Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal, 9/15:
Editorial: Rail safety lapses put public in peril
This is what happens when the government sets an important, potentially life-saving regulatory deadline, then moves on to other matters without the necessary rigid checks and benchmarks along the way to see the ultimate goal is being reached.
The results can be disastrous. And that is precisely what we are seeing today. In this case, it involves rail safety, in the wake of several deadly derailments involving passenger trains and the dramatic spike in crude-oil shipments.
In the last year or so, much has been made about GPS-related technology that perhaps could have prevented the derailments and could make rail service safer in general. Both government and industry have known changes have been needed for some time — in fact, railroad giants have been urged for decades to improve their technology and upgrade their equipment.
SNIP
What’s more, since 2008, rail shipments of crude oil have risen from about 10,000 carloads five years ago to nearly 500,000 now. And anywhere between 15 to 30 trains carrying the crude pass through the Hudson Valley each week.
The federal government and rail industry had the chance to get ahead of this problem, but they completely blew it. Now is not the time for more lax deadlines.
More here.