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Senator Casey calls for more oversight of railroad bridges
So how many of the derailments were due to bridge failure? Another example of egregious piling-on by a publicity seeking politician. But Feinberg will probably act on it because she is just a bureaucratic hack who has never worked a real job (i.e., non-governmental) in her life and wouldn’t know a train if she saw one.
Those darn politicians. Let’s wait for more bridge failures
This is one of those things that sounds good on the evening news, but in reality is pretty meaningless. As far as I can remember most RR bridge accidents are weather or flood related and have nothing to do with the general condition of the bridge itself.
I notice Senator Casey didn’t mention increasing the FRA’s budget to afford the additional inspectors, which contrary to the other posters here are needed, even though the railroads perform inspections themselves. Just how many of the existing bridges do we need to fail before we start hiring more inspectors…this is a case of a need not being met.
How many existing bridges have failed? Of these, how many could have been prevented by more inspectors? I must have missed all the news reports of trains careening off bridges into neighborhoods. But if he gets the inspectors, he will be able to assure voters that he solved the “problem”.
Does he really mean it, or is he just dancing in front of the press to elevate himself? “Politicians and diapers need to be changed often and for the same reason.” - Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
Oh geez! Another blowhard, pat himself on the back politician. Just what we need.
Of course this grandstander never gave a hint as to how funding those extra inspectors might occur …
Simply another ‘windbag’, pompously mandating directives with no funding proposals to assure anything is ever really accomplished. The quintessential Washington self agrandizer.
If the inspector inspects 250 bridges a year, that’s every bridge less than every four years. Is that feasible, does anybody know the right numbers?
The Railroads themselves have quite a vested interest in bridge and track safety; the Senator has a valid point, but he’s pointing his finger in the wrong direction. The railroads know how to do this job; they just need to make the public aware they know how and do perform it.