KING-TV (NBC) Seattle, WA, 3/4:
Thousands of railroad crossings never inspected
SEATTLE -- There are 3,000 railroad crossings in Washington that may be unsafe, according to a new report released by the Department of Ecology and the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC).
The report asks for authority to hire new railroad inspectors and expand their jurisdiction to include the 3,000 private crossings that currently have no safety rules.
"If we could stop private crossing accidents, we could save a lot of lives," said Bob Johnston, veteran railroad inspector for UTC. "I've seen some really miserable private crossings."
Private crossings cross the very same tracks as public crossings, except they're maintained by the road's owner.
In 2011, an accident at a private crossing in Kelso killed three people, including Tom Kenny, a railroad engineer from Shoreline who was riding in a passenger van.
Continue here.
