After Dangerous Derailment Of Freight Train Car Carrying 30k Gallons Of Propane In Maspeth, Senator Schumer Calls For Nationwide Overhaul Of Degrading
After Dangerous Derailment Of Freight Train Car Carrying 30k Gallons Of Propane In Maspeth, Senator Schumer Calls For Nationwide Overhaul Of Degrading Rail Infrastructure
Two days after a freight train car carrying 30,000 gallons of propane was derailed in Maspeth, Queens, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer warned that more potentially lethal accidents could occur if the federal government doesn't move quickly to improve freight rail infrastructure in the New York metropolitan area and across the country. Schumer today announced he will reintroduce in the 110th Congress his bi-partisan Rail Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Act, comprehensive rail safety and security legislation, which would direct millions of dollars in new funding to improve rail infrastructure. Schumer also called for a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) investigation into rail security in the Maspeth area which has a history of rail safety trouble.
"On Tuesday, communities in Queens and Long Island dodged a bullet when a freight train car carrying 30,000 gallons of propane derailed," said Senator Schumer. "This potentially disastrous incident was just the latest example of the federal government being asleep at the switch when it comes to rail security. With trains carrying dangerous chemicals rumbling through New York City and Long Island, we need a real plan for rail security, and penalties with real bite for railroad companies who disregard our safety."
Tuesday morning a freight train car carrying 30,000 gallons of liquefied propane gas was derailed at the Fresh Pond Junction yard in Maspeth, Queens. The car was derailed after the train's brakes failed as an operator reversed the train. Fire officials evacuated approximately 150 businesses and homes in the area. The freight train is operated by the Glendale-based New York & Atlantic Railway and the shipment of 30,000 gallons of liquefied propane was slated to be delivered to AmeriGas in Wyandanch, New York.
On Tuesday, New York State also experienced a second dangerous derailment when thirteen cars on a C-S-X train jumped the tracks in the village of East Rochester. While there were no reported injuries, at least two motorists were nearly hit by falling trailers that were dislodged from their train cars. According to Federal Railroad Administration statistics, there were 63 rail accidents, 30 derailments, 14 casualties and 383 total injuries last year nationwide.
Schumer said these incidents were just the latest results of inadequate safety precautions that place hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers living near rail lines at risk. He announced that he will reintroduce his bipartisan comprehensive railroad legislation that he wrote after the deadly Graniteville, South Carolina rail disaster in 2004. Schumer's legislation, the Rail Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Act, co-sponsored by Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC), sets tougher minimum and maximum fines for fatal accidents and establishes new requirements for investigations, inspections and the use of new safety technology. The legislation aims to crack down on negligent railroad companies and requires the broader use of modern technology to protect the public from more fatal crossing and hazardous materials accidents.
Senator Schumer also called for the FRA to investigate safety concerns in the Maspeth, Queens area, which has a history of rail security problems. On March, 10, 2004, a runaway LIRR train at the Maspeth Fresh Pond Yard rolled freely for two miles, crashing through several street crossings, destroying cars and injuring four people, two critically. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that the accident occurred after workers failed to secure a hand brake on the unattended 125-ton train.
Schumer noted that current rail safety measures and the prevalence of manual switches along rail lines provide inadequate protection for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers living near the state's 3,695 miles of freight rail tracks. Manual switches were blamed for the deadly 2005 Graniteville, South Carolina derailment where chlorine leaked from the rail yard into the neighboring community.
Schumer's bill sets strict age restrictions for cars carrying hazardous materials by requiring every car be inspected and upgraded every fifteen years. In addition, all rail cars fifteen years or older that are currently in use must be inspected and brought up to federal code within one year. Schumer's legislation would also create a new infrastructure grant program that would authorize $50 million in federal funding to complete vital infrastructure improvements.
http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/record.cfm?id=267718&&year=2007&