Feds Push New Rail Track Inspection Standards

Concerned about the number of trains carrying volatile crude oil through his district, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett called on federal officials Thursday to obtain private inspection reports from rail companies on all spans through the region and share them with local officials.

At about 1:15 p.m. on February 16, an eastbound crude oil train operated by CSX jumped the tracks near Mount Carbon, W.Va., about 35 miles southeast of Charleston.

The Federal Railroad Administration reviewed Sperry’s test data legs and found evidence of the rail defect at the point of derailment in two separate inspections in December 2014 and January 2015.

The FRA also urges closer and more frequent detailed inspections in areas where “defects and flaws are suspected”.

The agency also announced new track safety standards.

The announcement is the FRA’s latest effort to improve the safety of rail transportation of crude oil and other flammable liquids.

“What this broken rail incident shows us is that we need to insert ourselves and put a few pretty high standards in place”.

“All railroads, not just CSX, must be more diligent when inspecting for internal rail flaws or when contracting out inspection work”, Ms. Feinberg said in a press release. CSX and the contractor that performed the inspection, Sperry Rail Services, were each fined $25,000, the maximum civil penalty for such a violation.

In an emailed statement Friday, CSX said it was committed to safety.

“In collaboration with the Federal Railroad Administration, CSX is developing additional inspection processes that will enhance our ability to quickly and accurately identify rail flaws using tools provided by Sperry Rail Services, the industry’s leading supplier of rail-flaw detection capabilities”.

Speed had previously been ruled out as a factor.

Oil from the tank cars caused a sludge deposit in the Kanawha River and an adjoining creek, as well as a sheen along the shorelines, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Under a March consent order with the EPA, the railroad agreed to a long-term plan for cleaning up and restoring the area around the derailment.

A lawsuit was filed in September against CSX on behalf of more than 200 residents of Fayette County.