A few weeks ago there was a massive explosion in West Virginia that was triggered by a derailment when a train carrying Bakken Crude oil caught fire.
"As far as we are in Harrisburg with a large number of people here, with these trains coming through every week, we got to make sure our people are protected," said Harrisburg City Councilman Brad Koplinski.
In order to ensure that protection Koplinski is introducing legislation that would encourage the federal government to put more pressure on train companies like CSX. Namely it would urge the companies to replace older cars called DOT-111's with stronger and more stable cars. "There's federal regulations that we are all waiting on to mandate that rail companies use these safe rail cars. Now of course these safer rail cars are not the end of the solution, some of the derailments and explosions have occurred with safe rail cars," said Koplinski.
That's why Koplinski also wants new regulations that would require the trains to go slower and have fewer cars, which he said would make them safer. "The legislation also asks for Pennsylvania Emergency Management officials to work with Dauphin County and Harrisburg Emergency Response officials to a greater extent for them to be on alert when these trains are coming through our area," said Koplinski.
The federal government indicated new rules could be coming this spring, and Koplinski's legislation is meant to keep the pressure on so they follow through with the new regulations. He also wants the railroad companies to pay a $10 million dollar fine for any future derailments that could be prevented.
FOX43 out to a CSX spokesperson who said that the DOT-111 trains they're using meet all current federal requirements. The spokesperson also said zero accidents are their goal and that they invest $1 billion annually to fix train tracks and bridges.