.
Just a few months before that accident, five people were killed in Graniteville when their car was struck by a train.
“We’re trying to learn from the experience of Graniteville and other accidents,” Graham said. “Fundamental change must occur.”
Graham also said the proposal would order the Federal Railroad Administration to review the 250,000 rail crossings in the United States and rank the top 10,000 most in need of safety improvement.
Kelly Donley, executive director for outreach at the Washington-based Association of American Railroads, said the group needed time to look at the bill’s effect on the industry.