"WASHINGTON (AP) – The Bush administration’s plan to prevent terrorist attacks on trains ran into immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers who say it’s too little, too late.
“The Homeland Security proposal, to be announced Friday, would require freight and passenger rail systems to inspect rail cars and keep them in secure areas when not in use.”
"WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - Seeking to make rail shipments of chlorine and other hazardous chemicals less vulnerable to attack, the Homeland Security Department intends to announce a proposed rule on Friday to require railroads to track continuously tanker cars for “toxic inhalation hazards” and bar them from leaving the cars unattended or parked for long periods.
The proposal would also clarify how government workers inspect tank cars and railyards for compliance, establish rules on the chain of custody and handoff of dangerous cargoes and set communications requirements.
“Each year, the railroads carry 1.7 million shipments of hazardous materials, of which 100,000 are toxic chemicals prone to becoming airborne in an accident. About 80 percent of the shipments that can become poison gases are chlorine, for purifying water and other applications, or anhydrous ammonia, for fertilizer.”
Not enough details to really understand what they’re proposing, but if it’s to secure hazardous cars being loaded and unloaded, then the burden will fall mostly on the shippers and consignees. If the expectation is that hazardous cars will only dwell at locations that are manned 24/7, then it starts to become a problem for the RRs.
That there are several cities that would like ban hazardous shipments from passing through is the really big problem, if they are ever allowed to do it. It’s ironic that many of these cities grew up around the RRs they now want to regulate.
I say that they should be allowed to enact bans, but they have to make the RR whole by building an alternate route around the city. Let’em put THEIR money where their legislation is. The alternate route would have to provide the same transit time as the through route, so if it’s longer, it has to be faster. It could not contain a ruling grade greater than the existing route. The route would have to be deeded over to the RR before the ban went into effect. It could not increase the RRs property tax burden - in fact, the exisitng route ought to become exempt from property tax.
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
DHS Press Office, (202) 282-8010
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security issued today a notice of proposed rulemaking to vastly strengthen the security of the nation’s rail systems in the highest threat urban areas. The proposed rule is part of a package of new security measures that will require freight rail carriers to ensure 100 percent positive hand-off of Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) materials, establish security protocols for custody transfers of TIH rail cars in the high threat urban areas, and appoint a rail security coordinator to share information with the federal government, as well as formalizing the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) freight and passenger rail inspection authority.
“A toxic emission from an attack against a chemical facility or hazardous chemicals in transit is among the most serious risks facing America’s highest threat areas,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “We’re going to take a significant percentage of that risk off the table.”
The freight rail industry has already begun to implement several key security measures, such as tracking and substantially reducing the standstill time for unattended freight cars transporting TIH materials in high threat urban areas, developing site-specific security plans with access controls, and providing security training for employees. Using industry data, TSA will create a tracking system that will allow the federal government to determine the location of rail cars carrying TIH materials within minutes.
Once finalized, the proposed rule will address the transport of TIH materials by rail, from start to finish, including predictable standstill points and unpredictable stops during shipment. TIH materials, which are potentially harmful but essential chemicals like chlorine or anhydrous ammonia, represent less than 1 percent of all rail shipments. In
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
DHS Press Office, (202) 282-8010
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security issued today a notice of proposed rulemaking to vastly strengthen the security of the nation’s rail systems in the highest threat urban areas. The proposed rule is part of a package of new security measures that will require freight rail carriers to ensure 100 percent positive hand-off of Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) materials, establish security protocols for custody transfers of TIH rail cars in the high threat urban areas, and appoint a rail security coordinator to share information with the federal government, as well as formalizing the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) freight and passenger rail inspection authority.
“A toxic emission from an attack against a chemical facility or hazardous chemicals in transit is among the most serious risks facing America’s highest threat areas,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “We’re going to take a significant percentage of that risk off the table.”
The freight rail industry has already begun to implement several key security measures, such as tracking and substantially reducing the standstill time for unattended freight cars transporting TIH materials in high threat urban areas, developing site-specific security plans with access controls, and providing security training for employees. Using industry data, TSA will create a tracking system that will allow the federal government to determine the location of rail cars carrying TIH materials within minutes.
Once finalized, the proposed rule will address the transport of TIH materials by rail, from start to finish, including predictable standstill points and unpredictable stops during shipment. TIH materials, which are potentially harmful but essential chemicals like chlorine or anhydrous ammonia, represent less than 1 percent of a
"The plan, announced Friday, was denounced by Democratic lawmakers as too little, too late.
Democrats, set to take control of Congress next month, said they would file bills to require tighter security for railroads.
Rep. Ed Markey, a senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said he wants extremely hazardous materials to be rerouted away from places where an attack could do the most damage.
James Carafano, homeland security fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said Democrats are unrealistic about how much their proposals will cost.
‘We can bankrupt ourselves trying to childproof everything,’ said Carafano. He advocates the approach taken by Homeland Security, with minimal regulation and cooperation by the private sector."