News: Railroad Legislation & Regulation

FRA Gives $1 Million to Operation Lifesaver

The Federal Railroad Administration has granted $1 million to Operation Lifesaver to support the non-profit organization’s education outreach efforts aimed at promoting railroad crossing safety and preventing trespassing. According to the FRA, 2,395 railroad crossing incidents occurred last year, resulting in 287 deaths, and many more injuries. Operation Lifesaver provides money to individual state programs that support railroad safety awareness programs. The organization has announced plans for new initiatives to aid its outreach efforts, including projects designed to target new and non-traditional audiences at the state and local levels.

AAJ Urges Repeal of Rule Preempting Suits in State Courts

AAJ has asked the FRA to roll back legal protections for railroads.

The American Association for Justice says that under the Bush administration, the FRA issued nine federal rules that override and weaken state safety laws. The association mentioned as an example a 2007 FRA rule on passenger safety equipment regarding the front-end strength of rail cars.

The FRA’s proposed rule preempted state law by blocking lawsuits by injured passengers if the railroad getting sued meet federal safety requirements. The Obama administration has at least temporarily stayed the rule.

The passenger safety equipment rule could play a big role in the outcome of lawsuits stemming from the September 12, 2008 California Metrolink collision with a freight train that killed 25 people and injured 135. Preemption language in the FRA rule could prevent people injured in the tragedy from collecting damages from Metrolink.

Federal Railroad Administration Supports Positive Train Control Technology

The FRA has announced proposed rules designed to prevent train collisions through the use of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems. PTC technology is capable of automatically controlling train speeds and movements if a locomotive engineer fails to take some appropriate action. A PTC system can force a train to stop before it passes a red signal. For example, under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, major freight railroads and intercity and commuter rail operators must submit their plans for PTC to the FRA for approval by April 16, 2010. PTC systems must be fully in place by the end of 2015. The proposed rules will specify how the technically complex PTC systems must function and indicate how the FRA will assess a railroad’s PTC plan before it can become operational.

Pleasantville, Texas to Become ‘Quiet Zone’

Residents of the east Houston neighborhood of Pleasantville have complained for years about the Union Pacific Railroad trains that ride tracks right behind their homes, which sit near rail yards and the Anheuser-Busch plant just south of I-10 and the East Loop.

The Texas Department of Transportation has approved funding to install sensors and gates at the Laurentide crossing, the largest of three at-grade roadway crossings in Pleasantville. The work is estimated to take between 18 and 24 months to complete. The decision follows six months of negotiations between the City of Houston and Union Pacific Railroad.

This may surprise many, but your tax dollars pay for the labor and equipment, and Union Pacific will be paid to do the installation.

According to documents provided by Mayor White’s office, Union Pacific’s first estimate for upgrading the crossing to so-called “quiet zones” would cost approximately $1.5 million. After reading the estimate Mayor Bill White said “I hit the roof. Most of it was the labor. I just can’t believe it.”

The city’s public works department has since found ways for Union Pacific to save more than $700,000 in the project.

Raquel Espinoza, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, said the Pleasantville projects are more expensive than other Houston-area crossings because they would require multiple sensors in several different train lines, because of the nearby rail yards. The crossings also have two lines of track, rather than one.

New York City Catches Seller of Fake Train Parts

Joseph Ungar pleaded guilty Wednesday to scamming New York City transit officials and potentially endangering commuters by selling fake engine parts capable of causing a subway derailment.

The scheme by Joseph Ungar “raised the prospect of accidental injuries to (transit) passengers and employees,” District Attorney Robert Morgenthau told reporters. As part of the scam, Ungar impersonated a salesman that is actually deceased.

Morgenthau said that some of the knock off parts installed in subway trains and buses have been identified and removed.

Ungar, 47, of Brooklyn, agreed as part of a plea bargain in state court in Manhattan to pay $125,000 restitution and $200,000 in taxes, prosecutors said. He will also serve five years on probation.

According to Morgenthau, Ungar concealed a checkered past with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority by using legitimate distributors’ names in bids for contracts for ball bearing parts used in train motors and bus transmissions. The scam dates back to 2003. While already under investigation, Ungar used the name of transit parts salesman Irving Patron, who had been dead since 2005.

Ungar won contracts requiring him to supply parts manufactured domestically. Prosecutors said he boosted profits by substituting counterfeit Chinese-made parts that were up to $10 cheaper per unit. According to authorities, the inferior parts had the potential to wear down more quickly and cause engine failures.

“While the counterfeit bearings used here do not appear to have endangered our riders, counterfeit parts are always risky and never acceptable,” MTA Inspector General Barry Klugar said in a statement. “Indeed, in a worst-case scenario defective bearings could actually lead to a derailment.”