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FRA to detail New Rail-Track Standards


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 10 October 2015 - 04:34 AM

The New York Times, 10/9:
 

 

Railroad Agency to detail New Rail-Track Standards

 

Federal authorities detailed new rail-track standards on Friday after finding that a broken rail caused an oil train to derail this year in West Virginia.

 

SNIP

 

"What this broken rail incident shows us is that we need to insert ourselves and put some pretty high standards in place. It’s important to remind folks that the rail and track issues are important too,” said Sarah Feinberg, the agency’s acting administrator. “We have a zero-tolerance policy on crude routes, because the stakes are so high for the communities that live along those tracks."

 

Railroads own their tracks and are responsible for their maintenance and regular inspection. Ms. Feinberg said the agency had asked the railroad industry and other stakeholders in 2012 to come up with recommendations about setting new standards to address track safety but had failed to reach a consensus on the issue.

 

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#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 11 October 2015 - 08:26 PM

The Record, Hackensack, NJ 10/11:

 

Editorial

The Record: Rail safety

 

REPUBLICAN REP. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, normally opposes any type of overregulating by the federal government. That's his standard operating procedure. Yet even Garrett recognizes the potential for catastrophe if the rail lines carrying crude oil through residential neighborhoods are not properly maintained.

 

"We have a right to know if the rail infrastructure in our communities meets or exceeds safety standards and, if it does not, what action is being taken to address any deficiencies," Garrett wrote in a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration.

 

SNIP

 

CSX and all the private railroad companies have a responsibility to ensure their lines are safe. The residents, businesses and schools along the tracks can only trust that they are.

 

It's good to see Garrett, someone not expected to push for stronger regulations, joining the effort to make railroad safety reports open to the public finally. Every voice is needed. 

 

 

 

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