U.S. regulators urge caution on trains |
|
|
|
Published
:
Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:38
|
WASHINGTON (AFX) - U.S. railroad officials, responding to a fatal train wreck in California, are urging train operators to ensure maintenance gear is run only by qualified workers and inspected properly.The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday issued a safety advisory to railroad companies after a November 2006 accident in the Sierra Nevada mountains that killed two workers. The accident occurred when 10 out of 13 cars on a maintenance train derailed on their way from Sparks, Nev. to Bakersfield, Calif., the railroad administration said.The train's operators were not familiar with the rail line, and there were 'numerous mechanical defects on the train,' the railroad administration said in a statement. Harsco Corp., a South Carolina contractor, employed the victims and operated the train.'I cannot emphasize enough the responsibility and necessity of railroads and contractors that use these vehicles to operate them in the safest manner possible,' Joseph H. Boardman, head of the railroad administration, in the statement.Harsco also owned the train, which was transporting a piece of maintenance equipment called a grinding machine, under a contract with Union Pacific Corp.The railroad administration said that 'some owners and operators of such equipment do not fully understand which federal safety regulations they must comply with given their unique design and operational characteristics.' The agency said it is providing detailed instructions to clarify which regulations cover which equipment.Railroad authorities said Harsco has ceased to operate such equipment until safety inspections are complete.Shares of Harsco were down 16 cents, or less than 1 percent, to close at $81.15 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Union Pacific were up 13 cents, or less than 1 percent to close at $95.56.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|
|
Print this Story
Proposal to ban drinking on buses and trains draws flak 