- By Marion Read
- News
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“I know all too well how critical it is to make sure that our freight and passenger railroads are compliant with safety requirements,” said Arcuri. “On March 12, 28 cars of a CSX freight train derailed in Oneida, NY- creating havoc and halting transportation. A month later the Federal Railroad Administration announced that it found 78 track defects. In this alarming climate, a private company is seeking to build a 190-mile high voltage direct current transmission line which would potentially run right along these very same railroad rights-of-way. Railroads are valuable to our commerce and our communities – but they must be safe and reliable”
In 2006, there were a total of 13,046 accidents and incidents involving railroads nationwide. There were 18 train derailments in Western New York between January 2005 and September 2006. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, the two leading causes of all train accidents are human factors, such as fatigue, and track defects.
“The Department of Energy recently announced a proposal for a “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor” designation opening up the possibility of having major power line projects forced upon local communities,” said Arcuri. “As a result, many communities across the country will now have to worry about the safety and security concerns of siting these power lines along the very railroads that are currently in violation of safety standards. This is an issue that should concern people across the country.”
One of the witnesses was the Honorable Joseph Boardman, Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, who is a native of Rome, NY.
In March, Arcuri successfully amended the Rail & Public Transportation Security Act (H.R. 1401) to require the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation to evaluate the safety and security of placing high voltage direct current electric transmission power lines, like those proposed by NYRI, along active railroad rights-of-way.
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