In another effort to gain more control of the safety of the nation’s railroads, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, are introducing legislation to require railroads to release inspections of their bridges.
Casey introduced the Rail Bridge Safety and Transparency Act in the Senate Friday to give the U.S. Department of Transportation more oversight of the 100,000 railroad bridges across the country. Lee plans to introduce a similar bill in the House in a few weeks.
The bill would change the practice that largely allows railroads to inspect their own bridges and keep that information from the public.
In a news release, Casey said the limited federal oversight of railroad bridges means local communities don’t know the condition of bridges that often carry freight trains with potentially dangerous cargo such as chemicals.
Casey has been a strong supporter of another bill known as the Rail Safety Act introduced last year after the Norfolk Southern train incident near the Pennsylvania border in East Palestine, Ohio, where potentially deadly chemicals were deliberately burned off after a train derailed. That bill is slowly making its way through the House.
“The Commonwealth knows all too well how loose safety standards can cause train derailments and threaten communities,” Casey said in the release. “This bill is another step to raise safety standards, hold big rail companies accountable, and protect communities from preventable tragedies.”
Lee said the act would “provide long-overdue oversight” on another aspect of rail operations.
“Too many times, we’ve seen the disastrous consequences of railroad companies shirking their duty to maintain structurally sound bridges.,” she said. “No longer should we allow communities riddled with these deteriorating, privately owned structures to be kept in the dark, waiting for a catastrophe to unfold.”
The act would require the federal DOT to develop a rating system for railroad bridges and require railroads to follow it. The department also would perform its own random inspections to make sure the railroads were complying and would empower the secretary of transportation to fine railroads that fail to meet the standards.
The news release included pledges of support from labor groups such as the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and mayors of municipalities such as Easton and Freedom that host rail lines. Local communities can only view inspection reports if federal officials approve releasing them.
Norfolk Southern declined to comment on the bill but referred to a flier that touts the work of 670 employees who work in bridge inspection, maintenance and replacement. It says the railroad’s 9,840 bridges and “well built” and “remarkably safe.”
Glenn Olcerst, a North Side resident and a leader of the group Rail Pollution Protection Pittsburgh, has long lobbied for greater oversight of rail operations.
“I have been working with Casey’s, and Lee’s policy committees on this issue since the collapse of Fern Hollow Bridge,” Olcerst said in an email. “This is a long overdue, critical initiative for our city, state and nation. “
The group is in the midst of conducting a campaign encouraging residents to submit nominees for the “most corroded railroad bridges in Southwestern Pennsylvania.”
In a flier about the effort, the group said it will have its own inspector review nominees to identify problems with area railroad bridges. The group says bridges are “the most vulnerable part” of the system and inspections by railroads “cannot be trusted.”
Photos and other information should be sent to Olcerst at glennolcerst@gmail.com. The group plans to start its own inspections by the end of August.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.