Schumer rails against lapses in train safety

Don't get me wrong here, I understand RRing isn't a simple business, but what is the average life span of some of those cars carrying dangerous chemicals? How many of them were built to meet minimal safety requirements to keep prices low? How many RR yards are devoid of security entirely? The ones that do often have guards that consist of nothing more than a guy on minimum wage sitting in a booth at a gate sleeping through his shift.

while schumer sounds on the wrong track with regard to switches, there are some questions that need to be raised every now and then. just like any other industry, if companies cannot police themselves someone in gov't. will do it for them (and probably not do as good a job if the businesses themselves took it upon themselves to handle it).

Schumer is either displaying a vast ignorance of the realities of the industry, or deliberately distorting facts to meet his own agenda. The tragedy at Winton Road was caused by the crew forgetting they were supposed to stop. How would more regulation prevent that? The Charlotte incident was caused by a crewman making a mistake with the brake system. How would more regulation prevent that? His statement that "railroads get away with murder" is sensationalism and fear-mongering at its most blatant, and borders on libel.

The impracticality of eliminating all manually-thrown switches is obvious to most readers here. And what would prevent a dispatcher from making a human error and lining a switch wrong anyway?

John Q Public is amazingly ignorant on how railroads operate. There is a real danger that such off-the-wall ideas could wind up gaining support unless railroads and their supporters take steps to oppose them.

>>>distorting facts to meet his own agenda. <<<

He is a potential gubernatorial candidate for the "Ds."

fear has always been a powerful political tool. G.W. Bush and the Republicans used the tactic brilliantly this past year. Chuckie is doing the same using a cheap shot to provide proof that he's an active Senator protecting the publics best interest. The comment refering to the fatal chemical spill train wreck in NC, saying "what of this happened here in Pittsford?", Sorry signaled track and no switches with in 4 miles of Pittsford. "The Fear Factor". Although not all of his ideas are bad, he needs to get his aids to do better research before he opens the exhuast valve he calls his mouth.

I just dislike and distrust politicians, regardless if Repulicans, Democrats, or whoever. You don't here Chuckie screaming about truck safety, even after the gas tanker roled over and burned up a block of Lake Ave., Rochester a couple years ago and killed 1 resident. Haven't heard any uproar about tour busses since the wreck that killed 4 people on rt 390 in Livingston County this past weekend. A tanker truck of Chlorine on an expressway during the average rush hour could kill many times more people the a rail tanker passing through the edge of town. But that talk is not popular. Everybody excepts THAT hazard.

I think we've veered off railroading a tad here. Let's refrain from commenting on what we do or dont like about Schumer and other politicians and get back to trains.

-otto-

Sorry Otto, I just needed to vent a bit, and it is about railroading and how the politicains will jump after a specific issue yet ignore other just as obvious concerns because it's a "HOT" topic. Most people see railroads as an inconvience, outdated form of transporting goods and people, yet don't realize just what it would be like without the railroads, Vent over for now thanks