Rep. White’s Bill to Improve Rail Safety Supported by Firefighters, Transportation Workers
HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) have endorsed a proposal by Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) to require proper staffing on trains and light engines moving freight through Pennsylvania to reduce the risk of a train crash.
House Bill 1742 would require all trains and light engines be staffed with a crew of at least two individuals to reduce the risk of a derailment in our communities.
“With freight lines running through Philadelphia, including our district, should a train carrying hazardous materials or crude oil derail so close to our schools, businesses and neighborhoods the results would be disastrous. This is all about safety,” said White.
Paul Pokrowka, legislative director for SMART’s Transportation Division said, “This is a commonsense public safety bill.”
Pokrowka testified this week before the House Transportation Committee, led by Chairman John Taylor, which is considering White’s bill.
“With single-person operations the engineer is on his own,” Pokrowka said. “An engineer is a human being who invariably makes mistakes. Existing railroad rules require that the conductor remind the engineer of all of the above and more. Going to a single-person operation eliminates all redundancy in the cab to assure rules compliance and the safe operation of the train.”
“When we eliminate the job of a conductor under the notion that automation can do the job, we are inviting a catastrophe,” White said.
On July 6, 2013, in the Canadian town of Lac-Mégantic, a 74-car freight train carrying Bakken crude oil rolled down a hillside and derailed in the downtown area, resulting in fire and the explosion of multiple tank cars.
Forty-seven people were killed, more than 30 buildings in the town’s center were destroyed, and all but three of the 39 remaining downtown buildings were demolished due to petroleum contamination.
Since then, many railroads have proposed eliminating the job of on-board conductor, leaving just an engineer aboard.
“But the Lac-Mégantic disaster is an example of what can happen if crews are cut,” White said. “The company that owned the train had just downsized to a one-man crew, and regulators found that engineer failed to set the brakes properly.”
“The single operator would be responsible for properly giving a visual look-over-- or ‘roll by’-- to other trains he or she passes, and the single crew member would be responsible for all paperwork including the train’s manifest and the position of all hazardous materials in the train. These are the duties that would ordinarily fall to the conductor, allowing the train’s engineer to focus solely on running the train,” White said.
“Even the best-trained firefighter can be hindered in the performance of their duties when there is no or limited interaction with railway personnel on the scene of a railway emergency,” said Art Martynuska, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association. “Maintaining a minimum crew size would help insure safety for the citizens of Pennsylvania, the crewmembers and the emergency responders.”
According to the Association of American Railroads, about 500,000 carloads of crude oil were transported nationally in 2014, up from about 9,800 in 2008. The same group reported that for the first three weeks of 2016 U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 719,081 carloads.
Under White’s bill, any person who willfully violates this section may be guilty of a summary offense and would, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay fines for each violation.
Representative Martina White
170th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
RepWhite.com /
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