Train wreck investigation results in violations

[Joe D]

From the River Reporter
This is the same set of tracks that run from Port Jervis, NY to Deposit, NY

Shohola train wreck investigation results in violations
Shohola Fire Chief is exonerated

By SANDY LONG

SHOHOLA, PA — Shohola Fire Chief Don Wall has taken a great deal of heat for actions that occurred under his direction following a nine-car train derailment that occurred in Shohola Township’s Parkers Glen on October 13, 2005. However, following a recently concluded investigation by the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the heat appears to be headed for the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad Company (NYS&W).

A preliminary investigation of the October 13 derailment of train SU-403, conducted on October 27, 2005 by FRA Supervisory Hazardous Materials Specialist F.D. Fraini, Jr., concluded that NYS&W “failed to provide immediate emergency response documentation to fire personnel that had responded to a derailment in Shohola. This failure (over one hour) caused fire officials to declare precautionary evacuations, invoke mutual aid agreements, and recall a volunteer responder force that would have been made completely unnecessary had the NYS&W timely complied with the regulatory requirements in 49 CFR 172.600-172.604.”

“This vindicates every remark and action made by our fire chief, Don Wall,” said George J. Fluhr, chair of the Shohola Township Board of Supervisors, who has consistently supported decisions made by Wall following the derailment.
Wall, who is fully trained in handling hazardous materials (HAZMATS), has repeatedly expressed concerns over the lack of communication forthcoming from NYS&W related to handling such potentially catastrophic events. Wall cites six rail events that have occurred during his 11 years as chief, and 52 historically recorded rail events within Shohola Township, to substantiate the need for improved communications.

“All you need is one HAZMAT derailment to mess up the river, or to kill a bunch of people,” said Wall, who pointed out that the train had included one car carrying the HAZMAT chemical tuolene, “a potentially very serious situation,” according to Wall.

Following the derailment, Wall was criticized for overreacting and taking actions of excessive caution. But Wall’s decisions were based on the failure of NSY&W to provide the train’s consist (a document listing each car’s contents and location) for more than an hour following the wreck. Unable to determine whether HAZMATS were involved, Wall opted for actions to protect nearby communities. His precautionary decisions have now been proven practical.
The FRA’s October 27 investigation detected several deficiencies concerning train SU-403’s consist, including the fact that the consist listed only five HAZMAT cars and Material Safety Data Sheets for five HAZMAT commodities. In actuality, train SU-403 contained seven HAZMAT cars.

The report concluded, “The first and most serious failure is that of the train crew’s lack of awareness of what hazardous materials they were transporting.” (Following the derailment, the train’s conductor said that he knew of only one HAZMAT car in his train). The report also noted, “The second failure is that of the NYS&W dispatch center that failed to transmit, by any means available, the train’s hazardous material cars and where they should be located in a timely manner.”

The report recommended violations against the NYS&W for failure to provide immediate response information to fire officials and crewmembers in possession of an inaccurate train consist. Though not yet publicly available, the violation report and related fines were recently forwarded to NY S&W, which must respond to the findings.
According to FRA spokesperson DeDe Cordell, “FRA’s investigation determined that the cause of this derailment was train handling. As a result of this derailment, the FRA has taken initiated enforcement action against the NYS&W Railroad. A total of 13 violations have been issued. In addition to the accident investigation, FRA conducted a full-scale audit of NYS&W safety operations. This assessment looks at the safety of operations, practices, and procedures, and resulted in several discoveries that have been addressed with the railroad to help improve the safety of operations.”

NYS&W spokesman Thomas O’Neill said that the company has received the FRA’s enforcement action and is preparing their response. O’Neill was unable to determine whether other remedies agreed to in the October 27 report have been implemented. They include enabling the fire chief to operate on the NYS&W’s train dispatch frequency for emergency purposes, coordinating emergency planning exercises and FRA participation in fire and train crew training. Asked if these measures have been initiated, fire chief Wall replied, “Hell, no!”

Cordell said that the FRA offered its HAZMAT team to NYS&W’s railroad police chief, who is in charge of HAZMAT training and “strongly recommended that he conduct training with first responders as a result of concerns which arose from the derailment.” Cordell added, “To date, we have not been asked to participate in any training or exercises involving the NYS&W. However, we are committed to providing that assistance.”

More than one year later, three cars damaged in the derailment stand rusting along the tracks near the Roebling Bridge in Lackawaxen. O’Neill said two have been repaired and that the remaining car is currently being worked on. Once repaired, the cars will be removed, which O’Neill estimated will occur within the next several weeks.