Letter to Chairman Subcommittee on Railroads

   January 15, 2014

 

 

The Honorable Jeff Denham

Chairman

Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC  20515

 

Dear Chairman Denham:

 

        As Democratic Members of the Subcommittee, we write to respectfully request a hearing on rail safety.  Over the last several months, there have been several deadly train incidents which warrant this Subcommittee’s immediate attention.  In fact, several Democratic Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have written letters dating back to August 2013 requesting a hearing on rail safety, yet a review of Committee activities shows that we have not held one rail safety hearing this Congress.  At the same time, the Committee has failed to reauthorize the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-432, Division A), which authorizes funding for the nation’s rail safety program, including the Federal railroad safety inspections and investigations program.  That expired at the end of Fiscal Year 2013.

 

        When this Committee crafted the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, a number of deadly train collisions involving passengers and, separately, poison-by-inhalation hazardous materials had occurred.  Those incidents as well as other safety concerns led to the inclusion of several provisions in the Act, and while the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) data shows that the overall number of train accidents has declined since enactment of the Act, several serious incidents warranting our Subcommittee’s review have occurred.  These include:

 

• A December 30, 2013, incident in Casselton, North Dakota, where a BNSF train hauling grain derailed and blocked a neighboring track.  A crude oil train traveling in the opposite direction struck the derailed cars, causing massive explosions and a significant post-crash fire.  The incident prompted the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) to issue a safety warning that crude from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale “may be more flammable” than other oil types.  On the same day, a Union Pacific train struck a BNSF train in Keithville, Louisiana, which according to FRA was likely due to an improperly lined switch. 

• A December 1, 2013, derailment in Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, New York, involving a Metro-North passenger train.  Four passengers were killed and another 63 injured, making it the deadliest train accident within New York City since 1991. 

• A November 30, 2013, derailment in Bayard, New Mexico, involving a Southwestern Railroad runaway freight train.  The locomotive and six cars derailed, resulting in the rupture of the locomotive fuel tank and three fatalities. 

• A July 18, 2013, derailment in Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, New York, involving a CSX freight train traveling on Metro-North’s system.  Ten of the train’s cars derailed and blocked tracks on Metro-North’s Hudson line. 

• A July 6, 2013, derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, just a few miles from the Maine border, involving a runaway train carrying crude oil.  The train was operated by U.S.-based Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway.  Subsequent explosions and fires resulted in the death of nearly 50 lives, annihilated a significant portion of the town, and caused extensive environmental damage. 

• A May 28, 2013, incident in West Haven, Connecticut, involving a Metro-North passenger train that struck and killed a Metro-North maintenance-of-way employee who was part of a roadway work group conducting a railroad maintenance and construction project.  According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary investigation, the roadway work group had established exclusive track occupancy work limits on a controlled main track in order to conduct their work.  A separate railroad grade crossing incident and explosion near Baltimore, Maryland, occurred just one day later. 

• A May 17, 2013, derailment in Bridgeport, Connecticut, of an eastbound Metro-North passenger train.  About 20 seconds after the derailment, a westbound Metro-North passenger train on the adjacent track struck the derailed train.  As a result of the incident, over 50 people were transported to hospitals, and several million dollars in property damage occurred.  According to the NTSB, broken compromise joint bars were found at the accident scene. 

• A November 30, 2012, incident involving a Conrail freight train that derailed seven tank cars traveling over a moveable bridge spanning Mantua Creek in Paulsboro, New Jersey.  Four tank cars, three containing vinyl chloride and one containing ethanol, came to rest in Mantua Creek.  One of the derailed tank cars was breached and released approximately 20,000 gallons of vinyl chloride into the creek and surrounding area. 

        Again, we urge the Subcommittee to hold a hearing immediately on rail safety.  We believe the hearing should, at a minimum, include representatives from the NTSB, FRA, PHMSA, the rail industry, and rail labor.  Thank you in advance for consideration of this request.